March 2014

New Innovation Centre at Daedalus

28 March 2014

Planning permission granted for new Innovation Centre in the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus

£5.3m plans to build a brand new business space in the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus, Fareham, have been approved by Fareham Borough Council.

The Innovation Centre project will create around 150 new jobs. There will be new office space and workshop facilities for new businesses. The focus will be on the engineering, aerospace, aviation and marine industries, with support to help them grow and succeed.

The development is part of large scale investment at the Enterprise Zone, which includes improvements to the runway and new hangar space. In Autumn, Fareham College will open a new Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Advanced Skills Training (CEMAST) on site. Fareham College and Fareham Borough Council have been working together to ensure potential links between developing local skills at CEMAST and local jobs at the Innovation Centre are maximised.

Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, Conservative Councillor Seán Woodward, said: “I’m delighted this project has been given the go ahead, it’s the latest bit of good news in the delivery of the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus. The Innovation Centre will see the construction of state of the art business facilities at Daedalus and the creation of highly skilled local jobs.

With top the range support on offer for new companies in engineering, aerospace, aviation and marine, the Innovation Centre is great news for Borough’s economy as a whole.”

Kevin Bourner, Head of Area at the HCA, said: “The Innovation Centre is the next critical stage in the development of the Solent Enterprise Zone. The news that work can now get underway on the centre is another clear sign of the good progress that is being made at Daedalus thanks to the efforts of all partners involved.”

Len Salter, Managing Director of Bouygues UK’s Construction Central South, team said: “We are delighted to be working with Fareham Borough Council on this Innovation Centre which will enhance and compliment the CEMAST project currently on the adjacent site for Fareham College. These facilities will encourage the learning, training and business skills development of the area significantly, for the benefit of the whole of the Solent LEP region and existing and new businesses alike.”

Work on the project is expected to start in April.

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Planning Application at Newlands

26 March 2014

Fareham Borough Council is holding two special Community Action Team (CAT) meetings to talk about the planning application for up to 1550 homes at Newlands, South of Longfield Avenue.The meetings will take place on the following dates:
Thursday 10 April from 7pm-8:30pm at Fareham College, Bishopsfield Road (Fareham South ward)
Friday 11 April from 7pm-8:30pm at Crofton Community Centre, Stubbington Lane (Crofton ward)

Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, Conservative Councillor Seán Woodward said: “The Hallam Land proposal includes up to 1,550 houses. At these meetings residents will be able to hear about the development proposals and the process by which Fareham Borough Council as local planning authority will be handling the planning application, as well as ask questions. We have already written to some 6,000 residents locally to advise them of the proposal and how they can comment. This would be a very significant development in the strategic gap which separates South Fareham from Stubbington and it is important that we get the views of as many local residents as possible.”

For more information, to view the application, or to make a comment online please see http://www.fareham.gov.uk/planning/newlands.aspx

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Free Meadow Workshop

25 March 2014

To commemorate the centenary of World War One, a number of wild flower meadows are being sown across Fareham.So that people can learn about how to plant meadow areas in their own gardens, a free workshop is being held at Holy Trinity Church open space, West Street, Fareham, on 10 April.The event will look at the modern approach to planting an urban meadow and how you can recreate this. A horticulturist and the Fareham in Bloom team will be on hand with free packets of Flanders poppy seeds given to all participants.
Event details:

Location: Holy Trinity Church open space, West Street, Fareham

Date: 10 April 2014

Time: 1.30pm start

Tickets: Free, just turn up at the site

Dress: Suitable for the weather with covered shoes

Executive Member for Leisure and Community, Conservative Councillor Connie Hockley, said: “This workshop, and meadow planting, is part of Fareham Borough Council’s ‘Remember’ project. In partnership with the Fareham in Bloom team, residents will see a number of events taking place across the Borough, to tie in with this year’s centenary of the First World War. I’d encourage anyone with an interest in meadow planting to attend this free event.”

