I was privileged to be invited to visit St George’s School on their Launch Day as a Specialist School in Science and Humanities. Normal lessons were suspended for the day. A group of students in a geography class assured me that a tsunami would inundate Southampton within the next 150 years and they were planning how to evacuate the city. Yet another group was in the sports hall building bridges out of plastic components brought by a team from Intech at Winchester.

I learnt that following the departure of Mrs Knight, a new head teacher has been appointed. He will be starting in January.

Those of us who were delighted that the inspector who conducted the Local Plan Enquiry decided the fields along Stoneham Lane within the city boundaries should remain part of the strategic gap (Inspector’s Report para 3.9.7) will be dismayed that the City Council has not accepted this. Removal of the land at Stoneham from the strategic gap separating Southampton and Eastleigh is still in the draft of the Local Plan (Local Plan, Revised Deposit para 3.25).

You might have supposed that the Public Enquiry was held to settle such matters and the Inspector’s report would be the end of it. But no. Her report makes recommendations to the Council. The Council decides what actions it proposes to take with respect to these recommendations. Read the rest of this entry »

Lovely warm summer weather ensured a good turnout and a very enjoyable event. We thank Ken and Michelle Hickling and Steve Mackenzie for doing the BBQ. Margaret Gow opened numerous bread rolls and Anna Hammett was kept very busy face painting. Ken Hickling showed his great leadership skills by marshalling the troops for the tug-of-war.
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The annual general meeting of the Association will be on Monday 19th September in the Hardmoor Early Years Centre, Leaside Way at 8pm. A meeting on Ethelburt Avenue road improvement will start at 7.15pm
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The meeting of the Southampton Federation of Residents’ Associations on 9th June provided an opportunity to ask questions of the City Council’s Cabinet members.
Fortunately in our area, we are spared many of the problems, such as rarely getting a good night’s sleep because of noise from drunken revellers leaving night clubs or the deleterious effects of housing in multiple occupation.
Concern was expressed about fine large houses being demolished and replaced by blocks of flats. Councillor Baston said that except in Conservation Areas they had no power to prevent demolition. There was a great need for more homes for single people. She hoped that the blocks of flats would be built in character with the local area. They were starting to write a design guide for the suburbs.

Councillor Mizon said that if they had a transit site for travellers, it would cut down on expensive legal costs to move them off land. They were looking into having a transit site but a suitable spot was hard to find.

As for anti-social behaviour, Councillor Mizon said that they use all the tools they have at their disposal. There is now a City Patrol of 20 officers which functions from after school hours until 11pm and at weekends. They focus on hot-spots and respond to calls.

Some useful numbers are:
Report all incidents to the police on 0845 045 4545.

The City’s Actionline 0800 519 1919.
Domestic noise nuisance: 023 8083 2531.
Anti-social behaviour team: 0845 605 2222.

About 2 years ago, walkers who took the path around St George’s School into the fields beyond, found their route obstructed by a new barbed-wire fence. No doubt they soon discovered that a stile had been provided at the far end. So this was not an attempt to keep the public out, but a short-lived plan by Hampshire County Council to rent out their field for
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JOINT MEETING

Southampton City Council and Southampton Federation of Residents’ Associations

Thursday June 9th 2005

Council Chamber, Civic Centre
6.30pm for 7pm start

AGENDA

• Local Plan and the Inspector’s Report
• Planning
• Shared Housing
• Anti-Social Behaviour
• 24 hour Licensing
• Recycling
• Travellers
• A.O.B.

Make a note in your diary of this great annual event. Our summer party will be held on Saturday 18th June from 3pm onwards on the Lower Green, Ethelburt Avenue.

Children’s games, a bouncy castle and a barbecue starting at 5pm are planned. There will be a collection box for voluntary contributions to help defray expenses.

Those who objected to the removal of the land along Stoneham Lane from the Strategic Gap will be pleased that the inspector has upheld their objection. She noted that in the Hampshire Structure Plan, the gap had long-term importance and therefore the boundary should not be changed unless there has been some significant change that affects the separation function of the previously designated land. She disagreed with the Council that only land north of the motorway was necessary for a strategic gap or that the motorway itself provided a major barrier. For the traveller along the M27, a gap on both sides is very important because it contributes to the perception of movement through an undeveloped corridor between the two settlements. Read the rest of this entry »

On St George’s Day, the Lower Road Repair Team created two lush green verges near the entrance from Stoneham Lane. The width of the road between these new verges is just that shown on the original plans. This makes clear how much the road has progressively widened over the years at the expense of the verges and footways. A narrower entrance has also been defined by painting white lines on the road. The effect is intended to cause vehicles to travel more slowly. Read the rest of this entry »