LaverstockLaverstock && FordFord IncorporatingIncorporating LaverstockLaverstock && MilfordMilford Ward,Ward, BishopdownBishopdown FarmFarm Ward,Ward, Ford,Ford, OldOld SarumSarum && LonghedgeLonghedge WardWard ParishParish NewsletterNewsletter www.laverstockwww.laverstock--ford.co.ukford.co.uk IssueIssue 167167 January/FebruaryJanuary/February 20182018 Laverstock & Ford Parish Newsletter Welcome to issue 167 Old Sarum Community Centre has an number of interesting activities throughout the week and is available for bookings for parties, anniversaries etc. There is a discounted hire rate for residents of the parish. Details on page 11. Residents of Laverstock will not be surprised to learn that the recent Metrocounts of traffic along Church Road, between 11 and 24 September, showed an average of 44,000 vehicles over the period between the two recorders. More information about this count can be found on page 12. The Parish Council has a Grant Scheme and encourages applications from local community based, ‘not for profit’ or charitable organisations e.g. voluntary groups, societies, clubs (including new start-ups), sports clubs, youth clubs, play- groups, and community projects. See page 15 for details. The Grant Application form and details of the Assessment Criteria are on the home page of our website www.laverstock-ford.co.uk Laverstock History Group hold an afternoon meeting every two months . Some- times a group member gives a talk, at other times there is a visiting speaker. The varied subjects cover the history of Laverstock and the surrounding area. Visitors and new members are always welcome. Details on page 18. Bishopdown Friendship Group will be launched on Friday 19th January at the Hampton Park Pavilion. See pages 22 & 23 for details of this and other events at the Pavilion. As part of our ‘Health & Well-being in the Parish’ series of articles, this issue in- cludes guidance from the British Heart Foundation on the correct method for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This emergency procedure has saved many lives during the period before ambulance crews arrive. See page 32. The final episode of the Laverstock Panda saga is on page 34 and explains what happened after the panda was created and became national news. We’re grate- ful to David McCreadie, one of the perpetrators and to Ian McLennan for supply- ing us with probably the most comprehensive details of something which, almost 50 years ago, would have been the talking point of the village. We wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year. The Parish Newsletter is published six times a year for the benefit of parish residents. However, articles included do not necessarily reflect the views of the Parish Council. Advertisements for any firm or service does not imply a recommendation by the Parish Council. Cover picture - New housing at Longhedge Village Laverstock & Ford Parish Newsletter 3 Inside your Parish Newsletter . 5 View from the Chair 6 Report on Parish Council Meetings 7 Planning Applications 9 A Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish 10 Happy New Year from Old Sarum! 12 Traffic Issues in the Parish 15 Parish Council Grant Scheme 16 Letter from Cllr DW Brown OBE St Marks and Bishopdown 17 News from Laverstock Gardening Club 18 Laverstock History Group 20 Longhedge Village 22 Bishopdown Farm Friendship Group 25 Country Park at Riverdown Park –What are the chalk mounds for? 27 The Laverstock Memory Support Group 28 Mother’s Union 29 Planning ahead and spending wisely 30 Oh No….another Boundary Review 31 How to avoid frozen and burst pipes 32 How to do CPR - Advice from the British Heart Foundation 34 Laverstock Panda – Publicity and Pandemonium! 36 Laverstock & Ford Parish Council Contacts 39 Contacts around The Parish 42 Parish Diary Dates View from the Chair By David Burton, Chair of the Parish Council The Parish Council will be setting our annual budget and pre- cept over the next few weeks. This is probably one of the most challenging responsibilities for Parish Councillors to un- dertake, particularly as Wiltshire Council’s policy of asking Parish Councils to take on more services currently provided by the Unitary Authority begins to bite. This year we have been faced with some difficult decisions with respect to the 6 Play Parks owned and managed by Wiltshire Council in our Parish. We have pre- viously reported how we had to step in last year and use some of our own finan- cial reserves to pay for £2,000 of work on one of these play parks. We will need to have a long hard look at what sort of level of funding will be required for the Parish budget to ensure we do not have to dig into our dwindling reserves fur- ther during the