War Memorial
The Parish Council thanks everyone who supported the Fete.
The sum raised during the day was £654.44. The War Memorial fund now stands at £793.44, which is nearly half of the total that is needed to replace the cross. The Parish Council will now ask for the work to commence and in the meantime, hopefully, raise the rest of the money that is needed.
Lyme Disease
The New Forest District Council has launched a new leaflet, which provides important information regarding Lyme disease.
The new colour leaflet features photographs of ticks and information on how to recognise the early symptoms of the disease. It also contains practical advice on how to prevent being bitten and what to do if you do receive a bite.
The leaflet 'Just a Tick' is available from council offices, tourist and information centres, doctors and veterinary surgeries and Forestry Commission camp sites. It can also be downloaded by visiting the council's website www.nfdc.gov.uk .
Ragwort
The Parish Council wishes to thank all the public-spirited residents of Minstead who helped to pull ragwort from the Minstead roadsides on a Monday evening in July. As a direct result of these efforts, the Village of Minstead is almost free of this poisonous weed which endangers the life of ponies and cattle that roam our Village.
Advertising on the Village Notice Board.
The Village notice board is available for anyone who would like to advertise his or her business.
Please speak to the Clerk to the Parish Council for rates.
The Future of Local Government
A 10 Year Vision
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) has published a new pamphlet for consultation on the development of a long term vision for local government across England. The pamphlet identifies a range of issues for debate, such as developing strong, vibrant community leadership, improving citizen engagement, and improving service delivery.
The leaflet is on the website: www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/
Your views on this debate may be emailed to localvision@odpm.qsi.gov.uk, or sent by mail to ODPM, Local Government Strategy Unit, 5/C5 Eland House, Bressenden Place, SW1E 5DU
Recycle Your Old Mobile Telephone
The Deaf-Blindness charity SENSE is asking those of you lucky enough to get a new mobile `phone to donate their old `phones to its fundraising efforts. The charity, which helps children and adults across the UK who are both deaf and blind, will receive an average of £5.00 for each recyclable mobile phone.
If you have an unwanted mobile telephone, please post it in a strong envelope clearly marked for SENSE to:
The Recycling Centre, Freepost NAT 5224, Peterborough, PE2 6BR
Countryside Access and the New Rights
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 gives people a new right of access to walk over large areas of open countryside and common land. A recently updated leaflet describes how these new access arrangements will be put into practice on the ground in England and explains what they will mean for those involved, especially farmers, landowners and countryside visitors. The leaflet is free of charge, to order a copy Tel. 0870 120 6466 during working hours or visit http://www.countryside.gov.uk/publications/articles/
publication_tcm2-4228.asp?bMultiplePDFs=true.
Source: DIS (issue578-April 2004)
Resignation
It is with regret that the Parish Council has accepted the resignation of Councillor Simon Fisher. He found the pressures of work and family commitments often prevented him from attending meetings and he felt that he was not representing the residents of Minstead as he had hoped he would. The Parish Council is sorry to lose him as he contributed a great deal in time and effort to the Parish Council, however we understand the problems that he has recently had in attending meetings and wish him and his family well in the future.
Advice to Prevent Bogus Callers
Always keep back and front doors locked when at home.
Before opening the front door, confirm that the back door is locked.
Put the door bar or chain on before opening a door and keep it on whilst the caller is on the doorstep.
Check people claiming to be from a utility company or other organisation for identification. You should make an immediate report to the Police if you consider the caller to be bogus.
Planning Aid
"Planning Aid South" offers independent and professional advice on town and country issues to community groups and individuals who may not be able to afford a private planning consultant. They will help people to understand and use the planning system, to apply for planning permission or to appeal against refused permission. The planning advice helpline is available between 9am and 5pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday on 0870 240 7552. A message may be left at other times.
Email socw@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk.
Forestry Commission Car Parks
From 1st October 2004 Minstead Road, Hazel Wood & Whitemoor car parks will be closed for the winter.
Bonfires
The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness now being upon us it is timely to remind parishioners of their responsibilities with regard to bonfires.
Please be sensitive to your neighbours' open windows, washing or social lives. Observe the prevailing wind direction and endeavour not to cause a nuisance.
Remember that smoke may badly affect those suffering from Asthma, Bronchitis or other chest complaints.
High Hedges Legislation
Provision has been made in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 to create a procedure for dealing with complaints about high hedges in England and Wales.
It is far better if these disputes can be settled amicably; however, where negotiation fails local authorities will review the case, acting as an independent and impartial third party.
If the authority think it is justified they will be able to order the owner to reduce the height of their hedge.
