So today we had the solar eclipse and the spring equinox, the astronomical start of spring! I had been hoping that it would get a bit darker outside than it did during the 85% eclipse but, alas, it wasn't meant to be. On the plus side: from now on the days will be longer than the nights - yeah!!! And: Hyde Street is open again - what a relief!
Since the last News Roundup we had two events organised by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlfe Trust (HIWWT), one was river dipping at the stream and one was looking for insects and plants on the Abbotts Walk Meadow. Rachel Remnant (the Winnall Moors Reserves Officer) sent this to me afterwards: "People may be interested to know that in the meadow survey and bug hunt we recorded the following meadow plants: Ox eye daisy, ribwort plantain, scabious, salad burnett, knapweed, sheep’s fescue, yarrow, wild carrot, hawkbit, red clover, white cloverand Yorkshire fog, so come May and June the mead will be full of colour and buzzing with life!"
I believe all of the participants enjoyed these events immensely! There might be more over the summer when local wildlife is more active.
If you would like to help the community group with a little of your time, please take a look at our new page about how to Get Involved. Being a volunteer for a community group is great as you get to know more people in your neighbourhood and of course it gives you a sense of accomplishment!
We would like to thank Winchester City Council (WCC) for installing the lovely new notice boards for us, and I am very happy to report that we have volunteers to look after them!
We would also like to thank Hampshire County Council for a grant to help us with organising our events this year!
Residents in and near the Abbotts Walk development have been identifying some points for discussion with the Council over the last weeks. WCC is promising to have a public meeting with the Abbotts Walk residents, but because of the local government elections on 7 May WCC have to avoid arranging a public meeting until after this date. A letter asking for feedback has been sent out. If you haven't heard, here is what it's all about, as short as possible:
- The boundary between the meadow and the public footpath along the Winnall Moors Nature Reserve - not everybody is happy with there being no access to the path but it was always a planning condition for the development. Please note, in our last Councillor's Surgery report we wrote about "the fence which Winchester Wildlife Trust are proposing to erect at the bottom of the Abbotts Walk field." Rachel Remnant (HIWWT's Winnall Moors Reserve Officer) commented on the post saying "just to clarify, the Hampshire and Isle of Wildlife Trust are not erecting a fence on the eastern side of the Abbotts Walk mead. The City Council is responsible for ensuring the developer has carried out all parts of their work set out in the planning process. There is no access from or to the green space to the footpath. There should be a robust, planted boundary along the eastern edge and this already includes a fence."
- Abbotts Walk Meadow - planned transition from Redrow to WCC and then possibly to be managed by HIWWT. There are many questions about how HIWWT would go about managing the meadow and how that would affect the locals being able to access it. These will have to be answered when it comes to deciding who should best manage the meadow.
- Abbotts Walk play area - there are some concerns that this might never appear but according to WCC there has been some s.106 money set aside and it can only be spent for this purpose. What could be done for example is a circular path around the meadow with natural play installations along that path.
- The infiltration basin (or the 'pond' as it has become to be known) - some people are concerned about the safety of this feature for children as it remained full of water for most of 2014.
- Maintenance of other open spaces in Abbotts Walk - mowing of the green areas between the houses.
- Removal of the dog bin on the meadow as it doesn't get emptied - this surely isn't a popular and useful solution! (However, for now since the bin clearly isn't being emptied the best option is to tie the bag and put it in a bin at home. This is the responsibility of the dog owner.)
You can find more about this on the website www.abbottswalk.com which is run by an Abbotts Walk resident.
General news:
For parents of younger children this will be nice to hear: Winchester playgrounds set for £500,000 makeover (from Hampshire Chronicle). However, older children are still waiting for the multi-games area to be reappear near the Leisure Centre.
Have you seen that the cathedral got a hat? This is to enable repairs to the roof. Here is a time laps video that shows how it got up there:
Raising the Roof from Winchester Cathedral on Vimeo.
Make sure you know about Changes for Older Person's bus pass holders from 1 April (info from HCC).
The fallout from the Silver Hill ruling can still be felt, here are some recent articles from Hampshire Chronicle:
- Bus station closure warning over Silver Hill, this one also mentions a new action group: ‘Hold the Officers to Account’!
- Silver Hill campaign worse than Nazi bombing, councillor claims
- Winchester councillor says it’s time to go
- Housing expert to investigate city council over Silver Hill
- Bus station and affordable flats back on Silver Hill agenda?
- TIAA Henderson is set to appeal the High Court ruling: Legal battle looms over £165m city centre development
If you would like to know how the Local Plan 2 is progressing, the Save The Parks website posted this update (based on the Parish Connect newsletter).
All the best,
Sylke
Secretary of Abbotts Barton Community Group
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