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.
Councillors Chrissie Bainbridge and Paul Nother were elected to represent Portchester East in May 2022, following the retirement of Roger Price and Gerry Kelly as Fareham councillors. Roger Price continues as County Councillor for Portchester. Ashley Brown was pipped by just 21 votes in Portchester West.
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.
Portchester parking pinched (again) as Wicor charges proposed.
We could have taken grave offence when, last month, local Fareham Conservatives tried to pin the blame for parking charges at Wicor Recreation Ground on LibDems - but (bless) we realise they cannot help themselves. What must have really upset them was that, in opposing the proposal, we encouraged discontent - well over 1500 Portchester residents signed the petition. Intolerance of public discontent has been bolstered by the Public Order Bill - as if extreme right thinking was now the only thinking allowed.
Apparently, the Executive Decision is beyond further debate. The last act in the process centres around their expected revenue. When preparing to grab the Castle parking, they considered sharing revenue with English Heritage - but not with the Church or the disadvantaged Sailing Club. A quick look at their reason for charging at Wicor explains a lot: ‘to provide additional income for the Council to continue to provide a good level of enforcement activity’ - surely a perpetual hamster wheel of justification. More parking pressure inevitably needs more costly ‘enforcement activity’ - especially for local residents or for nearby maritime businesses.
Now the ‘consultation’ on proposed charges at Wicor is supposed to reflect their new-found concern for the plight of Portchester AFC. Proposed charges are lower on weekends but just as onerous for administrators and volunteers during the week.
| 1 hr | 2 hr | 3hr | 4hr | 5hr | 6hr | 7 hr | 8 hr |
Mon-Fri | £1.10 | £2.20 | £3.30 | £4.40 | £5.50 | £6.60 | £7.70 | £8.80 |
Sat-Sun | £1.10 |
|
| £2.20 |
|
|
| £4.40 |
Portchester LibDem Councillor, Chrissie Bainbridge notes: “The reasons stated for charging ring hollow. FBC depends on the County Council for enforcement action against irresponsible parking on our residential roads, but now FBC wants more money for enforcement when they will only be enforcing payment at a car park that is currently free.”
Parking spaces at Wicor Recreation Ground were created for the health and convenience of residents - recreation for walkers, footballers, skateboarders. The car park was not created for the imposition of additional levies on those who can least afford them - primarily families with children.
The full details of legal orders, amendments, schedules, and parking maps of the Tory terrain that is Fareham Borough Council are available via their website but objections must be sent to the Head of Environmental Health by 9th June, before close of play.
If this next step is agreed, the charges will be enforced at the start of school summer holidays.
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 1st 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.
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.
Portchester-based GEO M&E Ltd of Hamilton Road are helping the local economy as well as the planet.
From a standing start as gas heating engineers they are now immersed in the world of renewables - heat pumps, solar panels and various hybrid systems now make up much of their business.
Read more about them in Climate Emergency.
Details of the Appearance, Landscaping, Layout And Scale of the 225 new homes proposed on land south of Romsey Avenue have now been published.
Hampshire County Council have proposed creation of a two-metre wide raised table across Nelson Avneue, seven metres in from the junction with the A27.
Plans are available to view at Portchester Library. The consultation closes 24th February.
Read the December 2022 edition of Portchester's eFocus.