New Milton Advertiser 13th Nov 2020

Friday 13th November 2020 · 5 News

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Tax hike threat to owners of empty homes in Forest

Sammy rides to award for biking museum

FORMER motorcycle cham- pion Sammy Miller has been recognised for his museum with a personal achievement acco- lade from the Historic Motoring Awards. The prizes, organised by Oc- tane magazine, celebrate the best in the industry and are now in their 10th year. As reported in the A&T, last year Sammy was granted plan- ning permission to develop his museum and add a two-storey addition. The extension netted him the personal achievement award, with judges noting: “A firm fa- vourite with our panel, Sammy Miller’s life boasts a trail of motor- bike championships and estab- lishing a wonderful eponymous museum in the New Forest.” Sammy, who was British champion 11 times, has run his museum in New Milton since the 1990s. It contains artefacts from his 55-year career which saw him rack up more than

properties back to use and we will not shy away from taking formal action where it is appro- priate.” She unveiled NFDC’s new strategy for the local private housing sector, for which a survey within the past year revealed 94.5% (72,269) dwell- ings were occupied, with the remainder vacant – the equiva- lent of 4,195 homes. Of those, 2,592 had been emp- ty for less than six months but 685 were longer and “typically regarded as problematic in oc- cupancy terms”. The other 918 were either holiday lets or sec- ond homes. Tackling empty homes is one of five key priorities identified within the strategy, which add- ed NFDC will “proactively work to identify” long-term empty properties, “target” owners and provide support, advice and information to homeowners to bring others back into use. The other four priorities in- clude delivering safe homes, adapted living, increasing part- nerships and promoting energy efficiency. NFDC said forming private sector housing strategy helped it prevent homelessness and make the best use of the coun- cil’s housing stock.

Council vows to bring vacant properties in district back into use

1,400 wins, as well as a work- shop, historical records and large collection of rare motor- bikes. Sammy, whowas also shortlist- ed for the museum/collection of the year, said he was “surprised and really delighted” to win. He added: “It will certainly put New Milton, the New For- est and the museum on the world map and I am sure will encourage many visitors to the New Forest. These are troubled times so this is good news for our area.” Sammy with his award, which will be displayed in New Milton

BY JON WALLER

SOME empty homes in the New Forest face having their council tax tripled amid vows by civic chiefs to take action if they are not brought back into use. Currently the district coun- cil imposes a 150% council tax charge on properties empty for five years or more – of which there are currently 32. But it plans to increase the five-year charge to 200% and impose a 300% charge on the 11 homes that have been empty for a decade. Despite a report revealing those changes could net the authority just under £40,000 a year, however, members of NF- DC’s ruling cabinet opted to delay the changes until at least 2022. They said it was because of the effect of the coronavi- rus pandemic on the housing market and building works to some empty homes. NFDC housing boss Cllr Jill Cleary told the meeting HAMPSHIRE Dorset police have both seen a drop in annual recorded crime, according to the latest official figures. Numbers released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the 12 months to June showed total crime in Hampshire fell by 2% – less than the national average of 5% which was achieved in Dorset. The period includes the months from March to June when the country was under the national coronavirus lock- down. Stalking and harassment of- fences accounted for the big- gest surges in both Hampshire and Dorset – up 32% and 13% respectively. Both counties had the largest reported crime drop in non-res- idential burglaries, which were down by 15% in Hampshire and 21% in Dorset. In Hampshire, drug offences accounted for the second larg- est increase of 23%, with public order offences up by 11% and vi- olence against a person seeing a 5% rise. and

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Cllr Jill Cleary (inset) said the district council will be tackling long-term empty properties (Photo: stock image)

she to boost local housing supply and would do what she could to get empty homes oc- was desperate

cupied. “We will tackle long-term empty properties in our district to ensure housing does not sit

there empty for years on end,” she said. “In this regard we will work with owners to bring empty

Counties see a drop in crime over the past year

Man comes forward after CCTV rape plea

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A MAN has been identified from CCTV pictures released by police investigating the report- ed rape of a woman with learn- ing disabilities. Detectives published the images more than a year af- ter the alleged incident in Christchurch. The victim said she was at- tacked after meeting a man in Boscombe around 2pm on Thursday 10th October 2019

and travelling by bus with him to his address in the Somerford area. The woman said she was raped there, and report- ed the offence two days later on Saturday 12th October 2019. After the appeal was made on Monday, a man was identified and was helping officers with their investigation, Dorset Po- lice said.

Significant reductions for the county included criminal dam- age and arson, along with theft and shoplifting, down by 11%; and sex offences, burglary and vehicle offences each down by 9%. Responding to the figures, Hampshire Assistant Chief Constable Craig Dibden insist- ed officers did not “rest on our laurels” and took all reported crimes seriously. He attributed the surge in stalking and harassment of- fences to an amendment made to Home Office crime recording regulations in April this year but said the force was “commit- ted to tackling stalking”. Referring to the rise in drug offences, he highlighted the re- cent work of Operation Monu- ment in tackling county lines drug dealing. Since January, this had re- sulted in 57 arrests, 31 people charged with drugs supply offences, and five firearms seized. He added: “We are continuing to focus on those crimes that cause the most harm to people

in our communities, and most importantly, we are listening to our victims and investigating thoroughly the crimes they dis- close to us.” Dorset Police said the ONS figures showed the county has the 10th lowest crime rate in England and Wales. Early this year the force re- ceived a ‘Good’ grading from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Res- cue Services (HMICFRS) for accurate crime recording. Robbery accounted for the second largest rise in Dorset – up by 9% from the previous year. Theft fell by 14%, burgla- ry 15% and residential burglary 11%. Shoplifting was another sig- nificant decrease for Dorset, down 20% from the previous year. Drug offences dropped 15% and there was an 8% fall in sex offences. Deputy Chief Constable Scott Chilton said: “The ex- cellent work done by all our officers and staff to keep our communities safe is reflected in this reduction.”

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