New Milton Advertiser 15th Jan 2021

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Friday 15th January 2021

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Good Dog Turning your pet into a perfect pupil Page 21

Food&Drink Bakery rises in lockdown from villager’s hobby Page 19

Sport Bransgore’s ex-darts world champ speaks out over BDO collapse Page 17

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Green light for newAldi supermarket

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Index Planning Business 15 Christian Comment 16 Letters 16 From Our Files 18 Puzzle Corner 18 Food & Drink 19 Readers’ Photos 20 Good Dog 21 Help Yourself 21 Classifieds 25-27 Motoring 28 Family Announcements back page NMA Price Rise 03 9 771353 222036 01 ‘Do you know people think you’re dead?’ – Ron’s obituary shock Page 3 Lymington hospital to open another Covid ward as infections rise Page 4 Man jailed for 18 years over gun-threat rape during massage Page 11 Dog put down after suspected case of Alabama rot in Forest Page 13 14

Continued on page 2 A NEW Forest GP has attacked Sir Desmond Swayne MP for his criticism of the lockdown policy, calling his comments “demoral- ising” for NHS staff. Dr Sally Johnston said she was “very sorry” to hear Sir Desmond call the restriction “malicious” in the House of Commons last week. “We do not want our local health care services and hos- pitals to be overwhelmed with Covid patients and the inevita- ble knock-on effects, not least all the distress and trauma this would cause, both to the pop- mer Co-op store and neigh- bouring HSBC outlet. However, the number of parking spaces to the rear was too few to sus- tain its business model. The second was building on the car park itself. However, Aldi said that would be “un- safe” as some customers would be forced to drive through a ser- vice bay to access some of the spaces on either side. Mr Templeton insisted the store at Caird Avenue could help deliver “significant eco - nomic benefits” to New Milton, adding: “Put simply the Co-op site is not suitable for an Aldi food store.” There was disagreement from Greg Davies, the director of Bradbeers which owns the ex-Co-op site, the car park to its rear and 12 nearby Station Road units. He claimed Aldi failed the sequential test because it had “rigidly stuck to its business model”, and he pointed to other Aldi town centre stores, such as in Bournemouth. The planning committee not- ed a report had assessed the

“It seems to me New Milton want this in their town and I think it would be a shame to refuse,” Cllr Arthur Davies said. Cllr Barry Dunning – who successfully proposed back- ing Aldi’s scheme – questioned whether Aldi would “walk away” from the town if the plan was turned down. It was ap- proved by 14 votes to zero. The potential obstacle for Aldi was that the Caird Avenue site was allocated for employ- ment use and not retail in NF- DC’s Local Plan – the keystone document for development in the district up to 2036. It meant the application had to satisfy a “sequential test” to show Caird Avenue was the most suitable spot for the area’s needs. NFDC’s planning committee had refused a similar plan by Aldi in May last year because of insufficient screening and argu - ments that an alternative site in the centre of New Milton – the former Co-op store – was pref- erable. The latest plan met with the approval of NFDC’s officers in terms of screening, but they still preferred Aldi to relocate to the town centre site. At the meeting Aldi’s plan- ning agent, Dan Templeton, said the discount German store had considered two options in the town centre but they re- mained unsuitable. One was at the existing for-

Councillors reject officers’ advice to refuse second effort

By Jon waller

Bid to axe town bridge link Pennington Junior School pupil George Wake accepts equipment serviced by Nigel Woodland, of Lymington Computer Repairs - full story, page 6

DISCOUNT retailer Aldi se- cured the go-ahead for a new store in New Milton amid “over- whelming support” after dis- trict councillors unanimously rejected advice from planning officers to refuse it for a second time. Members of New Forest Dis- trict Council’s planning com- mittee approved the plan for an outlet on Solent Industri- al Estate in Caird Avenue on Wednesday – despite a report from officers saying a town cen - tre location would be better suited. A trio of New Milton town councillors – mayor Alvin Reid, Steve Davies and Geoff Blun- den – urged permission. They pointed out the 3,000-member New Milton Residents’ Associa- tion was supportive and 51 let- ters from locals had advocated in favour. Cllr Davies stressed there was “overwhelming support” among New Milton residents, and there were claims the new store would create up to 40 lo- cal jobs and bring in £500,000 per year to the local economy.