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Changes to Council Tax Support

20 March 2014

From the 1 April 2014 there will be some changes to how Fareham Borough Council helps those people on a low income pay their Council Tax.Residents took part in a consultation in 2012 and helped the Council decide how best to provide Council Tax Support.Following more consultation in 2013, the Council has put together the final Council Tax Support Scheme. The final scheme will ensure that:
Every person of working age will pay at least the first 20%of their Council Tax bill. The most vulnerable will be protected.
Council Tax Support will be capped to a Band C for those living in larger properties. The most vulnerable will be protected.
People will be incentivised to work.
Everyone in the household, who can contribute, will contribute at least £3.30 per week.
Support won’t be given to those with people with a large amount of capital e.g. a second house or savings.
Extra financial support will be available to those suffering genuine hardship

The scheme will also mean that payments of Council Tax may be spread over 12 months, rather than 10 months.

Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, Conservative Cllr Seán Woodward said: “The residents of Fareham helped us decide how best to support those on a low income pay their Council Tax. The final scheme continues to protect the most vulnerable claimants, whilst also encouraging people into the workplace.”

For more information on Council Tax Support please contact 01329 824651.

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Improving access to Fareham and Gosport

19 March 2014

Improving access to Fareham and Gosport

Bids for investment funding and plans to improve access to Fareham and Gosport have been approved by Councillor Seán Woodward.

Measures to tackle traffic problems faced by residents, commuters and tourists when travelling to and from the Gosport Peninsula, include building a Bypass for Stubbington, improvements to the Southern section of Newgate Lane, further improvements to Peel Common Roundabout as well as enhancing the A27 Corridor.

The need to improve access to the Gosport and Fareham Peninsula is a key priority for Hampshire County Council and the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Congestion and journey time reliability is a real problem area and improving the transport network will undoubtedly encourage new investment and development into the area.

Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, Conservative Councillor Seán Woodward, said:”Alleviating the traffic congestion in this area has been one of my top priorities and I am pleased progress is coming along at a good pace. The Solent LEP has recognised that improving access to the Gosport and Fareham peninsula is key to economic growth, investment and development in the area and I look forward to them putting forward the case for funding.

“I’m very keen to hear what people have to say about our plans for the Stubbington Bypass, Newgate Lane South, Peel Common Roundabout and A27 improvements. Therefore a further consultation on preferred routes and improvements will be undertaken in June, when residents will be able to express their support or raise any issues, concerns or suggest improvements to the various schemes and proposals.”

Works have recently started at the A27 Western Way, Western Road and Newgate Lane North. Works are also planned for an interim scheme at Peel Common roundabout and for improvements to the A27 Station roundabout and Gudge Heath Lane for delivery in 2015/16. Our draft programme suggests that work on the A27 between Titchfield gyratory and Segensworth roundabout (including improvements to St Margaret’s roundabout) could be completed in 2016/17, with the Stubbington bypass, improvements to Titchfield Road, Gosport Road, Newgate Lane southern section and the final phase of works to Peel Common roundabout to be completed in 2017/18, if the funding bids are successful.

Full Report on Improving access to Fareham and Gosport

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Have your say on Transport Services

19 March 2014

Have your say on how the County Council supports bus and community transport services

The County Council is asking Hampshire residents what their priorities are for public subsidies for public transport.

In a review of bus and community transport services that receive financial support from the County Council, a consultation is underway to collect the views and preferences of both passengers and the wider community.

Hampshire County Council needs to reduce spending by between £1.25million and £1.5million from public and community transport spending as part of the 12% overall savings the Council needs to make, with Government grant being cut by 43% over four years.

Hampshire County Council spends £4.7million on supporting those local bus service and ferries across Hampshire that are not commercially viable for private operators to run, with a further £1million spent on supporting community transport services, and £13.4million on the national concessionary fares scheme.

Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at Hampshire County Council, said: “The County Council has significant budget reductions to make, and this requires us to look at all areas of spending, including the limited resources we have to support public and community transport services.

“We need to look very carefully at where our funding goes, and ensure that this properly reflects community priorities and represents the best value for money, which is why we are once again consulting extensively on options before we make any final decisions.

