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Road conditions report from Hampshire County Council Highways Team

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Tuesday 17th January 2023

You will be acutely aware that we are heading into another prolonged cold snap and temperatures are expected to remain very low until at least the end of the week. This will have further implications for the Highways service, and it is highly likely we can expect to see more potholes and degradation on our roads, and especially so given the expected daily freeze-thaw cycle that caused so much damage before Christmas. The recent heavy rain has added to the service pressures with widespread surface water flooding and high groundwater still evident in many places, increasing the risk of ice. It is likely that at least two gritting runs will be required every day until the temperatures rise in order to deal with the continuous wash-off and the freeze-thaw impact – this has consequential impacts for Milestone’s resources as many of the gritter drivers are also frontline operatives.

The highways team are continuing to work flat out to keep on top of the situation, including working evenings and weekends, but these current challenges will mean a further re-prioritisation of frontline activity to ensure resources are directed to where they are most needed. The ongoing issues, together with the impacts of further wintry weather, means that it could be several months before the frontline service can return to anything like business-as-usual activity.

The team are taking urgent steps to update our highway webpages to highlight the peak demand and to inform users/residents that there may be a delay before lower priority repairs can be actioned. So you are aware, and to put the current situation into some perspective, over the weekend alone more than 700 reports/enquiries were received!

Milestone are endeavouring to scale up their resources through their supply chains to meet the heightened demand but most, if not all, of the regional authorities are trying to secure the same resources as their networks also deteriorate.

This is a significant issue, unprecedented in fact, and whilst we welcome new reports of defects using the County Council’s online reporting system at https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/roadproblems, it is taking more time now to deal with the demand so we would be grateful for your patience and understanding.

Ice is a considerable challenge in some parts of the County this morning.  There are road closures in place and you can see the latest situation with traffic via the ROMANSE map which you can find here: https://romanse.org.uk/

The better news is that we are now less likely to see any snowfall in Hampshire, but the team will remain vigilant, monitoring forecasts so that if the weather does deteriorate, we are in the best possible shape to respond.

Littleton Village Design Statement Consultation

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Winchester City Council have released the revised Littleton Village Design Statement (VDS) for public consultation which will run until midnight on 20th February 2023.

Following the public consultation, the VDS will be finalised for adoption by the City Council as a supplementary planning document. The VDS will provide design guidance for development within Littleton and it will supplement the Winchester District Local Plan Parts 1 & 2, replacing the existing VDS adopted in 2010.

The draft VDS can be viewed here or on the Parish Council website at https://lhpc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2023-LVDS-Draft-V0.9.5.pdf

Please take this opportunity to comment on the draft via the online consultation using the following link: https://winchester.citizenspace.com/policy-and-planning/littleton-village-design-statement

If you are unable to view the draft LVDS or access the consultation form online, or need any help with these, please contact Strategic Planning for assistance on 01962 848575.

Littleton Village Design Statement 2023

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Littleton and Harestock Parish Council has prepared a draft Littleton Village Design Statement which will be put forward for adoption as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to the current Winchester and District Local Plan. Winchester City Council has agreed that it is ready for formal consultation. The proposed dates for the consultation period will be from 9th January 2023 to 20th February. Any comments should be submitted via the consultation process. Further details to follow.

You can find the draft document here.

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Littleton & Harestock Show

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The show was a great success this year, attracting 2700 visitors. We received a lot of positive feedback from visitors, who were pleased to see the show return after a 2 year break and to enjoy a day out meeting old friends in the happy, friendly atmosphere the show always provides.

I am pleased to report that the show made a modest profit this year. We will be making a donation of £1500 to the Hampshire division of the Family Counselling Trust and £500 to the Winchester Basics Bank. In addition, St. Catherine’s Church is donating the collection from the service in the show marquee, which amounted to £176, to the Basics Bank. The Family Counselling Trust provides support to young people struggling with a range of psychological problems. The number of children suffering from anxiety, ADHD and other issues has increased markedly because of the disruption to their education caused by the Covid lockdowns, and we think it appropriate that our first show after Covid should support this cause. You will be familiar with the Winchester Basics Bank, of course, and we hope our small donation will help them cope with the increasing demand they are seeing.

The show is, and always has been, a community event organised by volunteers in the community for the benefit of all. My most sincere thanks to all of you who helped with this year’s show and to the very many of you who have helped in years gone by. For those of you who have not yet helped with the show, the hour is at hand, your destiny awaits you, you stand on the threshold of greatness. Choose your cliché, but offer your help now or it’s curtains for the show.

We have been steadily losing volunteers for many years and we no longer have enough people to organise the show. This year’s show was only possible because the committee members all took on several jobs in addition to their normal role. We can’t do this again. The show is now on hold until we get enough volunteers to help organise it. 

We have specific jobs that need to be done in the areas of managing the layout of the show; advertising via flyers, posters, newsletters, and social media; IT support; putting up road signs, traffic management and so on. You can find detailed descriptions of all the roles and what each entails on the Volunteer First website (www.volunteerfirst.co.uk). Enter your postcode and search for Littleton.

Please contact me if think you could do any of these jobs and would like to help. Alternatively, if you would like to help but you’re not sure how, I’m sure we can work something out so please drop me a line.

Tony Ormston

Chairman, Littleton & Harestock Show Society

tony.ormston@gmail.com

01962 883682