Progress and challenges await in 2025

It’s been a busy year at town council level, seeing the positive results of the drainage system at Mill Chase Recreation Ground, various projects such as playground improvements, grants to community buildings such as Phoenix Theatre and enhancing green spaces including boardwalk work at Knox Pond.

Sainsbury’s was announced in April 2024 as the new supermarket for the ‘new town centre’ area and with final planning permission granted by end of July 2024, we look forward to seeing it built. Most of the new development land (including the new supermarket land) is still owned by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (MOD) and is thus a private development, not under any council control.

In my separate East Hampshire District Council councillor role, I am pleased to have been instrumental in the policy to extend the EHDC-owned Whitehill & Bordon Leisure Centre, by create a kids indoor ‘splash pad.’ I can’t wait to see progression of this plan in 2025.

We have a big challenge ahead: the Government has made it clear that they will impose housing on East Hampshire and this will inevitably affect Whitehill & Bordon. This links to health provision as a number one priority. It is incredibly frustrating that we have no control over the NHS as local councillors and they need to look at population increases when reviewing use of Chase Hospital and proposed Health Hub. With housing must come infrastructure and the Government cannot unfairly force housing without the facilities needed.

I was proud by the town council-hosted Armistice Day service, which again saw soldiers from Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) march through our town. It’s so vitally important to remember the sacrifices made and the reading of the roll of honour is always a poignant and reflective moment.

Thank you to James Fryer for beginning his year-long term as ceremonial town mayor in May. A number of us, including James and Deputy Leader Catherine Clark, have fitted unpaid town council work around our work schedules and I thank them for their time. I thank all town councillors who have served in 2024 and all our council employees, who implement the policies of the council on a day-to-day basis.

Being a councillor and working for the local community is a never-ending job as there will always be something that we need to fight to fix or a new project to try and deliver. It can be very frustrating at times to not be able to resolve every issue we face as a community, but we are winning some battles along the way and crucially we are delivering results on a local level.

Best wishes for 2025!

Cllr Andy Tree

Council Leader

Whitehill Town Council

Poetic plea over cycling signs

Here is a poem about race signs having been left behind in our village. It's a gentle plea, given that it is almost Christmas, to the race organisers to come and move the signs from their summer race (of which there are more than one).

A long yellow triangle points up at the sky

It watches as motorists daily pass by

As they turn off the A32, eyes raised, looking displeased

They cannot appreciate how the triangle is squeezed

Uptight against a post, with no room to move

Tied to a road sign, feeling every single groove

Of its cardboard body, that feels now truly sodden.

The cycle race has finished but the triangle has been forgotten.

It did not mind the faces that smiled some time ago

Nor the bright, flashy Lycra, the sunglasses all aglow -

With sweat from the heat, with the sun bouncing off,

The happy voices, the loud pedalling, the voices that scoffed -

At the climb that was to come, the route to the top

'The delight of the descent' and 'the drama of the drop'!

But Christmas beckons, the triangle is starting to lose its balance.

Do us a favour, remove the summer race signs from the roads of Newton Valence.

A Newton Valence resident

Name and address supplied

Heartfelt praise for dogged support

As 2024 draws to a close, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported Dogs Trust this year. Your generosity and dedication have made a huge difference to dogs in need.

I am proud to share that, with your support, we have found new homes for thousands of dogs this year, and while these dogs waited for their forever families, we made sure they were cared for in a safe and happy place

This would not have been possible without our dedicated Dogs Trust team, and an army of volunteers, who selflessly give their time and energy to support our work. From walking and playing with our dogs to helping with administrative tasks, tackling the mountain of washing in our centres, and even reading to dogs in kennels, every moment they spend with us makes a real difference. Our foster carers also play a vital role, providing temporary homes for dogs until they find their forever family. To all of them, we are incredibly grateful.

Throughout this year, I have been inspired by the fundraising support we have received, too. Whether running marathons, climbing mountains, or attending our events, each effort helps us go beyond our mission.

Thanks to this generosity, we've also been able to provide services that keep dogs and their owners together, such as our free behaviour support line, which has helped more than 7,000 dog owners in the last year.

So, as we approach the new year, on behalf of everyone at Dogs Trust, I'd like to wish all our supporters a very Happy New Year, one in which we look forward to helping dogs find their forever homes and continue to be a force for good in dog welfare.

Owen Sharp

Chief Executive

Dogs Trust