There is not a general requirement that all hedges should be kept below a certain height.
Complaining to the local authority should always be a last resort. People should have tried to resolve their hedge problems by negotiation with their neighbours before approaching the authority otherwise their complaint could be rejected.
The new law comes into effect from the end of 2004.
NFDC front-line services-new Tel. Numbers
New telephone lines have been installed at New Forest District Council to try to cut down waiting times.
Telephone numbers have changed and these will be published in the next issues of BT telephone directories. Customers' calls to old numbers will automatically be re-routed.
Tax and benefits, and customer services numbers at Lymington have been given a new computerised call management system.
When you call one of the new numbers given below, you will be placed in a queue. Don't hang up; the average waiting time is around a minute though a longer wait may occur at peak times. To avoid a wait, the best time to call the council may be during the afternoon on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday.
New Numbers:
Housing benefit office 01590 646121
Council Tax office01590 646111
Abandoned cars01590 646123
Fly tipping01590 646123
Graffiti01590 646123
Refuse collection01590 646123
Special collection01590 646123
Concessionary travel01590 646126
Minstead Players
Minstead's own drama group are a friendly organisation which is a successful force to be reckoned with in local Amateur Dramatics. They welcome, encourage and support new talent, whetheracting, directing or back stage.
There is however a problem!
Minstead Players suffer from a shortage of young men. - ladies seem to be happy to take part but not so you chaps!
So guys, if you are out there with a desire to tread the boards please contact any committee member who will gladly give you details. The Players had hoped to present the world premiere of a new production this Autumn but were unable to cast it for a shortage of lead males, so it has been placed on hold until next year. Being supremely flexible the Players have now moved to plan B to fill the slot in November. At the time of writing they have no idea what they will do but are determined that the show will go on; so watch out for publicity material. Dom Young is the current chairman of the Minstead Players and he would appreciate any support or suggestions.
Email dom_young@new-forest.org or telephone 023 8081 2636
Hedges in Minstead
Defra suggests that hedges should be cut only between 1st October and 31st January to help to preserve wildlife. Your Parish Council suggests that where hedges adjoin public roads and thoroughfares they should be cut back hard especially if the roads are narrow. This will assist visibility of other road users.
National Park
Much has been said and will be said regarding the National Park, but we thought you might be interested in who is going operate the new authority when it comes into being in April 2006. There will be a shadow authority with an acting chief executive from April 2005 whilst the new organisation is set up.
There will be 22 members, 12 drawn from the local authorities already operating in the area. New Forest District Council, Hampshire County Council, TestValley, Wiltshire County Council and Salisbury District Council will also be represented. The other members will come from parish councils and government appointments. [Source: Forest News: Summer 2004.]
Your Council is as up to date as any other council on the subject but if you would like more information visit Defra on www.defra.gov.uk/planth/ph.htm or the Forestry Commission on www.forestry.gov.uk . Both sites are regularly updated.
Sustainable Wetland Restoration
Minstead Parish Council has had a great deal of correspondence with the Environment Agency regarding the matter of Wetland restoration in the New Forest. They were not happy that many of the mires are to be restored creating a hazard for the ponies and cattle that roam the forest and the removal of valuable grazing. Finally, an objection was sent, which was referred to Elliott Morley, the DEFRA Minister with responsibility for land drainage, for determination. After considering the issues raised, the Minister was satisfied that, as described in the Environmental Impact Assessment (Land Drainage Improvement Works) Regulations 1999- Notice of Determination, the overall effects of the works would be beneficial. Also, he considered the substantive environmental points raised in the objection, and he is of the view that the matters raised do not constitute sufficient reasons to prevent the works going ahead. In particular, he is of the opinion that the assessment of grazing issues has been properly carried out. He therefore gave consent to the works being carried out as described in the EIA.
He continued, "However, it remains a possibility that changes in vegetation resulting from the works might cause some impact on grazing animals. As a condition of this consent, appropriate monitoring should be put in place to assess any impact of the changes induced by the works on grazing animals. If this monitoring regime establishes that there are any deleterious impacts to grazing animals as a result of the works, suitable mitigation measures must be implemented. Defra needs to be satisfied that the monitoring is sufficient to inform this process effectively. I am therefore asking you to write to explain what appropriate additional monitoring measures will be put in place before commencing the works."
Email Directory
In conjunction with the Minstead PCC and the Village Hall Trust we intend to compile an email directory for the village for those members of the community who are prepared to receive communications in this way. Please let our Clerk, Liz Green (below), know if you wish your address to be included in this.