The crossing was agreed as a condition of gaining permission for the major development in 2012. Plans for it have been ap- proved by NFDC but there has been no progress. Lymington mayor Cllr Anne Corbridge said the town coun- cil had been “continually dis- appointed” with Redrow’s con- duct. She added: “We would very much want to see any varia- tion in the planning application that allows the condition to be dropped refused by NFDC, and would like to see Redrow hon- ouring their commitment.” Echoing their criticism, Cllr Jacqui England said the bridge was of “paramount” impor- tance. Ian Sneddon, Redrow South- ern Counties managing director,

tion as a responsible developer will be tarnished. “I am sure our local planning committees will take this into consideration should any oth- er projects be proposed by this company. “By not building the bridge they are appearing to be not fulfilling their obligations to Lymington. The residents of Lymington Shores deserve to be treated in a fair manner and part of Redrow’s selling pack- age was the promise of a bridge to the town being built in a timely manner.” our patients as swiftly as possi- ble, in the hope of avoiding local health care meltdown.” Dr Johnston is clinical direc- tor of the New Forest Primary Care Network – a collaborative group of four local GP practic- es. As reported in the A&T, Sir Desmond was one of a small band of MPs who voted against the latest lockdown becoming law, and confronted the Prime Minister in parliament, brand- ing the regulations as “pervad- ed by pettifogging malice”. Continued on page 2

LYMINGTON councillors have warned developer Redrow Homes its reputation will be damaged if it ploughs ahead with a bid to break a promise to build a £1m railway footbridge. The housebuilder has ap- plied to New Forest District Council to remove a condition to construct a pedestrian link between its 168-home devel- opment on the former Webb’s chicken factory site and the train station car park. Lymington councillor Barry Dunning said: “If the bridge is not built then Redrow’s reputa- ulation and to hard-working staff,” she added. “He may wish to consider that one of the reasons we are not imminently in crisis locally is, at least in part, due to excep- tionally hard work by our NHS Health and Care professionals, some of whom have lost their lives to the Covid 19 Pandemic. “He should also consider quite how demoralising this sort of statement coming from our elected representative is, and the impact this could have on us keeping going through this unprecedented crisis, not least in continuing to vaccinate

GP slams anti-lockdown MP

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Good Dog Turning your pet into a perfect pupil Page 21

Food&Drink Bakery rises in lockdown from villager’s hobby Page 19

Sport Bransgore’s ex-darts world champ speaks out over BDO collapse Page 17

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Green light for newAldi supermarket

School pleads for laptops

INSIDE

Index Planning Business 15 Christian Comment 16 Letters 16 From Our Files 18 Puzzle Corner 18 Food & Drink 19 Readers’ Photos 20 Good Dog 21 Help Yourself 21 Classifieds 25-27 Motoring 28 Family Announcements back page LT Price Rise 03 9 771353 223033 01 ‘Do you know people think you’re dead?’ – Ron’s obituary shock Page 3 Lymington hospital to open another Covid ward as infections rise Page 4 Man jailed for 18 years over gun-threat rape during massage Page 11 Dog put down after suspected case of Alabama rot in Forest Page 13 14

Councillors reject officers’ advice to refuse second effort

By Jon waller

Bid to axe town bridge link Pennington Junior School pupil George Wake accepts equipment serviced by Nigel Woodland, of Lymington Computer Repairs - full story, page 6

