Losing green

Dear Editor, I am one of many residents of Picket Piece disappointed by Test Valley Borough Council’s decision to allow Wates Developments and David Wilson Homes to build on green space within the village. (Ref article on Andover Advertiser website 25/1/21.) 

When we bought our house in Picket Piece, this was promised to be a junior football pitch - something that has never materialised. However, it has since become a vital green space. 

My family has used it for walks, picnics, playing and learning to ride bikes. It was a vital community resource during lockdown for a village that has little open space safely accessible on foot.

Now it is to be built on, with lorries accessing the site along residential streets that are not suitable for the task.

TVBC have let us down with a decision that will have a hugely detrimental effect on our lives and homes.

Jo Allam, Picket Piece

Wasted buildings

Dear Editor, I have been pushing TVBC to make their unused buildings available for arts and community projects. The Chantry Centre is offering shops to community groups at nearly full commercial rent. I think the Council should be supporting these groups, not charging them to operate out of otherwise vacant shops. 

They are offering ‘pop up shops’ although the terms are not suitable for ongoing community projects. I have enquired about using the old Magistrate’s Court, as have many other groups. This building, owned by TVBC and paid for by the taxpayer, has officially remained shut on safety grounds due to a report issued to TVBC. 

I asked for the report and it turns out it doesn’t exist, it was in fact just a verbal instruction from someone inside TVBC offices. In other words… for the past 7 years, this huge building has remained unused and been allowed to fall into disrepair simply because no one wanted to take responsibility for it.  

I have had a great deal of verbal support from TVBC Councillors on this topic. It’s not that they don’t care about public spending. It is the excessive delegation and sprawl of local government that makes it totally unclear who is responsible for what.  These massive assets, they just get forgotten about.

TVBC has the resources to help these groups. 

Will they offer the magistrates court for public use and reduce the rent for community groups in the Chantry Centre?  

Cllr David Treadwell, Roman Way, Andover

Inaction 

Dear Editor, My thanks go to the unfortunate person who recorded a recent Andover Town Council meeting in blog form. Such innovation focuses a spotlight on our local democracy. 

Ignoring transcription errors, nuggets of blogged information show that only in the past month have seats on the ATC committees been filled, primarily due to councillor absences. In addition, pandemic-induced home working has incurred an £80k spend on empty council office space during the last two years. 

Plans are afoot to reintroduce office work and spend money on a new suite, but the location is still under debate.

Regrettably, a technical blog glitch deleted the item dealing with staff appraisals, but only after a councillor noted that “the council was simply carrying out their legal duty after the ‘failure’ of council members to adequately carry out and record appraisals previously”.

The most candid blog exposes are the councillors’ contributions, which appear to be verbatim. Cllr Meyer said, “people don’t know what they are voting for, we should defer it”. Cllr Luigi said, “Let’s be big boy”. Cllr Hughes said to Cllr Coole, “Stop making it up as you go along”. These impulsive comments may have left the reader ‘confused, but I felt some sympathy for the ever-present councillor LSJ Gregori, who was blogged voting for the budget as ‘Gregor’. 

For those who don’t know him, Gregor was a clone commando in Star Wars who suffered amnesia after crash-landing on the planet Abfar.  I leave it to readers to judge whether their cash is being spent wisely by ATC, but the blog recorded that the precept of £21.10 for Band D remains the same, seven in favour, four against and one abstention. [Note: The ATC website lists 16 council members]. 

I make no judgement on the abilities, or otherwise, of hard-working councillors who aim to spend approximately £370k per annum, but I would ask that the blogger gets a pay increase. After all, they at least, made me smile.

David Rainey, Picket Piece

PM must resign

Dear Editor,

It is Monday, January 31, and I have just watched on TV the full two hours of the PM’s statement in the House of Commons, and questions from both sides of the House, regarding Sue Gray’s ‘update’. 

I’m finding it impossible to know where to begin. Over the course of the last two years, all of our fellow citizens have endured innumerable and varying degrees of impact upon their lives as a consequence of Covid - including mental health issues. 

Some of us may never fully understand the depths of pain and despair that some people have experienced. Many good folk have suffered beyond understanding. We have lost over 150,000 souls to this wretched disease, including medical staff and key workers. 

I myself have been blessed in that I have suffered no mental ill health due to pandemic restrictions, yet I am now experiencing a psychological tug of war that is tying my mind in knots. 

Put simply, I obeyed the rules. To the letter. I did it for the greater good, because I felt it was absolutely the right thing to do. 

Of course my life was impacted adversely, as was everybody else’s. Yet we stuck to the law of the land because we knew we should. It’s as simple as that. It is now clear that during various national lockdowns, there were social gatherings in and around the offices of Government that flagrantly stretched both the spirit and indeed the letter of the law. 

If that is indeed the case (and the Metropolitan Police have taken far too long to begin their investigations), I am now questioning why I so assiduously stuck to the rules. I know I was right to, but I am seriously asking myself why I was seemingly suckered into doing so, given that the leader of the country and others saw fit to stick up two fingers to the very laws they themselves brought into being. 

That mental conflict has been bouncing around in my head for weeks now. I’m no psychoanalyst, but I guess it’s because we look to our leaders for guidance, and when they act in a diametrically opposite way to that which they are beseeching their citizens to behave, it wholly destroys trust and respect, probably never to return. 

In all conscience, for the good of the United Kingdom, and to salvage any tattered shreds of dignity the PM may be frantically clinging onto, he must now do the honourable thing and resign. 

The fact that he refuses to do so is utterly shameful. His behaviour demeans the office of Prime Minister. This great country deserves so very much better.

Name and address supplied

Shall not grow old

Dear Editor, I have read three books written by Heather Morris, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka,and The Three sisters.

That is a time in our lives that will and should never be forgotten.  Six million people were murdered, almost two million were children.

Even though I have read these books, it is still difficult to comprehend and believe how and why it can happen in our lives.

And we now talk about Boris or masking or ?

I have written a poem following watching the DVD version of “They shall not grow old” by Peter Jackson. The losses  in WW1. I hope to share that with you, perhaps on the 11th November.

It is a time in our lives of losses now,  as they shall not grow old, having been struck by the virus. 

I have studied emotions we all live with; anger, fear, love, sadness, shame and joy. 

The virus situ has I’m sure brought in all. Anger with the parliament? Fear of catching the virus? Love for those lost or surviving? Love the support, the free time possibly? Sad of a loss, our work, our close contacts? Shame, did we do wrong?  Did we forget , avoid, regret? Joy at the end of the two years shutdown?

Winning a war with the virus? Spring in the air? Yes, but each emotion could again follow to be joy reaching the end, or sadness.  Love of  the lost, the injured?  Anger with Boris? 

As, shall they not grow old”?

Yet we have survived. 

Linda Price, Weyhill