A bin at last for open space

Cranleigh Road has a bin again at long last after months of lobbying by Chrissie Bainbridge and Paul Nother.

The bin that was inside the children's play area in the public open space was removed some time ago and the Lib Dem councillors have been arguing the need for a replacement.

Fareham Council is reluctant to add to the total number of bins, so the bin that was sited where the old Co-op used to be at the top of Wicor Mill Lane/White Hart Lane has now been moved to outside the public space at Cranleigh Road.

There are bins not too far from the old site, on the corner of Cornaway Lane, at the Co-op, and in Foxbury Grove.

See the Autumn 2023 edition of Focus

In this issue:

A27 work starts

Progress on Precinct?

Assheton Court takes shap

New bench for Wicor Shore

... and much more.

Pressing for Precinct solutions

County Councillor Roger Price met with a top Hampshire Highways official and the Executive member who deals with Highways to discuss the poor conditions in Portchester Precinct.

It was agreed that the County would look at enlarging the planter areas around the trees which would help ease the tree problem of roots forcing the paving out of shape and causing trip hazards.

They would alo look at trimming back some of the trees and repositioning the seats and waste bins.

The County were also going to ask Fareham Borough Council to help fund this work by using the outstanding money that was given to them by Lidl. The inspection and planning will take a little while.

But let's hope these two Tory-led Councils can actually agree and get the improvements in place - disgracefully, the local Tories accused Lib Dems of being "negative" for raising these problems in Focus.

Swimmers beware

Chrissie Bainbridge is chasing the authorities to act on potentially dangerous obstacles in the water that runs parallel to the green space between Lansdowne Avenue and Kenwood Road.

Chrissie Says: "More and more folk are swimming there and these are only about 20 metres from the tide line. I have requested these items are removed promptly before they cause injury.

"If you or your children swim in this area, please take care."

The Portsmouth Harbour Master has told Chrrisie he has no funding and no contractual obligation to remove objects like this.

Chrissie has now spoken to the Coastal Partners group and is hoping for a more positive response.

Welcome to ‘Wicor-sur-Mer’

The proposed reclassification of parking at Wicor’s recreation ground now stands as a testament to two decades of Conservative misrule. 

Despite the earlier outrage of Portchester’s sailors, churchgoers, and dog walkers following the stealth tax on their Castle car parking spaces, the people of Portchester are once again up in arms.

The proposed reclassification of Wicor recreation ground as a chargeable Coastal Car Park - to make up for the underfunding of Fareham Borough Council by central government - is a prime example of Conservative commercialisation of a valued public utility.

It is, alas, Wicor Rec’s great misfortune to be connected by a muddy path through the bushes to a scrappy rock-strewn beach alongside Fareham Creek - thus qualifying the sports and recreation car park as a Coastal Park and therefore (in the financially-stricken mind of FBC) chargeable as if it were some kind of resort destination worthy of taxation.

Will the same logic be applied to the car park at Fareham Leisure Centre - surely, with a good pair of binoculars it should be possible to get a glimpse across the Solent to the Isle of Wight?

Saturday 1^st April dawned cold and wet - with unlikely prospects for LibDem Councillors gathered in the Library foyer for their monthly surgery.  Rarely could they have been so busy. Portchester people trooped in to sign the parking protest petition at a rate of 40 petitioners per hour.  Will Wicor become the only recreation ground in Hampshire that demands a fee for home-grown future football stars?

Portchester people have had enough.  Many are very upset that, with no local elections for Fareham Borough in May, they have no other way to express their displeasure.  But hopefully voters have long memories.

Vandals target beauty spot

Chrissie and Paul are working with police and council officers after deliberate damage to some trees in Wicor Copse.

Around four trees have had their bark stripped and part of the trunk gouged out to allow penetration of a toxic, oil based liquid, similar to creosote which has been sprayed about 1.5 metres up the trunk.

Three cherry trees already show bubbling on the bark where the liquid has begun to burn the wood. Two other cherries have had bark stripped away which causes the trees to ‘bleed’. Some of the newly planted whips have been ripped out, broken or had the tops cut. This is a concerted effort to kill trees behind the houses in Heritage Gardens and these trees will now die.

Police have visited a number of houses close to where the damage has happened. Your councillors are also delivering a street letter to local homes and  will push for the highest penalties if the culprits are found.

Please be careful if you are near these trees with youngsters or dogs. The substance can burn, long after it’s been applied and is highly toxic to dogs.

Read the December 2022 edition of Portchester's eFocus.