GP slams anti-lockdown MP

9 771353 223033

Continued on page 2

PICTURES WANTED

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more data, adding: “It is obvi- ous that the management com- pany will need to increase num- bers to increase profits and we simply cannot see where those additional users will come from. “The Lib Dems cannot sup- port the idea of public assets, which we own and raised the money for, being used for com- mercial profit rather than the public good.” Cllr Mark Steele, NFDC’s Conservative cabinet member for leisure, defended the plans and said he had listened and re- sponded to all questions raised by the Lib Dems. He said: “Our vision for the project has always been to cre- ate active communities by pro- viding affordable, accessible leisure facilities, dedicated to improving physical and mental health and wellbeing and es- tablishing a sustainable healthy lifestyle legacy for future gener- ations. “I remain confident that our procurement process will help us secure a viable long-term lei- sure service for the district.” He added the next stage of the process is for the recom- mendations to be discussed at the next meeting of the com- munity and leisure panel, be- fore it goes before the council for a decision in February. An NFDC spokesperson said it had “always made it very clear” it expected compliance with the “legal obligation” to construct the footbridge. NFDC added discussions had demon- strated the footbridge was “ca- pable of being delivered”. She added: “On receipt of this latest planning application, the council sought Redrow’s confirmation that they will en - ter into a new legal obligation to build the footbridge but no reply has been received. This is disappointing. “There has never been any compelling case put forward by Redrow why the footbridge should not be built nor why the planning situation requiring its delivery has changed.” Redrow’s scheme included a restaurant, art gallery and commercial space, but none of those have yet been built. An NFDC planning re- port said the success of those features was “highly depend- ent on the provision of the bridge”.

TWO councillors have resigned from a working group tasked with overseeing a private com- pany taking over the manage- ment of New Forest District Council’s leisure centres. Cllr Caroline Rackham and Cllr Mark Clark, who are both opposition Liberal Democrats, said they no longer wish to be involved in the project to out- source running the five leisure centres, claiming the Conserva- tive-run council was not listen- ing to the public. NFDC has invited private firms to bid for the contract to run the centres at Lymington, New Milton, Ringwood, Apple- more and Totton for at least 10 years. Since it first announced its intention to bring in private management, the issue has pro- voked objections from opposi- tion councillors, protests and a petition attracting thousands of signatures. Cllr Rackham told the A&T: “Quite simply my colleague and I have had enough of this Con- By CAROLYN GRIFFITH and disagree with direction of project Asked to respond to Dr John- ston’s criticism, Sir Desmond pointed to his blog, in which he claimed mass testing and lockdown have failed since both measures “didn’t impact” on Covid deaths. He wrote: “From the outset a number of us have argued that a lockdown merely postpones the progress of the disease: the moment social isolation meas- ures are eased, then the disease accelerates until a further lock- down is ordered. “Yet this failing policy comes GP criticises MP Continued from front page

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Councillors Caroline Rackham and Mark Clark (insets) said NFDC is not listening to the public on plans to hand over management to a private group

servative administration not listening to anyone – the public, opposition members, even pri- vately voiced fears of their own backbench members.” As reported in the A&T, the customer focus group (CFG) representing users of the leisure centres also quit talks because it disagreed with the council moving ahead with its plans. Sir Desmond suggested a better scheme was to pay vul- nerable groups to isolate until they were vaccinated while life carried on as normal for others. He added: “We expect now to be rescued by vaccines, vindi- cating the government’s strate- gy of suppressing the virus until vaccines became available. “I would hope that the failure of lockdowns, however, would be a lesson that we have learnt for the future, but the way that the critics of lockdowns have been silenced, derided and pre- sented as mavericks, is hardly encouraging.” at an enormous social and eco- nomic cost which will scar our collective life for a decade.”

