THE April meeting of Thruxton Parish Council was chaired by Cllr Charles Milner-Williams, with Cllrs John Davis, Mike Windsor, Ray Bradbury and Janet Graham in support.

Also in attendance were Hampshire County Cllr Zilliah Brookes, and Test Valley Borough Cllr Pam Mutton .

The following topics were discussed:

Development of land on eastern edge of village: There was a large gathering in the hall occasioned by a proposed scheme to develop land on the eastern edge of the village along from the existing Lambourne Close housing.

Aaron Smith, a chartered town planner, had come along on behalf of Jason Sergeant to outline the proposals which comprised the building of 25 properties from small homes to 4-5 bedroom houses.

At this stage no formal planning application had been made and the idea of this presentation was to explore local ideas and give the community a chance to express views and worries. Aaron Smith spoke about putting on an exhibition locally so that residents could be absolutely clear about what was proposed before going to the formalities of a full planning application.

The large gathering had plenty of questions, many of which centred on the fact that all the traffic to the new site would have to enter the area via the small bridge at the entrance to Lambourne Way. The 25 houses would generate a lot of traffic and there would have to be particularly heavy plant moving in and out during the process of building them. Could the bridge take it? Apparently professional advice had been taken and assured that the bridge was strong enough.

Comments from the floor suggested that there was, at that moment, just not enough information to enable residents properly to assess whether this was all going to be a good thing or not. Would it fit with the evolving Neighbourhood Plan which was very much a matter of serious current local work and had received an encouraging response to the formal survey. Bringing the session to a close, the chairman thanked Aaron Smith but warned that questions needed to be fully answered, and proposals needed to be more specific.

From the floor there was another question concerning a rumour that another development was being planned, this time for land adjacent to Stanbury Close. The questioner was informed that there had been a vague idea of this nature some months ago but nothing seemed to have come of it. The land in question is thought to be Grade 2 agricultural.

Sports field car park: The poor condition of the sports field car park was discussed. Ray Bradbury had got three quotes for its repair. Figures of £45,000 referenced money not easily available. Users will be warned to be aware of the bad surface.

HGV restriction signs: John Davis reported on the HGV restriction signs currently being made, and made all the more relevant by one or two incidents with heavy lorries ‘getting lost’ in the village and causing damage by frantic attempts to turn huge vehicles, the most recent being in the vicinity of the ‘Telephone Library’. The warning signs would soon be in place.

Footpaths warden: The council was pleased to announce that the resident Martin King had attended a rights-of-way workshop and agreed to be accept the post of footpaths warden for Thruxton.

Annual parish assembly: Looking ahead to next month’s annual parish assembly it was agreed to invite representatives from the school, the church, the circuit, the hall, the neighbourhood plan committee, the police and the footpath warden so that issues could be raised and discussed.

Boundary changes: Pam Mutton spoke about proposals for ward boundary changes which had been submitted to the government. This could result in her ward being represented by just one borough councillor instead of two as at present.

There are six other villages in her ward (Penton Bellinger), and after consulting with them the chairman has made a joint representation to the Boundary Commission.

Finance: Cheques making grants of £400 to each for The Hall, The Church, and the Sports Trust were duly signed, and following a discussion of the Clerk’s salary, during which warm approval of her work was unanimous, it was agreed to increase this by one incremental point.

Black Swan and George: It was reported that a scheme to buy the Black Swan at Monxton as a community asset had not worked out. And in relation to this John Davis noted that the George is now at a reduced price.

Traffic mirror: Ray Bradbury will look at the traffic mirror serving Halcyon Drive and assess what attention it requires.

UK Paralympics team: The chairman reported that a local youngster, Craig Boardman, had been selected for the UK Paralympics team.

Next meeting: As the next meeting is the annual meeting and also incorporates the annual assembly, proceedings in the hall, will start half-an-hour earlier at 7pm.