“Areas of public transport the Council currently supports include subsidising local bus services which do not attract enough passengers to cover the cost of providing the service, and are therefore not commercially viable for the bus companies to run, enhancements to the national concessionary fare scheme for older and disabled residents, and publishing bus timetable information.

“The concessionary fares scheme, which costs around £13million, accounts for a fifth of our entire revenue budget for roads and transport. The council tax payer in Hampshire is also currently supporting subsidies for non viable bus services, at around £4.7million a year. These two schemes cost around £50,000 every day, and clearly we must look at this as part of our budget reduction process.

“The free bus pass scheme currently includes a local enhancement so that older people in Hampshire can use their passes from 9am, rather than 9:30am, which is the national standard. It is right that we should consider whether to retain this extra feature, which costs around £300,000 per annum as part of this overall review.

“Against a backdrop of Government grant cuts of 43% over four years, it is clear we need to look closely at where we can make savings, and with £1 in every £5 we spend going into this area, we must of course include a review of this expenditure as part of our cost reduction process.

“Therefore, we are asking Hampshire’s residents about public transport support funded by the County Council, including support for community transport such as Dial a Ride, Call and Go and Taxishare, all of which may give scope for innovative and flexible alternatives to buses, to help us decide how we can shape services to reflect community priorities while living within our means. The consultation is open until 31 May and we very much want to hear from as many people as possible to inform this review.”

A number of options are being considered to achieve these savings, which include:

Reducing or ceasing support for Sunday services

Reducing or ceasing support for evening services after 7pm

Ceasing the 9am early start for the older persons bus pass

Reducing the frequency and/or days of service

Replacing bus services with taxishares or community transport services

Reducing the amount of printed timetables and other public transport information with a greater use of electronic information

Details of the consultation are available at:

http://www3.hants.gov.uk/transportconsultation2014

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Solent Transport News

18 March 2014

Solent Transport – delivering strategic transport projects

Solent Transport is the new name for the Transport for South Hampshire and Isle of Wight partnership.

The re-branding of the local authority partnership will make the area of operations clearer for residents, businesses and transport operators and better reflect the strategic transport work that will continue to take place in the Solent area.

To date the Partnership has helped secure funding to deliver projects such as the Bus Rapid Transport scheme in Fareham, The Local Sustainable Transport Fund and Better Bus Area Fund.

Solent Transport will continue to work closely with the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, Highways Agency, Network Rail, South Hampshire Bus Operators Association and other parties, to plan and deliver future improvements such as the links between Portsmouth and Southampton.

Chair of Solent Transport, Councillor Seán Woodward, said: “Changing the name of the partnership to Solent Transport provides a much simpler and clearer identity to promote the fantastic work of the partnership.”

The partnership includes the four statutory highway and transport authorities of Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council and Isle of Wight Council

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Easter Egg Hunt

18 March 2014

Enter The Magical Wood for this year’s Easter Egg Hunt through the beautiful award winning woodlands of Holly Hill, taking place on Saturday 12 April 2014.

‘The Magical Wood’ is a world of adventure with this year’s theme based on the all-time greats of children’s books from the spells of Harry Potter, to the world of Willy Wonka.

Executive Member for Leisure and Community, Conservative Councillor Connie Hockley said: “This event is always very popular and a great day out for all of the family. The day has lots of fun activities and it will be full of adventure and discovery.”

The event starts at 12.00 noon with phased entry times until last entry at 4.00pm. Tickets cost £5.50 per child and adults go free with children.

The event attracts hundreds of people and is a family favourite. Please be aware that it sells out very fast, so book well in advance to avoid disappointment. Tickets can be booked through Fareham Tourist Information Centre by calling 01329 221342 9.30am-5.00pm Tuesday-Friday and 10.00am-4.00pm Saturday.

The meeting point is at the Holly Hill Woodland Park main car park entrance, off Barnes Lane, Sarisbury. We recommend wearing waterproof shoes, and fancy dress is optional. Refreshments will be available from the Friends of Holly Hill.

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Project launched at HMS Collingwood

14 March 2014

‘Remember’ Project launched at HMS Collingwood

Members of the armed forces have been presented with special poppy seed cards at HMS Collingwood. They were given the cards by Cllr Connie Hockley at the signing of the Community Covenant.