Cllr Rackham added: “The cost of the process to outsource the management of these cen- tres has so far been put at around £150,000 and has been dragging on for about three years in total. “Our district council employ- ees have been doing a great job for decades and it is simply not obvious how a private company

coming into the district could take over, improve the service, and make enough money over a 10-year contract.” The Unison union has al- ready said it is opposed to the scheme, because it believes it is “politically ideologically driv- en”. Cllr Clark said the project should be paused to gather “We remain committed to reaching a solution that not only improves access to the town centre for residents at Lymington Shores, but ben- efits the wider community and encourages use of public transport and more sustaina- ble modes such as walking and cycling. “We hope NFDC will engage positively with our revised plans at the earliest opportunity.” The planned structure would be 34.5 metres long and 2.4 me- tres wide, just north of the Lym- ington Town station building. It would be open 24 hours a day and comprise a steel frame with glass canopies and brick-clad lift tower. Originally the conditions stipulated the bridge had to be built once 75 homes were constructed. But that figure was later revised to 125 – which NFDC revealed was reached in mid-2018. No building has been allowed since and 17 open mar- ket homes currently stand emp- ty.

Rail bridge row Continued from front page

defended the company, saying it had been involved in discus- sions over the bridge since 2015 with NFDC, Hampshire Coun- ty Council, Network Rail and South Western Railway. “Unfortunately despite our best efforts we have not been able to reach a resolution with all parties in order to construct the footbridge,” Mr Sneddon said. “Therefore, we submitted a revised planning application in late 2020 which requires the section 106 contributions and the need for the footbridge to be re-considered, and our ob- ligations to be met through a package of alternative high- way improvement works or an equivalent monetary contribu- tion to the community well in excess of £1m, something that had been agreed in an earlier version of the planning agree- ment.

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Aldi given go-ahead Continued from front page

arrival of Aldi would not affect the viability of the popular Mor- risons store or other smaller shops in the town centre. Cllr Maureen Holding stressed up to 1,000 homes were earmarked for development in New Milton in the coming years and demand was set to rise. The committee noted pre- vious food stores had failed at

A CGI of the store proposed at Caird Avenue

the Co-op site and suggested it could be developed in a dif- ferent way. Aldi has pledged

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Back from the dead – Ron’s obit shock

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we’ve still got him as our chair- man.” And she joked: “I’m afraid

Army veteran reads his own death notice after newsletter error

I’m one of those who when they look at the death notices in the paper each week looks to make sure I’m not one of them!” Having been sent a copy of the report, Mr Back noted all the cor- rect details, including his birth in 1936 and commission in 1955 to the Royal Artillery. After looking into the matter, he discov- ered the newsletter’s editor had been a fellow member of the 44th Par- achute Brigade in the early 1970s. He had obtained the information from one of Mr Back’s contempo- raries in 33rd Airborne Light Regiment, who in turn had heard it from a friend.

By CHRIS MARCH

“THE news of my death is greatly exaggerated” – so said a New Milton veteran who had the dubious pleasure of reading his own obituary. It was a Mark Twain moment for Col. Ron Back, chair of the Royal British Legion New Mil- ton & District Branch, when his death was erroneously an- nounced in a forces newsletter. Mr Back was astounded to receive a phone call from branch secretary Phyllis Inglis who shared her great relief that he was still alive and well, con- trary to a report printed in the Airborne Network (ABN) news- letter last November. “The details printed about me were correct – apart from the obvious,” Mr Back told the A&T afterwards. He saw the funny side of the situation amid the novelty of getting to read about his own death. He said: “It will certainly make a nice after-dinner story, whenever I might get a chance to tell any after-dinner stories! “It’s not something every- body gets to do – read their own obituary!” News of the article reached Mrs Inglis when she was con- tacted by one of the RBL A NEW Milton man was watch- ing a televised cage fight when a stranger bundled his way into his home and headbutted him, a court heard. Connor Chipcase was rushed to hospital after the attack by Jordan McClay (30) left him with a one-inch gash on his forehead that bled profusely, Southampton Crown Court was told. McClay appeared for sen- tencing having admitted caus- ing Mr Chipchase actual bodily harm. He was sent down for 14 months by Judge Peter Henry. The court was told that the attack happened when the pair faced off after McClay got into his victim’s home as the front door lock was broken. He had apparently been look- ing for someone else. Mr Chipchase, who worked as a security guard, required three stitches in hospital following the incident, just after 8pm on 11th July. He later told police he had met the aggressor briefly once

