Have your say on the future of East Hampshire’s high streets 

East Hampshire’s high street businesses, and residents who use them, are urged to complete a brief questionnaire about their views on the future of the high street.  
 
To complete the questionnaire, visit: www.easthants.gov.uk/town-centres-recovery-plan-east-hampshire
 
East Hampshire District Council has commissioned expert advisors, Heartflood, to produce a Covid-19 Recovery Plan to cover the main towns and villages within the borough as part of measures to support their recovery from the coronavirus crisis. 
 
Work on the plans will begin immediately, focusing on Alton, Clanfield, Four Marks, Grayshott, Horndean, Liphook, Liss, Petersfield and Whitehill & Bordon and will involve both businesses and customers being asked to help to shape the priority actions which will then be considered by the council. 
 
Heartflood will make assessments and recommendations based on their specialist knowledge and will investigate the immediate recovery and long-term sustainability of each place. 

Find out more and complete the survey

Simon Jenkins, Director of Regeneration and Place at East Hampshire District Council, said: “The coronavirus pandemic is likely to have a profound effect on the district’s high streets and residents’ shopping habits. 
 
“This research will help us to understand how the attitudes of consumers and high street businesses have changed, and what we can do as a local authority to support those businesses over the coming years. 
 
“I encourage as many residents and businesses as possible to complete the survey so we can get a really clear idea of what you think.” 
 
Chris Gregory, from Heartflood, added: “While we are able to make a range of suggestions for the district, it is critically important that we gain the views of as many local businesses and customers to allow us to best shape the proposed key improvements for the area.” 
 
Find out more and complete the survey by visiting: www.easthants.gov.uk/town-centres-recovery-plan-east-hampshire

Man counts cost after fly-tip blocks country lane

A Cowplain man was ordered to pay more than £500 for his part in a fly-tip that blocked a rural road in Catherington.

Max Robbins, of London Road, Cowplain, was prosecuted for his involvement in a large, dangerous fly-tip on Lone Barn Lane.

Reported to the council using Facebook, the tip included car parts and maintenance equipment as well as a large amount of rubble.

The rubbish had been dumped on a blind bend on the unlit road, posing a danger to motorists and pedestrians. The road was closed for four hours as it was cleared.

EHDC Enforcement Officers investigated the same day and found items of paperwork relating to Robbins.

During the investigations Robbins admitted he had paid someone £60 to take away car parts. He could not provide full contact details of the person and had no official paperwork accounting for the transfer of waste.

Robbins pleaded guilty to failure to comply with his Duty of Care under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. He received a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £21 Victims Support Charge and £500 prosecution costs.

Cllr Ingrid Thomas, EHDC’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood Quality, said: “When hiring someone to take your waste away make sure you get the right paperwork, and then you can be more confident it is going to be disposed of responsibly.

“If you don’t and your waste is fly-tipped you could end up being caught with a fine or Fixed Penalty Notice.”

Visit www.hants.gov.uk/fly-tipping and follow the guidance before allowing waste to be taken.

County Council adds £1million to rural broadband scheme  

Hampshire County Council is investing £1 million to step up its drive to get high-speed broadband out to the most rural parts of the county. The funding will ‘top-up’ the Government’s existing Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, to help people in hard-to-reach locations get a fast, reliable broadband service.  

The County Council’s Executive Member for Commercial Strategy, Human Resources and Performance, Councillor Stephen Reid, said: “96% of Hampshire can now access superfast broadband with speeds of 24Mbps (Megabits per second) or more. This is a fantastic achievement, but we want to extend access further.”

Digital Infrastructure Minister, Matt Warman, said: ''Better broadband enhances lives, and it's great to see Hampshire investing alongside government to make that a rapid reality. As part of our plans to level up communities across the UK, we’re prioritising bringing the economic and social benefits of gigabit-capable broadband to rural areas. Even more help is now at hand for rural parts of Hampshire currently suffering with slow speeds. I encourage people and businesses in these areas to check if they’re eligible for a voucher to boost their broadband with these next-generation speeds.”

The Hampshire Top-Up to the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme will enable eligible residents to get vouchers worth up to £3,000 per property - double that of the standard government voucher. Gigabit-capable broadband (also known as ultrafast broadband) has speeds of up to 1000Mbps or 1Gbps. It means residents will be getting the latest technology, delivered straight to their homes – with final speeds being determined by the package chosen by the resident.  

To qualify for the scheme, residents must live in a rural area, be unable to get broadband speeds of 100Mbps or more and apply as a group of two or more premises. Not everyone within a community has to apply – the aim is for there to be enough interest to cover the installation costs (or as near as possible), so that the infrastructure can be built, and gigabit-capable broadband can be made available. 

To find out if you are eligible, follow the below steps: 

1. Find out more about the scheme and check whether you live in an eligible area by going to www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com/top-up and entering your postcode

2. If you can already access superfast broadband, a pop-up message will tell you this, and direct you to suppliers. Upgrading to superfast broadband is not something that happens automatically

3. If superfast broadband isn’t available yet, but you live in an area which means you qualify for the Hampshire Top-Up to the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, a pop up message will direct you to the government website to find a registered supplier

4/ The supplier will provide you with a quote and make the application for the vouchers on your behalf and guide you through the process

The Hampshire Top-Up Voucher will be allocated on a 'first-come, first served' basis. To find out more, go to www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com/top-up