Some shops and offices were closed this morning as staff failed to beat the snowy roads.  The local HSBC bank is closed today but the Cafe Retreat in Mulfords Hill was serving grateful travellers and workers with hot drinks and snacks as usual.

Sadly, this latest snow fall has hit bin collections which have had to be suspended again meaning that Tadley will not get a collection today.  The advice from the Borough Council remains that you should leave your bins out where safe to do so and the refuse operatives will get to you as soon as possible.

For a list of sources of information and help, please check my earlier blog entry.

Residents in Tadley help clear the way as drivers find it difficult to climb the slippery hill
Click here for more pictures from today

As most of the schools are closed, the once busy roads have become a play area with giant snowballs appearing and impromptu snowball fights breaking out.

Please use the links in my previous blog entry to keep up-to-date.  Thank you for your calls and emails.  All of the requests for help, advice, grit, and road clearing are being passed to the appropriate department.

The advice from Hampshire County Council is still to stay in and only travel if it is absolutely essential.

Keep warm.  Stay Safe. 

 Please click to see more pictures of Tadley taken today 

Today, I have been briefed by officers from Basingstoke and Deane and have been assured that your Borough and County Council along with the Highways Agency and emergency services are doing their best to keep things moving.  At the time of writing this, their advice is not to venture out unless it is essential.  At this time, the emergency services are stretched to capacity; therefore can I remind you only to call 999/112 in a case of a real and immediate threat to life or property.

Please use the links below for information about travel, schools and safety.

Below are some helpful links for further updates:

Highways agency info on major roads http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffic/traffic.aspx

Hampshire County Council http://www3.hants.gov.uk/emergencyplanning/emergencyplanningwhatyoucando/whatyoucando_snow.htm

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council www.basingstoke.gov.uk 

BBC roads info http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/travel/travel_roads_feature.shtml

South West Trains http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/live-service-information.aspx

Buses http://www.stagecoachbus.com/serviceupdatedetails.aspx?Id=293

Keep warm, keep well information http://keepwarmkeepwell.direct.gov.uk/index.html

Information for the elderly from age concern http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/winer-wrapped-up.asp 

Help the Aged http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/en-gb/AdviceSupport/FinancialAdvice/StayWarmInWinter/

The service accepts passes and tokens.  This is a fully commercial service and will survive only if it is used.  So use it or lose it.

Please click here for the Route 56 timetable.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Thanks for all of your support, comments and feedback. 

My New Year resolution is to continue to fight over- development and to continue to work for a cleaner, greener and safer Tadley and to campaign for the facilities and amenities that we need and deserve.

Please read the publication below which also contains details of when to put out your bins over the holiday period.

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Refuse collections have been cancelled until after Christmas as it is not safe to get lorries out, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has announced.

The council’s refuse collection contractor Veolia was keen to start to catch up today (Thursday 24 December) after some collections had to be cancelled on Monday and all collections had to be cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday, owing to the snow.

But the icy roads are too treacherous to be able to get the lorries out to all households. Therefore it is not possible to catch up on the collections missed this week. As the refuse collections were already cancelled over Christmas, the next collections are scheduled for Monday 28 December, as advertised, dependant on weather conditions.

Chief Executive Tony Curtis said: “We apologise to residents who, owing to the adverse weather conditions, will be left with extra refuse over Christmas. I hope they will understand that we do not want to put pedestrians, road users and the refuse collection crews at risk by sending them out with icy conditions continuing on many minor roads in the borough. To avoid any confusion, we are therefore sticking to the published collection dates for Christmas and the New Year rather than attempting to catch up on this week’s missed collections. We are appealing to residents not to leave their bins out until the published Christmas period collection date and to take care not to block footpaths or access points.”

Over the Christmas and New Year period bin collections are scheduled as follows:

If your bin (grey or green) would
have been emptied on: put it out instead on:

Friday 25 December Monday 28 December
Monday 28 December Tuesday 29 December
Tuesday 29 December Wednesday 30 December
Wednesday 30 December Thursday 31 December
Thursday 31 December Saturday 2 January
Friday 1 January Monday 4 January
Monday 4 January Tuesday 5 January
Tuesday 5 January Wednesday 6 January
Wednesday 6 January Thursday 7 January
Thursday 7 January Friday 8 January
Friday 8 January Saturday 9 January

Normal collections will resume on Monday 11 January.

At 7.15pm the lights will be switched on by our special guest Jamie Rickers, who is Buttons in Cinderella at The Anvil and who is on CITV's Toonattik on Sat and Sun mornings. 

Please come along and I hope to see you there.

For the past 18 months, I have been receiving complaints from residents in the immediate vicinity of the Esso Garage on the A340 about anti-social behaviour caused by youths congregating around that area.  The problems include, noise, litter, criminal damage and aggressive behaviour.

I have visited a number of residents and have been appalled by the stories that I have been told and how residents don't feel safe in their own homes.  One resident in Swains Close who wished to remain anonymous told me that their cars have been damaged 5 times and that they regularly suffer the noise and disturbance of the alcohol fuelled behaviour of a minority of feral youths who's parents don't seem to know or care where they are and what they are doing.

Having spent hours in meetings with residents, police, council and other agencies, I think that the time for talk is over and that it is now time for action.

That's why I am supporting a proposal to introduce a Dispersal Order for the Esso Garage and the immediate vicinity.  A Dispersal Order will -

I understand that most teenagers are not delinquent and I also appreciate that there are insufficient facilities and opportunities in Tadley for young people.  This is why developing such facilities and generating the funding for them has always been my top priority.  However, it is not acceptable just because there is "nothing to do" to make the lives of local residents a misery.  That is why I am so determined to reclaim the streets around this hot spot.

I don't believe that a Dispersal Order in itself will will solve the problem.  However a Dispersal Order will show the mindless minority that we as a community will no longer stand for this and that the police and other agencies can and will act to stop it.  If we get this Dispersal Order, it will also show residents that the police, the Council and other agencies are taking this matter seriously and focus attention on the issue in order to create a permanent solution.

Many of the residents in and around this area have given me their support in dealing with this.  You too can have your say by posting a comment in my blog.

Please click to see the Basingstoke Observer report on this issue.

Cllr Stephen West getting active on the new fitness trail.

The fitness trail is located in the second field on Tadley Common. There are 13 fitness stations made of laminated timber and each one has a sign on it explaining how to do the exercise.

Tadley Town Council obtained full grant funding from the Loddon & Eversley LEADER programme, which is funded by the EU and DEFRA. This programme is aimed at providing economic and community development in rural areas. Therefore, the cost to us Council Tax payers is nothing.

I will definitely be using this as it's more intersting than the gym.  If you need a training partner, please contact me.