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“I’ve spoken to the editor who apologised and said he would make sure he checks his facts more carefully in future,” Mr Back said. “It was a bit of a Mark Twain moment – the news of my death is greatly exaggerated!” American writer and humour- ist Mark Twain went down in history for his often-misquoted response when contacted in 1897 by a New York Journal re- porter who had heard rumours he was gravely ill or already dead. Mr Twain confirmed he was in fact in good health in a state- ment that included the phrase: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”

Ron Back is still very much alive, and (inset) during his Army days

Mrs Inglis said: “I think I talked to one of the other com- mittee members and they said, ‘But I talked to him yesterday, so that can’t be right’. “As soon as I knew it was false I phoned Ron and said, ‘Did you know people think you’re dead?’ “I’m just glad he’s okay and

branch members. She ex- plained: “Someone emailed me and said, ‘You’re the secretary and you haven’t let anyone know that our chairman has died’.” Although initially shocked, she stressed it took only two or three days to establish the news was false.

Man jailed after home attack

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2020 for other offences and had used his time in prison to com- plete a range of courses and address his previous substance misuse. He said McClay had demon- strated “regret” for his behav- iour over the past decade, hav- ing realised the impact it was having on his “loved ones”. Mr Griffiths said McClay, a father of four, initially denied the headbutt but changed his plea to guilty on a certain basis, which had spared the necessity of a trial. The defendant’s address was of no fixed abode, Mr Griffiths confirmed, but he had a roof - ing job set up for him when he gets out of prison and will live in Christchurch. Judge Henry castigated Mc- Clay for his “appalling” criminal record which included wound- ing, battery, criminal damage and assault. Sending him down, the judge said his headbutt had caused “nasty injuries” and it was an “unpleasant” offence.

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before and subsequently identi- fied McClay to officers. Defending McClay, barrister Richard Griffiths said his client had been locked up in August Jordan McClay was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court

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Forest hospital to open another Covid ward

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is amazing and I think we are going to hit that 12.3-million mark by mid-February, fingers crossed.” She urged people to go and get the vaccine if they get an appointment, saying: “It’s the thing that is going to save lives and livelihoods.” She admitted being upset at recent videos that claimed hos- pital wards were empty, saying: “Covid is real, it’s scary and it’s dangerous.” Currently Lymington hospi- tal is maintaining most of its normal services and clinics, in- cluding endoscopy, radiology and pre-booked blood tests. Staff have also been chosen to help run a clinic that will assess “long Covid” and its lingering effects on patients. Some non-urgent aspects – such as an eye operation de- partment run by University Hospital Southampton – have been temporarily stopped as staff have been redeployed else- where, such as the expanded community urgent frailty ser- vice. Dr Anderson urged people to stick to the rules, warning the next 10 weeks will be tough. She added: “We really did miss hav- ing our Christmas party here as that is a really good chance for our staff to get together and en- joy themselves, and obviously we couldn’t do that. “I am dreaming currently of being able to give them a really nice summer barbecue and that is keeping me going.”

District faces bigger threat from the new variant, director says

By JON WALLER

A SECONDward will be opened up at Lymington hospital to treat the rising number of coro- navirus patients, its clinical di- rector has told the A&T, as she shares concerns how it would cope with a further influx. Dr Rachel Anderson revealed more people are now arriving with Covid-19 having likely con- tracted it or spread it among family members. “Now we are generally see- ing people who have come into contact with family and friends who have then become positive, and that’s because the variant is more easily transmissible,” she said. “We have definitely seen peo - ple whose adult grandchildren who care for them have had it.” She said the low popula- tion density of the New Forest meant it had not been as affect- ed as major cities, such as Lon- don and Birmingham, during the first two lockdowns. But the more contagious variant meant the district now faced a more potent threat. “Our message is generally this is 70% more transmissible than it was before. We are see - ing, in this area, a higher degree of positivity in patients that 19 Fir Avenue, New Milton • Double glaze your whole house