The cards have been created as part of Fareham Borough Council’s ‘Remember’ project. The project, in partnership with the Fareham in Bloom team, will see a number of events taking place across the Borough, to tie in with this year’s centenary of the First World War. These events include the planting of wildflower meadows, works-shops and poppy planting.

Conservative Cllr Connie Hockley, Executive Member for Leisure and Community, said: “It was an honour to present personnel with these poppy seed cards, which can be planted as an individual act of remembrance. Our Fareham in Bloom team have organised a number of special events this year in the lead up the centenary of the First World War, ensuring that this important date is marked in a fitting way.”

Further poppy seed cards will be made available to residents at locations across the Borough, such as garden centres, community centres the Civic Offices and at parks events.

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Off license alcohol license revoked

14 March 2014

Off license no longer allowed to sell alcohol

An off licence in Portchester has had its licence revoked by Fareham Borough Council after it was found to be serving alcohol to underage children on a number of occasions.

First Stop off licence in West Street, Portchester failed two juvenile test purchase operations in November and December 2013. This was in addition to further information that the shop was seen to sell alcohol to a person who was clearly under 18.

Hampshire Police requested for the premises licence to be revoked, which was supported by Hampshire County Council Trading Standards department. After considerable deliberation at the review hearing on Wednesday 12 March, Fareham Borough Council’s Licensing Panel decided that revoking the licence was the only option.

Chairman of the Licensing Panel, Conservative Cllr Mrs Pamela Bryant said: “The decision to revoke this license and take away someone’s livelihood is never an easy decision, and extremely rare, but we have a duty to ensure that children do not have easy access to alcohol. We will continue to test premises in the borough in order to protect children from underage drinking. I would like to thank the Police, Trading Standards and Fareham’s Community Safety Partnership for all of their hard work.”

Licensing Officer PC Jason Pearce said: “‘This result should send out a strong message to all licensed premises about the consequences of selling alcohol to children. A decision to revoke a premises licensing is never taken lightly but is sometimes the necessary course of action. The Police, Fareham Council and Trading Standards will continue to test premises to ensure they are selling alcohol responsibly’.

The revocation of the licence will come into effect after 21 days, which will allow the premises time to appeal the decision. If no appeal is made, the revocation will come into effect from Wednesday 2 April.

If anyone knows of any licenced premises selling alcohol to those under the age of 18, please contact the licensing team on 101.

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Development Sites & Policies Plan

5 March 2014

Comment on the Development Sites & Policies Plan

Fareham Borough Council is inviting people and interested parties to comment on the Development Sites & Policies Plan until 5pm on 11 April 2014.

These comments are known as representations and will need to focus on whether the Plan meets ‘soundness’ criteria, such as, whether it meets national planning guidelines. Representations can also focus on whether the plan was prepared in line with legal requirements.

Fareham Borough Council’s Executive Member for Planning and Development, Conservative Councillor Keith Evans, said: “The Development Sites and Policies Plan sets out our approach to managing and delivering development identified in the Core Strategy for the Borough (excluding Welborne) to 2026.

Your representations will be forwarded on to the Planning Inspectorate who will independently examine the Plan later this year, so your views really do count.”

Following the representation period the Plan will be submitted to the Secretary of State, and an independent inspector will be appointed to hold a public examination into the ‘soundness’ of the plan. This is expected to be held in the second half of 2014.

You can complete the representation form in the following ways:

• Online: View the Plan online and complete our online representation forms.

• Email: to planningpolicy@fareham.gov.uk the representation form (a PDF and MS Word version of the form can be found on the Council’s

website at www.fareham.gov.uk/consultations ).

• By post: to Planning and Environment, Fareham Borough Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way, Fareham, Hampshire, PO16 7AZ.

A paper copy of the Plan, and paper copies of the representation forms will be made available to view at the Civic Offices and all of the libraries in the Borough during the consultation period.

If you have any questions about the Development Sites & Policies Plan, or on making a representation, please contact planningpolicy@fareham.gov.uk or by phone: 01329 236100

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