News Roundup

I can't believe the clocks are changing already on Sunday! At 3am they'll be set back to 2am to give us an extra hour in the morning - which means it will be dark earlier in the afternoon. I keep thinking I'd rather have darker mornings and slightly longer afternoons: why can't we stay on summertime all year long?

Likewise I could hardly believe my eyes on Tuesday evening when the Thunderstorm got going! It was great entertainment for my family, however for some it got serious: Lightning strikes homes in Winchester (Hampshire Chronicle).

The problem with the sewage overflow at Abbotts Walk has been resolved: According to Mrs Kan on Monday a man with a watering can appeared and disinfected the area with something that smelled like bleach. Hampshire Chronicle had this to say Sewage overflow at new housing development in Winchester and here is the final update from the Kan family.

Council activities

Have your say on setting Council priorities for 2014-17 - it's the last week to complete the survey! It only takes 5 minutes! This would also be a good opportunity to tell Winchester City council that they must keep it a Community Strategy priority to cut the District carbon footprint.

Public exhibition on 20mph speed limits for Winchester: the two-week event will be held in early November at the Tourist Information Centre at the Guildhall, the BID offices in Parchment Street, the Winchester Discovery Centre and the Brooks Shopping Centre (ground floor) – from Monday, November 4, to Friday, November 15.
Council staff will answer questions at the discovery Centre on Thursday, November 7 from 11am to 2pm, and Tuesday, November 12, from 4pm-7pm.

From Hampshire Chronicle: Project launched to decide future of Council’s City Offices

From sometime tomorrow we will be able to see the meeting agenda for the 'Special Meeting' set up for Cabinet on Monday 4 November. I'm really curious now what this is about. Any bets that it will be about our next topic in this News Roundup or would the City Offices project also be a hot contender?

Leisure Centre and Recreation Ground

Quite a few things here:

Yesterday's Cabinet meeting resulted in this press release: Statement on the future of River Park Leisure Centre. Here a quote from it:

"We will shortly work up some detail on these options and display them in the Leisure Centre, the Guildhall and on-line. We will list both advantages and disadvantages so that residents can question and comment.
There will be four options: new build at Bar End using the playing fields; new build at North Walls either a) using the tennis courts, artificial turf pitch and a strip of land alongside or b) using the tennis courts, artificial turf pitch and a significant part of the existing leisure centre site; refurbish the existing centre."

Save The Rec tweeted this:

"I sold the land to the Citizens of Winchester for a Recreation Ground and not for building purposes". William Barrow Simonds, 1908.

WinchesterNewsOnline (WinOL) brought us this personal commentary from one of the Save The Rec campaigners, James McConnachie, COMMENT: Tear Down The Walls – Saving River Park and also River Park decision won’t ‘please everyone’ says Council Leader

While our councillors initially presented us with plans to build a new Leisure Centre on a nice green field, in Eastleigh the plan is to build a new centre on the existing car park and then create a new car park on area where the old centre was. This might be much easier for them with some additional parking available nearby but it just shows that you have to consider all options.

Community / volunteering

Last week Sarah Evans and I met with a representative from the Scouts who is looking for more group leaders and assistants to set up new groups at Holy Trinity from January onward. As you all know it's difficult to get your child into a beavers group - because there aren't enough volunteers to set up enough groups. So is there anybody here who would be interested? You would only have to attend one of every three group sessions (6 to 7pm), but of course there are also other meetings that will have to be attended for planning purposes. If you would like to find out more please contact us via the contact form and we'll forward your name for an introductory meeting.

Winacc is looking for more members: "Live around Winchester? Get involved, join WinACC, meet likeminded people, influence policy, take action!"

Community Bank anyone? Government agrees funding for first community bank in Winchester

Road safety

Heads up: The Highways Agency will be starting work on A34/M3 J9 Winnall Roundabout improvement scheme Monday 28 Oct. Disruption possible for 5 weeks.

Things to do

The legacy of King Alfred celebrated in annual festival in Winchester: "The King Alfred Weekend starts on Friday evening in St Bartholomew Church, with the opening of the 'Re-uniting the Stones of Hyde Abbey' exhibition and the ‘Negative Capability 2’ show which is Hyde900/St. Bart’s contribution to Ten Days/Winchester/Creative Collisions arts festival."

Mums in the Know have lots of ideas for you with Half Term, Halloween and Bonfire Night all coming up!

Discovery Centre: "Fancy taking your children to a FREE author show this half term? Peter Bently & Guy Parker-Rees (DINOSAURS AND DIGGERS!), Josh Lacey & Garry Parsons (DRAGONS!), Andrew Weale (HALLOWEEN!) and Kaye Umansky (WITCHES!) are all free of charge. Visit www.wessexbookfest.co.uk for full details then call us on 01962 873603 to claim your free tickets."

Have you heard about the Project Wild Thing film? It's going to be released 27 October. A study suggests children are missing out on the wonders of nature (BBC) – how do you get your children outside exploring?

Sea City Museum Southampton: Ever wondered what the city looks like from the top of the clock tower? Find out on 27 Oct or 10 Nov on a Clock Tower Tour. Call 023 80834536 to book. Ding, dong!

Fancy a scary Halloween night? Then ON A DARK DARK NIGHT at Theatre Royal is just the right thing for you!

Curious Creatures is all about outdoor play for children. This is happening in Otterbourne so the after school events are a bit impossible to get to on time (starting at 3:30pm), but maybe your little discoverers (2-4 years) would really enjoy this!

Miniprofessors introduces your pre-schoolers to science right here in Winchester! Also from Hampshire Chronicle: Winchester mums form new science class for toddlers

And finally: Intech is no more! Don't fret, they still exist, but under a different name: Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium.


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