Category: Parish Council

Climate Change. To bring folk down to earth after enjoying their globally-warmed holidays, a Private Member’s Bill, introduced by Mark Lazarowicz (a Scottish MP), has become The Sustainable Energy Act. Disappointingly this has nothing to do with keeping older folk full of beans, so that they can go on working into their 90s, but is …

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To view the August 2006 Clerk’s Column, please click here.

Regional Government. The National Association of Local Councils has been keeping a close eye on the activities of the energetic David Milliband, Minister for Communities and Local Government; now freed from the burden of covering up for his old boss, J–n Pr—-tt, he is putting the finishing touches to the new White Paper on Local …

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DeClog. So farewell then to ODPM and to any more John Prescott jokes. Somehow Ruth Kelly seems rather joke-proof, unless it was she who invented the acronym for the new Department for Communities and Local Government. It would be great if this meant the wholesale removal of cholesterol from the departmental arteries, especially in areas …

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To view the May 2006 Clerk’s Column, please click here.

Litter and other nuisances. The Clean Up Test Valley Campaign has sent us some fliers and sticky posters with which to decorate the village, warning that Enforcement Officers are on patrol with powers to obtain fines of up to £2,500. The CUTVC spokesperson* at Beech Hurst, gave assurances that Test Valley’s own Officers would be …

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Teeth. We can all think of some silly questions about odd place-names (such as “Who was Little Ann?”), but the answers usually lie in the remote past; not always, however, as the one-time residents of Lower Clatford are aware. Another not-so-old name is in a remote Yorkshire village where you will find yourself crossing False …

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Fireworks. Feedback from the mention of firework displays in the last Newsletter reflects the anxiety of a silent, and silence-loving, majority of the villagers. No-one, but no-one, likes being woken up in the middle of the night; loud bangs after bed-time can be terrifying for people of all ages, as well as to animals, and …

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Local Government Reform. Hands up all those who know who David Milliband is. He is well-known at ODPM, and we all know what that stands for, as Minister for Communities (that inescapable word) and Local Government. Under the steady guidance of John Prescott, Mr Milliband is hard at work on a plan (according to a …

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Planning and Technology. The arrival of Broadband was expected to revolutionise the life of our ancient village; we were led to believe that letter-boxes would soon only be seen as rarities on the Antiques Roadshow. Eager not to be left behind, the Parish Council decided to make a quantum leap into the 21st Century by …

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