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Lymington hospital clinical director Dr Rachel Anderson (inset) described the virus as ‘scary and dangerous’

you have got it you can take steps quickly to isolate at home and then you don’t spread it to anyone else – including your family.” She praised the testing pro- grammes at local care homes, saying outbreaks had largely been curtailed apart from one or two minor incidents. She was also complimentary of the speed of the vaccine roll- out, adding most of her elderly and clinically vulnerable pa- tients had received it. “We’ve already had over 2-mil- lion tests which, quite frankly, on the death certificate up to 1st January but which were registered up to 9th January. There were 18 weekly Covid-19 deaths reported by the ONS in the BCP Council area, which includes Christchurch, bringing the total to 347. Thirteen of the new fatalities were in hospital and four in care homes. Also on Tuesday the number more than 3,000 GPs across the south of England. The letter has been signed by 17 leaders representing 11 organisations in the area in- cluding Paula Hull, director of nursing and allied professionals at the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Lymington hospital. The letter asks for people to follow the government’s Hands- Face-Space guidance, saying: “These next few weeks will be the most difficult we have ever faced. That is why we are asking for your help.” That message is repeated on the BCP Council postcard sent to 185,000 households, which explains how serious the pic - ture is locally. Since New Year’s Day, it said, one person has been admitted to hospital with Covid-19 every hour in the council’s area and

likely caught it while treating patients. She called for med - ics and carers to be among the priorities for getting the vac- cine. “It was pretty grim,” she add- ed. “I was really unwell for two to three days, then very tired and exhausted.” Dr Anderson said she dis- played only a cough as a symp- tom and urged anyone feeling unwell to get a test, adding it is simple to book, and the results come back quickly. She said: “The symptoms can start quite mild and if you find

come in and it is going through groups of families more than last time. “It’s worrying because we do not know what way this is go- ing to go, depending on how the vaccine goes, how lockdown works and how people respond. “I would say at the moment we are worried being asked to increase capacity [in the hos- pital] and we have got a lot of staff unwell.” Urging people to stay at home where possible, Dr An- derson revealed she is currently recovering from Covid, having

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New Forest Covid update: nine deaths and 754 infections NINE people with Covid-19 died in the New Forest, according to the latest weekly update, as infection numbers continued to climb. The seven-day number of new positive tests in the New Forest District Council area rose to 754 on Tuesday – up from 547 a week before. of weekly new cases in the BCP conurbation continued to increase, rising from 1,986 to 3,348. That increased the case rate from 502.4 per 100,000 people to 846.9.

It means the district has a case rate of 418.7 per 100,000 people. Last Tuesday the number was 303.7. The provisional figures from the ONS related to instances where Covid-19 was mentioned

The new fatalities, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), included five in hospital and three in care homes, and bring the death toll in the district to 170. Delivery delays after Covid hits postal workers residents are facing postal service delays as Covid-19 hits an increasing number of Royal Mail workers. On Tuesday the service re- leased a list of areas, includ- ing the town, in England and Northern Ireland where deliv- eries and collections have been affected. The virus’s toll on the work- force as well as a surge in on- line shopping orders during lockdown was blamed for the hold-up. Royal Mail pledged in a statement that it was “work- ing hard to deliver the most comprehensive and high quali- ty service we can to all our cus- tomers, large and small”. This latest disruption comes after Christmas mail in Ring- wood was delayed due to two Royal Mail staff testing positive at the town’s delivery office. This resulted in a number of colleagues having to self-iso- late. CHRISTCHURCH

The infection figures are for the numbers of people with at least one lab-confirmed positive Covid-19 test result in the preceding seven-day period.

