Cllr Stephen West

On Wednesday 1^st July, the future of the Boundary Hall site in Tadley will be determined by the Development Control Committee of Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council. This follows previous attempts by developers to build a housing estate and prior to that, a supermarket on this site.

Opposing this plan presents me with a real dilemma because the fate of Tadley Scouts, who have my full support, is linked to this planning application. If this plan goes ahead, the old buildings will be demolished. As the Tadley Scouts currently occupy these buildings, it has been agreed that they will re-locate to a new facility funded by Section 106 contributions from the developer. I acknowledge the need of Tadley Scouts for new accommodation as the existing buildings are almost dilapidated. I continue to support Tadley Scouts and recognise the value of their contribution to the community. If this development does not go ahead, it effectively means that for the foreseeable future, Tadley Scouts will not get their much needed new building. However, supporting an unsustainable development is too high a price to pay to secure the funding for the new scout building.

I will be speaking at this meeting against the planning application by Cala Homes.

You can click for details of the planning application BDB/67609 and here to see a copy of my open letter to the planning officers in basingstoke.

Councillor Marilyn Tucker was today re-elected to serve as the County Coucillor for Baughurst & Tadley. The result was very close and a re-count was called before the result was announced. Marilyn has worked hard for Tadley and has been key in securing lower speed limits and supporting youth schemes.

For the full result, click here for the Hampshire County Council election web page.

The sun was shining today for the Tadley Treacle Fair and I has happy to be there to meet many of our local volunteers who selflessly serve our community. I also spent some time manning the Tadley Town Council stand talking to Tadley residents about the Community Plan and encouraging as many as possible to come to our meetings and be involved in shaping the future of Tadley.

One such group of people are the Tadley Community Responders who are local medically trained volunteers who can provide immediate emergency life support in the vital minutes between dialling 999 and an ambulance arriving. The Community Responders are looking for more volunteers so if you have the time and want to learn some vital first aid skills, please click the link above and get in touch.

Cllr Stephen West with Community Responder Bryan Vowell at their display stand

Cllr Stephen West with Tadley Community Wardens drumming with the Basingstoke Drumrunners

Today, I attended the Family Fun Day at the Heath End Community Centre.  This event was organised by the Peace of Mind Trust to raise awareness of the work that they do for young people in Tadley.

As part of their work, the trust will be orgainsing activities for young people during the summer holidays.

The event included face painting, drumming with the Drumrunners and demonstrations of Emergency Life Support by Heartstart and Tadley Community Responders.

Everyone who attended had a great time.

I have already received a number of calls by residents worried about swine flu. The Borough Council is in touch with the NHS and the Department of Health and I am being regularly updated. At the time of posting this note, there are no suspected cases of the H1N1 virus (swine flu) in this area.

Meanwhile, you might want to look at this government web site www.direct.gov.uk/swineflu which has the latest information and advice. 

Reading Buses have launched new services for Tadley today. There will be a new regular hourly service direct to and from Central Reading.  According to Reading Buses, these will serve more of residential Tadley.  All buses will use the direct route along Reading Road in Burghfield Common.

Full information can be found by clicking here for the Reading Buses web site.

A special clinic run by Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council offering people advice on surviving the credit crunch has been hailed a success.  More than 150 people passed through the doors of the former Moben shop in The Malls to seek expert guidance on anything from housing and debt to job training and employment.

There is ongoing support from the Council during the recession.  Residents unable to attend the clinic can seek advice from the council’s specialist debt adviser, Mark Fisher, by calling the council’s contact centre on 01256 844844.

You can also look at the Recession and Recovery pages on the Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council website.

Tadley’s young people have a purpose built place to play their favourite sports, including football, netball and cricket. Work to install a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) on Tadley Common is now complete.  The £37,000 cost of the scheme was met through funding from The Veolia Environmental Trust, the Landfill Communities Fund, Hampshire Playing Fields Association, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and the Turbary Allotment Charity.

The MUGA has marked pitches and courts and will be usable for a number of different sports, including football, netball, basketball, cricket and tennis.

I was pleased to be able to support the funding bid to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council as part of my ongoing work to get better youth and recreating facilities for Tadley.  As a member of the Rectreation and Leisure Committe on Tadley Town Council, it gives me great pleasure to see this project completed.

Cllr Stephen West visits the new Multi Use Games Area