Amport Parish Council

Caroline Unwin

AS there was no parish council meeting in February, there were quite a number of planning applications to be considered at the March meeting of Amport Parish Council.

Other matters discussed included:

The Green: The extra grasscrete has now been laid to provide four more parking spaces alongside The Green. It is hoped that this will ease some of the congestion caused when parents drop off and collect their children from the School. The repairs to play equipment have now also been carried out. There has been a request for permission to use The Green for a wedding reception during the summer – the council are waiting for more details.

Amport Fen: A number of extra trees still need to be felled on the Fen where they are encroaching on neighbouring land.

Highways: The council have been in touch with Hampshire County Council about the number of large potholes in the passing places in Wiremead Lane. The highways engineer is now aware of the problems although he admits it could be some time before they are dealt with. Also on the subject of local lanes, there is a potential danger where the road which crosses The Green has eroded on the ditch side. Not only is the edge of the tarmac likely to damage tyres but the piece of grass between the road and the ditch is now so narrow that there is very little margin for error. The council are hoping the county council will be able to take on this road repair.

Georgia Woods / Fox Farm: This matter is still being discussed. At the moment the landowner is seeking permission from the Environment Agency to extend the operation to the Fox area.

Trim Trail: The council are hoping to be able to proceed with plans to set up an adult fitness trail around The Green. They now have enough money in hand to be able to apply for a grant and are setting up a sub-committee to discuss what is needed and where it should go.

Superfast broadband: The council are keen to support any efforts to bring faster broadband to the village. There is a chance that fibre-optic broadband may be brought down Sarson Lane later in the year but there is no guarantee for that yet or for when it might be available throughout the parish. Amport / Monxton inter-village matches: The first of a planned series of matches will be held on Amport Green on 28 March, one rule being that each side must include a female player. This will be a seven-a-side football match starting at 2.30pm. Further matches between the villages to play rugby and cricket are also planned.

Annual Parish Meeting: The annual meeting of the parish council will be held in the school on 27 April starting at 7.00pm. All village residents are invited and will be free to ask questions and put forward matters they would like to have discussed.