THE annual meeting of Amport Parish Council was held in May.

The following appointments were made: chairman, Cllr Ian Long; vice-chairman, Cllr Nick Hoare; Responsible Financial Officer, Suzanne Hoare (clerk); chairman of the financial committee, Cllr Alan Maddern; footpaths officer, Cllr Gary Benton; The Green and Fen, Cllr Chris Harris; school liaison officer, Cllr Angela Reckitt; planning sub-committee, the chairman, vice-chairman and a local councillor.

The following topics were then discussed:

Solar panel compensation: The chairman announced that the money had been received and would be put into a community grant fund. There would be public consultation on what the money would be used for and posters and flyers would be used to ask parishioners for their ideas. As well as posters on all parish noticeboards, there will be further information on the village website. Among the ideas put forward were allotments, more play equipment (possibly in the area north of the A303), more car parking, a village tennis court and a contribution to the church heating fund.

Footpaths: There was a discussion about the far end of Furzedown Lane and its continued use by villagers. The part of the road which runs past Richard Hale’s riding stables has always been a permissive path and, since it was closed by gates, both he and Amport House have had an easement which allowed them to drive vehicles along the further section on to Haydown Lane. However, the new owner of this part has now also put up signs designating it as a permissive path, with a new high gate in the middle, which still allows horses and pedestrians a way through. There would be considerable public resistance to a complete closure of this section since it allows children from Fox Corner to make their way to school in the village safely.

The Green / Fen: The council are considering having a bridge built across the stream between the far end of The Green and The Fen to make the latter area more usable and may have this done at the end of the summer, while it is still dry.

Highways: Since there has been no progress at all towards repairing the large potholes and other damage in Wiremead Lane, the chairman will write again to Hampshire Highways. He will send photographs showing the large puddles and flooding which form after any heavy rain in the hope that something can be done before next winter.

Website: The website is still having new items added to it. The posters regarding the community grant will also draw parishioners’ attention to the website, which is to be regularly updated with news and events.

Changes to ward boundaries: There are ongoing discussions regarding changes to the existing wards surrounding Andover. At present Amport is in a four-village ward with one borough councillor, Ben Few-Brown. However, in an attempt to cut down on the number of councillors, Test Valley is suggesting that the parish should be amalgamated with a number of other villages to become part of a much larger ward covered by two councillors. This would mean much less personal contact with their councillor and probable lack of continuity. It was therefore felt that a better solution would be for Amport’s ward to take in just Abbotts Ann, still with one councillor. Final decisions will be made in October of this year.

Defibrillator: The council felt that a second defibrillator in the parish on the north side of the A303 should be positioned at Rosebourne Garden Centre. They would suggest that Rosebourne might like to contribute to it although County Cllr Zilliah Brooks said she could possibly give a grant towards the cost of it.

Hampshire Life magazine article: Gary Benton, who works at the Hawk Conservancy, has recently been interviewed by a freelance journalist for an article on the village to appear later in the summer.

Fêtes: The Sea Scout fête will be held on 18 June and the village fête on 8 July.