New Milton Advertiser 27th Nov 2020

6 · Friday 27th November 2020

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Old court to boost police station size

                

Stolen tools found in car

Woman treated in tea towels fire A WOMAN was treated for smoke inhalation after tea towels caught light in a Pen- nington home’s kitchen. Called to the Bays Road property around 12.45pm on Saturday 14th November, firefighters wearing breath- ing apparatus contained the blaze involving a cooker within half an hour. The Lymington crew provided emergency care to the 29-year-old casualty before leaving her with para- medics. A HAUL of stolen garden tools was discovered when police stopped a suspicious vehicle travelling through Ringwood. Officers pulled over and seized the vehicle in the town on the night of Satur- day 14th November as it had been linked to a business burglary. Inside they discov- ered 11 power tools which had been snatched from a storage container in Bourne- mouth that weekend.

Hampshire force buys site for £900k amid recruitment drive

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THE police station in Lynd- hurst is set to be expanded into the old court building ahead of Hampshire Constabulary gain- ing more officers, it has been revealed. The county’s police and crime commissioner (PCC), Michael Lane, will oversee a revamp of the Pikes Hill facility after pur- chasing the former magistrates’ court next door for £900,000. The court was owned by the Ministry of Justice and has lain empty since being closed by the government in 2010 as a cost-cutting measure. The purchase was made by the PCC as his office is respon- sible for overseeing and man- aging the police’s estate, and anticipates a growth in policing numbers. The government made a three-year commitment in 2019 to increase recruitment by 20,000, including 156 for Hamp- shire in the first 12 months. The PCC’s office has pledged a “re-provision” of the facility to take into account more staff. Lyndhurst Parish Council chair Cllr Chris Willsher sup- ported the plans, saying: “We certainly welcome anything that leads to increased police resourcing in the local commu- nity.” Confirming the purchase to

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Lyndhurst Magistrates’ Court is next door to the police station. Inset, commissioner Michael Lane

the A&T, a spokesperson for the PCC said: “The existing po- lice station in Lyndhurst is no longer fit for purpose. “The magistrates’ court forms part of the same build- ing as the police station and it was necessary to purchase the magistrates’ court in order to fully formulate a strategy for the re-provision of the police station. “The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) is working with the constabulary to plan the most effective and efficient use of the police estate, taking account of the officer up- lift. This work is ongoing.” The deal was concluded after the OPCC and the Ministry of

Justice had been discussing it for more than three years. The spokesperson added: “The OPCC paid £900,000 for the freehold interest in the magistrates’ court. All of the buildings were included. “The courts have been vacant for in excess of 10 years and the buildings were in a poor state of repair, and there were no fix- tures and fittings.” However, the old cells at Lyndhurst will not be used, she said, as custody in Hampshire is now provided from new police investigation centres in South- ampton, Portsmouth and Bas- ingstoke. She added: “Lyndhurst police station continues to be main-

tained in accordance with best practice but is an older build- ing that is not ideally suited to modern policing. “The building is too big and too cellular, and has a redun- dant custody facility which no longer meets national guidance. “The Commissioner’s estate strategy commits to providing the most effective and efficient police estate, and the devel- opment of Lyndhurst police station remains a constituent element of the commissioner’s estate change programme. “It will modernise facilities for current and future polic- ing requirements, while pro- viding best value to the public purse.”

Year’s ban for drug-driver

DRUG-DRIVING landed a 40-year-old Pennington man with a year-long road ban. Salih Sen (40), of Bays Road, pleaded guilty at Southampton Magistrates’ Court to having traces of cocaine in his blood. As well as the disqualifica- tion, he was fined £400 and ordered to pay £125 in costs.

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‘Half-hearted’ markings fail to keep things clear

DRIVERS were left bemused by “useless” road markings paint- ed by workers who appear to have carried out half a job. What should be a clear warn- ing to drivers to “Keep Clear” of a junction box along Bargates in Christchurch was reduced to a meaningless couple of letters after roadworks. One driver told the A&T she “could not believe my eyes” when she spotted the “half-heartedly” painted, in- complete road marking. “It stopped me in my tracks – I had to take a photo,” she said. “Most of the markings had been worn away prior to the re- cent roadworks, so to repaint just two letters appeared to be completely useless and a complete waste of time and money.” Commenting on the botched job, Cllr Mark Anderson, cab- inet member for environment, cleansing and waste, said the work had been carried out by digital infrastructure provider CityFibre. “It had been undertaking core build work in Christchurch, dig- ging up the road in order to lay new full-fibre across our conur- bation,” he explained. “As part of this contract, the company is required to rein- state the lining on the road, in- cluding any markings that were

The market was planned for Saxon Square

Police object to town Christmas market

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A PLANNED Christmas mar- ket in Christchurch has been thrown into doubt after draw- ing opposition from police. Market Square Group has ap- plied to BCP Council for licenc- es for its Saxon Square event which is due to start when lock- down ends next month, writes Josh Wright of the Local Democ- racy Reporting Service . But an objection has been lodged by Dorset Police which said there were “insufficient measures” to enforce coronavi- rus restrictions on potentially big crowds. The wider Christmas event in Christchurch has already been cancelled but Market Square Group is still hoping to run a market in Saxon Square. Earlier this month it submit- ted applications for two tempo- rary event notices for 3rd-18th December, excluding Monday 7th December. The organiser said alcohol would be restricted to two stalls offering traditional winter drinks and other alcohol to be taken away from the market. If approved, the applications would allow the event to run between 9am and 6pm each day with a maximum number of 499 people attending at any one time. However, police licensing ser- geant Gareth Gosling submit- ted a formal objection to the applications last week.

He said there were fears about the number of people who might attend and the level of control organisers would have over the crowds. “I am concerned this event will attract large numbers of people with insufficient meas- ures in place to ensure Covid-19 legislation will be promoted and enforced,” his letter said. “There is a significant con- cern the event will require po- lice intervention in the event of large groups requiring dispersal and that public safety will be undermined.” It also raises concerns the vi- rus could be spread among at- tendees should restrictions not be enforced. But he said the objection would be withdrawn if organ- isers were able to provide “re- assurance” about the controls they have in place. The applications were also considered at a multi-agency safety advisory group meeting held last Thursday. At the meeting, Sarah Rog- ers, a senior licensing officer for the council, raised concerns about the effect of the market starting as the lockdown ends and that it could be more pop- ular than expected with other nearby events cancelled. Due to the objection, a BCP Council sub-committee will meet today (Friday) to consider the applications.

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The partially completed road markings on the busy Bargates in Christchurch

already there, which they have done. “Unfortunately, this has meant that the new markings are whiter than the other mark- ings on the remaining road.

“We have a regular pro- gramme of relining and are cur- rently prioritising which areas need relining over the winter – with this area being one of them.”

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Police seize drugs after raid on home Police found class A and B drugs at the home (Photo: Hampshire police)

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