Volume 2, Issue 1
A Newsletter published by the Minstead Parish Council to Inform & Consult
ANNUAL ASSEMBLY
All are invited and welcome to Minstead Parish Council's Annual Assembly
at 7.45pm on Wed 21st March 2007 in the Green Room, Minstead Village Hall
Wine & Nibbles provided
Come to hear what your Parish, District and County Councils have achieved on your behalf over the past year. As part of the agenda there will be a presentation and discussion about the need to provide Affordable Housing (see below) within the Parish and afterwards there will be an 'Open Forum' where you may ask questions of your Councillors.
The Parish Council has been concerned for some time about the scarcity of Affordable Housing either to rent or buy (possibly on a shared ownership basis) within the Parish boundary. This has led in the past, and could lead in the future, to more local people being forced to move away from the Parish in search of suitable affordable homes, which adversely affects the entire community, services and amenities. Affordable Housing is defined as housing provided, usually with subsidy, for people who are unable to meet their housing requirements in the general housing Market due to the affordability gap. This is the gap between the price that a household can afford to pay for a suitable dwelling and the income that is needed to pay for that dwelling.
A Survey was carried out for the Parish Council in summer 2006 by Debbie Rhodes, one of the Rural Housing Enablers (RHE) based at Community Action Hampshire (CAH). It was based on core questions, compiled in conjunction with the Parish Council, distributed to all houses in the Parish and returned in pre paid envelopes to the RHE. The results are therefore based on responses to a total census rather than a sample, and will be presented by Debbie Rhodes to the Annual Assembly on 21 March. Lynne Croker, Housing Strategy and Development Manager for the New Forest District Council will also be present.
Anyone who wishes to read the full report should contact the Clerk to the Parish Council. For convenience the key points are reproduced here:
- The Survey was carried out between 25th July and 29th September 2006.
- There was a good response of 21%, to the 100% survey (census) of the Households in the Parish.
- 60% of properties in Minstead are in council tax band F or above, only 13% are in bands A and B.
- 87% of respondents are owner-occupiers. Three respondents (5.6%) live in housing owned by New Forest District Council or a housing association.
- 83% of respondents would support the idea of a small affordable housing scheme for local people.
- 12 households indicated that they were in need of housing, though 4 were owner-occupiers and able to meet their needs on the open market.
- It recommends to the Parish Council that, based on the findings of the survey and on affordability criteria, a scheme of 6-8 units is developed to meet the needs of those requiring affordable social housing.
The next stage is to make the report available to the local community and to seek further views. Anyone who wishes to hear more or say something on the subject is encouraged to attend the Annual Assembly or, alternatively, write to the Clerk.. If the Parish Council decides to advance the process, with a view to achieving a small scheme of affordable social housing, the subsequent stage would be to:
Friends of Minstead Parish Church was started last year as a way of those who were interested and wished to support our lovely old Church but who did not wish to become particularly involved with the religious life of the Village could support the upkeep of the building and churchyard. Applications to join this scheme are very welcome, contact Annie Cooper on 02380 813693 and she will send you a form or alternatively collect a form from the church porch.
The Parochial Church Council has its AGM on 15th April 2007 at 7.00pm in Church after the Church Service.
Elections for all district and parish/town councillors in the New Forest District Council's area will take place on Thursday 3 May 2007. Polling stations will be open from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. The poll card you will receive before polling day will give details of the polling station where you should vote.
A total of 60 District Councillors, representing 34 District Council wards, and about 350 Parish and Town Councillors, representing all of the 37 Parish and Town Councils in the District, are to be chosen. Our Parish falls within the Minstead, Bramshaw and Copythorne North Ward and our Parish Council comprises 7 members.
All of the District Councillors and Parish/Town Councillors will formally retire in May and, even if they are willing to continue to serve, they have to put themselves forward for re-election. The closing date for nominations for anyone wishing to stand for election is noon on Wednesday 4 April 2007. If you are interested in standing for the District Council and would like some information, visit the District Council's website. You can also contact the District's Electoral Services on (023) 8028 5445.
If you would like information about standing for the Parish Council please contact
Liz.Green@minstead.gov.uk
To be able to vote at the elections you must be on the electoral register. To find out if you are registered telephone Electoral Services. If you are unable to get to a polling station on 3 May or would find it more convenient to vote by post, you can apply for a postal vote. You may also appoint someone (a "proxy") to vote on your behalf. Forms are available to download from the District Council's website, from any of the District Council's Information Offices or by telephoning Electoral Services. The deadline for applying for postal votes is 5 p.m. on 18 April, and proxy votes 5 p.m. on 25 April, but please apply as early as possible.
New Forest District Council Contacts:
Website: www.newforest.gov.uk
Electoral Services: Tel:(023) 8028 5381 E-mail: electoralservices@nfdc.gov.uk
The next full Council elections will not be until 2011, so don't miss this opportunity to have a say in who represents you over the next four years.
Minstead Social Club invites you to come along to the club and see what we have to offer. Situated next to the Village Hall, the club has plenty of seating; Snooker; Pool Tables; Darts and Dominoes. Drinks at significantly less than pub prices! Children are welcome.
Bring this copy of the Minstead Mail along with you when you come AND get one free guest membership for each member of your family.
It's your Village Social Club! Come along and use it!
Meeting the demand for fresh, seasonal, local and traceable food, Hampshire Farmers' markets across the county will increase to 105 in 2007 (there were 98 in 2006), and a new flyer highlighting when and where these will be held is now available free from Hampshire Farmers' Markets, at libraries and tourist information centres. These include new markets in Hartley Wintney near Basingstoke and Cosham near Portsmouth, and a regular monthly market in Southampton's Bargate. Winchester farmers' market continues to be the largest farmers' market in the UK with around 95 stalls attracting around 9,500 shoppers per market. At Hampshire Farmers' markets, farmers and producers sell what they have produced, grown, reared, caught, baked, brewed or pickled, direct to the customer. This includes meat, game and fish, vegetables and fruit, cakes, bread, cheeses and dairy products, jams, honey and chutneys, drinks, ready meals, pies and sauces. They will be able to tell you about it, what the variety is, how they produced it, how best to prepare it and what it tastes like. Frequently there are samples of cheese, cooked meat, chutneys, jams, juices, cider, beer or wine to try.
A range of recipes using Hampshire produce can be found on www.hampshirefarmersmarkets.co.uk and cookery demonstrations will feature at some markets throughout the year. Stalls are also planning to cross promote free simple recipe ideas in 2007, using a few key ingredients all available from 3-4 stalls at Hampshire Farmers' markets.
Your attention is drawn to the Parish website, www.minstead.gov.uk, which contains a lot of interesting and useful information and links. We are doing our best to keep it up to date but all comments and suggestions will be most welcome. Please pass these to the Clerk.
