Whiteley Town Council

News July/August 2024

Author

Nicki Oliver
July 29, 2024

Whiteley Town Council

News July/August 2024

Contact Town Clerk Nicki Oliver

tel 07961 213750

Whiteley Town Council serves the Winchester District area of Whiteley, maintaining Meadowside Recreation Ground and the numerous play areas.  The Town Council will also be managing the woodlands, allotments, play areas and open spaces in North Whiteley in due course.

Town Council meetings

All are welcome to attend council meetings which are held in our offices on the first floor of Meadowside Leisure Centre.

Meeting dates are on the council’s website along with agendas and minutes.

September meeting dates:

7.15pm Monday 2nd September Full Council

7pm Wednesday 11th September Committees

Community Safety Officer Sarah McCulloch

Community Safety Officer Sarah McCulloch is out keeping our community safe and building relationships with schools, our young people and the wider community.

If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact Sarah.

Follow Sarah on her Facebook page Whiteley CSO

Contact [email protected] tel 07863 036714

Town Council events in 2024

Sunday 3rd November 4-9.30pm Fireworks - Ticketed event

Saturday 7th December 5-6.30pm Christmas lights switch on - Free event

Meadowside Music Festival

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our music festival this year. Our guests were very well prepared for the changeable weather! A great time was had by all.

Thank you to town councillors and volunteers, The Rotary Club of Whiteley, Hope Church and 2nd Whiteley Scouts for your help on the day and during the planning stages.

Thank you to Whiteley Systems for the sound and for selecting excellent performers.

Skate Jam Part ii

Thank you to everyone who supported our second skate jam. It was great to see people of all ages demonstrating some incredible skills!

Thank you to our Community Safety Officer Sarah McCulloch for helping out and clearing up when the rain arrived just as the event was finishing!

Photo credit Ron Harckham

Photo credit CSO Sarah McCulloch

Photo competition

Explore the nature right on our doorstep in this Biodiversity Photo Competition. Try your hand at photography with the chance to win prizes across three categories.

Support for Whiteley Wanderers Youth Football Club

The Town Council was pleased to support WWYFC’s end of season tournaments and presentation. Thank you to our groundsmen Pete and Dave from Siam Landscapes for putting in extra hours to prepare the pitches. The weather this year has been very challenging for anyone trying to cut grass and maintain pitches!

New bus timetable

The bus time table changed slightly on 1st July 2024. The service no longer stops at Botley station, as there was insufficient demand. Times should fit more closely with school opening and closing times.

If you would like a copy of the timetable please contact Nicki Oliver [email protected] 

Park Yoga

9.30-10.30am Sunday mornings on Meadowside Recreation Ground

until 22nd September

Bring a mat, towel and drink

Free sessions, all ages and abilities welcome

parkrun

Whiteley parkrun takes place at 9am every Saturday morning on Meadowside Recreation Ground. New participants and volunteers always welcomed.

Issues the Town Council are pursuing in the new development

Transfer of Allotment 1 to the Town Council - legal work has begun; work on Allotment sites 2 & 3 are expected to start soon.

Transfer of the play areas and green infrastructure to the Town Council - legal work has begun.

Transfer of the sports pitches and changing pavilions to the Town Council - work has begun on the first pitch site and a planning application for the north east site is expected soon.

Establishment of a temporary community building managed by the Town Council - some delays with this but is expected to be made available in the coming weeks.

Completion of Footpath 9 which provides pedestrian and cycle access to Cornerstone School - complex technical issues have recently been resolved. Further legal work still required prior to the work starting.

Parking restrictions on Bluebell Way and around Cornerstone School - proposals have been drafted for consideration

Clearing the completed green spaces, balancing ponds and Whiteley Way of builders rubbish - this is progressing well and will continue during the summer months.

Installation of additional bins - three extra roadside bins due to be installed in Whiteley Way and Curbridge Way

Concerns about the use of weedkiller have been raised. This has been undertaken in accordance with an approved plan ahead of planting. The Consortium has given an undertaking to provide notices and information prior to further work.

The southern retail centre, near Cornerstone has been marketed, as required by the legal agreement between Winchester City Council and the developer consortium. Delivery will be dependent on private enterprise. The same will apply for the northern area.

Allotments

There are four allotment sites planned for the new development; Allotment 1 has been completed and we are pleased to say that the legal work has begun! There’s no time scale for completion at the moment.

Allotment 2 is expected to be ready for transfer to the Town Council at the end of 2025. A contractor has been appointed for Allotment 3 and work will start in the coming months, following the ecologist’s review of the site.

You can view the location of the four sites on this link

We are keeping a list of people interested in an allotment, if you would like to be added please use this link

When there is an update on the handover of the allotments we will arrange a meeting for those interested in setting up a management group.

Temporary community building

The temporary community building is expected to be installed in the coming weeks.

It will be sited near the skills academy on Whiteley Way. If you would like to use the building please contact Nicki at the Town Council [email protected]

Phone signal in Whiteley

The Town Council shares the community’s frustration with poor mobile signal, it affects our work too, such as plans to install cctv for the skatepark. The northern mast is not yet operational for reasons that are not clear. The Meadowside mast has to overcome legal issues due to covenants and land ownerships. The MP Paul Holmes is also trying to expedite the delivery and operation of this masts.

Have you seen our new and replacement benches?

Could you be a Whiteley Womble?

Litter pickers, hi-vis and bag holders available if you would like to keep your neighbourhood tidy. Contact Nicki Town Clerk [email protected]