coming year. On a brighter note the first of our new Play Parks at Longhedge Village is nearing completion as I write this (page 20). At Riverdown Park the spoil on part of the Country Park is finally being landscaped with our play parks there on course to be constructed by April too (pages 8 and 25). Our Neighbourhood Plan Team is swinging into action with meetings held and progress being made. It is not too late to join the Neighbourhood Plan Team or get involved with the Country Park management plan volunteers so please let us know if you are interested. One other heartening development was an informal meeting with the Leader of Salisbury City Council and Wilts Cllr, Matthew Dean and Wilts Cllr Derek Brown, our Wiltshire Councillor for Bishopdown Farm ward who is also a SCC Parish Councillor. I met the SCC representatives with our Vice Chair Vic Bussereau. We were both pleased to learn that SCC accept the decision of the 2016 Boundary Review that Laverstock and Ford Parish Council will remain as a separate Parish from Salisbury City. We all agreed to strive to work more collaboratively in the coming months for the benefit of residents in both Parishes. Finally I must say a very big thank you to all our Parish Council Team and the wonderful residents who volunteer in so many ways to make Laverstock and Ford Parish such a rich and vibrant place to live. Happy New Year! Laverstock & Ford Parish Newsletter 5 Report on Parish Council Meetings This report covers the meetings held at the River Bourne Community Farm on 16 October and at the Old Sarum Community Centre on 20 November. At the October meeting the Council was pleased to welcome Jennifer Brown as a new Councillor. A resident of Potters Way, Jennifer brings the complement of Councillors in the Laverstock and Milford Ward up to four with just one vacancy. There is also one vacancy in the Bishopdown Farm Ward and two vacancies in the Ford, Old Sarum and Longhedge Ward. Residents who would like to join the Coun- cil and serve their Community should contact one of the current Councillors. An important decision was made at the October meeting. The Council is embarking on a new project to produce a Neighbourhood Plan for the Parish. Several volun- teers have already been recruited to assist with this major task and more would be welcome. At long last it was revealed at the October meeting that a deal had been agreed and signed with the developer of Riverdown Park to build a new 124 acre country park on the land to the west and south of Bishopdown Farm. Planning permission should be granted shortly and then work will start on re-profiling the heaps of spoil that have blighted the site for the last two years. The Council was very pleased when the new Play Park was opened on The Green at Old Sarum but recently there have been disturbing reports and evidence that it is being abused by a tiny minority of children and young adults. Councillors sug- gested that a request to parents should be included in the Parish Newsletter. The Clerk reported that the external audit of the Council, called the Annual Return, had been completed without comment but that a large amount of extra work had been required and the audit fee was £1000. At the November meeting the Council discussed a planning application to turn a residence in Church Road into a religious meeting room. After debate and reassur- ances from the applicant that there would be minimal disturbance to neighbours, the Council resolved to support the application. There was also further discussion on the way forward for the six play parks in the Parish that are owned and managed by Wiltshire Council. Wiltshire Council are keen to hand these play parks to the Parish Council because they have no funds to maintain them. The Council is committed to keeping them open & safe but is con- cerned at the possible large cost of bringing them up to an acceptable standard. The first steps were also taken on the budget and precept requirement for 2018- 2019. The Council has received its Tax Base, which represents the number of dwell- ings in the Parish that pay Council Tax. This has risen by 8.25% on the current year. There may however be a need to raise large amounts of funding for projects such as the Wiltshire Council play parks. It was pointed out that at £21.29 per Band D household per year, the Council’s precept is one of the lowest in the county for a parish of this size. Amesbury for example is £87.20. Most Councillors agreed that it would be in order to have a large percentage increase in the budget because in monetary terms it would be a small amount per year. Planning Applications The following Planning Applications have been submitted in the Parish since Octo- ber 2017.