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AN OPEN letter urging local residents to follow lockdown rules signed by a host of med- ical practitioners has warned that the next few weeks “will be the most difficult we have ever faced”. The letter coincidedwithBCP Council mailing out postcards, including in Christchurch, tell- ing residents to stay at home as Covid-19 infection rates across the conurbation have been dou- bling every five days. The two initiatives have been prompted by fears that local hospitals will be overwhelmed unless people do their bit to avoid spreading the virus. One of the signatories to the letter is Dr Nigel Watson, a for- mer head of New Milton’s Arne- wood practice and now chief ex - ecutive of Wessex local medical committees, which represents

someone has died every six hours. Cllr Nicola Greene, BCP Council’s lead member for Covid-19 Resilience and Pub- lic Health, noted the “alarming rates”. She added: “As a community, we must act to stop the spread of this deadly virus and the sim- plest action we can all take is to stay at home.” Hampshire police have prom- ised “robust enforcement” where needed to ensure resi- dents follow lockdown rules. Assistant Chief Consta- ble Maggie Blyth said officers would try to engage, but she added: “However, I have em- phasised to our teams that ro- bust enforcement action should be taken as required, where bla- tant breaches in public places or private premises are report- ed to us.”

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Road salt review over animal deaths rejected

Hopes for jobs post-Brexit with freeport plans

PLANS are being discussed to create a freeport at Marchwood in an attempt to generate jobs and boost the local economy following Brexit. Freeports are points of en- try to a country that incentiv- ise companies to use them by streamlining the import pro- cess and reducing taxes. The government wants to es- tablish up to seven sites around the UK and has invited areas to submit a case to win the special status. BCP Council is also con- sidering a bid, as reported in the A&T. The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership wants to make an application and has earmarked ABP sites, Marchwood Indus- trial Estate and Exxon at Faw- ley where taxes would be eased. The Southampton port would have relaxed customs regula- tions. It has invited New Forest Dis- trict Council to comment and yesterday (Thursday) the envi- ronment and overview scrutiny panel was due to debate the idea and make a recommenda- tion to cabinet. It is intended councils within freeport sites will be allowed to retain local business rates for 25 years, a report to the panel said. But freeport status bidders

have to show how those rates will be used to offset the effects of dis- placement from deprived areas and reinvested to provide infra- structure and generate growth. The report said considera- tion needed to be given to how any “negative impacts can be resolved, mitigated or compen- sated”, changes to the process for considering future develop- ment and the way that work is funded. Butts Ash & Dibden Purlieu councillor Malcolm Wade cau- tiously welcomed the idea – but said he needed to see guaran- tees “that it really does deliver”. He added: “I hope this is not the equivalent of a good sound- bite, which looks good, sounds good but in reality has little ac- tual substance. “Our economy needs all the help it can get and if it can ben- efit our area let us hope the bid is successful but it must deliver for local business and local peo- ple.” However, critics note they have been tried before in the UK without huge success and can bring extra costs because HGV traffic can cause sur - rounding routes to be busier and more congested.

mals to stay away from the road salt. “However, animals may well still be drawn to the road as somewhere dry to lay – especial- ly when the Forest floor is very wet – and for any heat retention benefit from the tarmac during cold weather. New Forest ani- mals can wander on to the road as they wish. “As such I would remind those who do need to make es- sential journeys at this time to drive carefully through the New Forest, adhere to the speed limits at all times, check the weather forecast before setting out and drive according to the conditions.” He stressed that HCC “worked closely” with Forest agencies to “make sure our frontline highway activities re- spect and preserve the charac- ter of the New Forest”. Cllr Humby said during the winter period HCC will primar- ily focus on keeping safe main Priority 1 roads – such as A and B routes and routes to hospitals and Covid-19 testing centres. They will also treat Priority 2 routes that include B roads and village accesses. Cllr Humby added: “The clear advice from government at the moment is to stay at home and only go out if absolutely nec- essary. With less traffic on our roads de-icing salt may be less effective so the risk of icy sur- faces remains.” THE Third Ringwood Scout Group was gifted £1,000 by an insurance company. Ecclesiastical, which is char- itably owned, invited nomina- tions for organisations to get an equal share of £120,000 over Christmas, with 129 in total be- ing named by 9,812 Hampshire residents. Of those 120 were picked at random. Mark Hews, Ecclesiasti- cal group CEO, said it would “change lives for the better”, adding: “We hope these dona- tions can bring a positive end to a difficult year and a promising start to 2021.”

New Forest animals attracted to the roads after ice treatment

By JON WALLER

CIVIC chiefs have rejected a call to review how it treats icy highways amid concerns that New Forest animals are drawn onto the roads to lick the salt. Cllr David Harrison said Hampshire County Council should look again at treating local roads with salt following a series of fatal accidents after Christmas. He said: “I have written to bosses at Hampshire County Council asking them to review the wisdom of salting the roads because we know that animals are drawn to them. Perhaps there is a ‘grit only’ alternative.” Writing on his website, Cllr Harrison called animal deaths “one of the most highly charged, emotive subjects” but added solutions were not easy. Practical problems stopped speed humps and more light- ing, while roadside fencing would ruin the open nature and character of the local area. Speed limits could be reduced to 30mph, but the difficulty was enforcing those rules, Cllr Har- rison added. As reported in the A&T, 10 THE next stage in a £220,000 project to restore Hythe Pier will focus on its revamping buildings which date as far back as 1894. As reported in the A&T, the Hythe Pier Heritage Associa- tion (HPHA) recently set out a plan of works to safeguard the future of the historical struc- ture. Architects and surveyors are looking at the preservation op- tions for the pier head build- ings as although the one on the north side, which houses the waiting room, is in reasonable shape structurally, the other is giving cause for concern. An HPHA spokesperson said: “The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns have severely limited HPHA’s fund- raising opportunities but its determination to restore Hythe pier and its railway has not wa- vered.” Blue Funnel Ferries, which owns the site, is in the process of clearing the building on the south side, which for the past quarter of a century has been

(Photo: Russell Sach)

Ponies are attracted to salt put on the roads. Insets, councillors David Harrison (top) and Rob Humby

“I fully recognise the unique- ness of the New Forest envi- ronment, and particularly with free roaming animals, but at the same time it is important to appreciate the county council has a duty of care – and in fact a statutory duty – to take rea- sonable steps to keep the roads clear of snow and ice, and to en-

sure road users remain safe,” he said. Cllr Humby, also deputy leader, said he was “sorry” to hear of those incidents, add- ing: “During the winter months I am aware that some New Forest commoners put out an increased number of salt-lick blocks to encourage the ani-

animals have been killed on the district’s roads since Christmas Day, including five ponies, four sheep and a cow. However, HCC’s cabinet member for economy, transport and the environment, Cllr Rob Humby, said salting would con- tinue as the authority needed to protect motorists first.

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used as a storeroom. An asbestos survey commis- sioned by HPHA revealed the presence of a small amount of the hazardous material, which will be removed shortly. The building on the south side was built in 1894 and ex- tended in 1896 when the one on the north side was erected. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 Hythe Sailing Club, which was the tenant of the south side building, hand- ed their clubhouse over to the authorities for use in the war effort. Later, the premises were let to the YMCA. During 1921 the Royal Motor Yacht Club took up residence and undertook an extensive modernisation. Work was com- pleted in March 1922 and in- cluded the addition of a large dining room, galley, bar and four-berth sleeping cabins. During the years following the Second World War, the south side building was used in a variety of ways and was a res- taurant until 1976. During the 1980s it was planned to install

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an aquarium, but the project failed. Since then, it has been a meeting room, an exhibition room and for two years White Horse Ferries used it as an of- fice. The HPHA charity plans to undertake temporary protec- tion measures while seeking funding for permanent repairs and restoration. To donate, vis- it www.hythepierha.org.uk The Hythe Pier buildings are set for repair work

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