VILLAGE PLAN 220108 - Houghton Bossington

HOUGHTON AND BOSSINGTON PARISH PLAN
F EBRUARY 2008
HOUGHTON AND BOSSINGTON PARISH PLAN
Contents
Page
Introduction
Key Proposals... at a glance
Background
Landscape, Environment & Planning
Communications
Community
Leisure, Sport and Youth
Public Transport
Economy
Policing and Traffic
3
4
5
8
14
16
17
19
20
21
Appendices
1 Objectives of the Parish Plan
2 Members of the Parish Plan Steering Group
3 Village Design Statements
4 Verges – cutting arrangements
5 Volunteers from the Questionnaire responses and their areas of interest
22
22
22
22
23
Website: www.houghton–bossington.org.uk
INTRODUCTION
What is a Parish Plan and why do we need one?
Over the last 40 years Houghton and Bossington have changed out of
recognition. These changes were not planned but simply happened.
First our school was closed, then our shops and post office disappeared and
now the garage has been shut. The percentage of people living in the village
employed on the land by local farms has dropped year by year, although some
new businesses have started up.
As in many villages, more and more of the housing stock is being bought by
busy commuters and young people in the village are finding it increasingly
difficult to afford the available houses. On the other hand, home-working
which is supported by the government for sustainable development, is
becoming increasingly common. This may lead to people spending more
time in the village.
While standards of living have
undoubtedly risen for most of the
villagers and many changes have
brought practical benefits,
nonetheless there seems to be a
general feeling that the village is in
danger of drifting towards becoming a
somewhat characterless dormitory
village without a spirit or life of its
own. We hear constant complaints
from young and old that amenities are
now simply no longer available; that
there is a lack of convenient
transportation; that the local police
are no longer visible in the village and
that there is poor accessibility to
medical services. The facilities for the
young are particularly limited.
Parish Plans are a part of a
Government-supported initiative
aimed at giving villagers like ourselves
the opportunity to have a real say in
how the village should develop in the
future. See
http://www.countryside.gov.uk/vitalvil
lages/whatis/parishplans.asp
The Countryside Agency provided the
bulk of the funding to enable
maximum consultation to take place.
Houghton Parish Council also
contributed funds. The Parish Council
is not running the project; however, it
does firmly support it.
Three councillors are on the Steering
Committee and the whole Council will
need to sign it off and will be the
means of taking forward some of the
actions recommended by you. What is
crucial is that as many of us as
possible from the village are actually
involved. Everyone has had an
opportunity to have their say.
Parish Plans may address issues
relevant to planning, but this is not
their principal purpose, and they do
not of themselves have formal status
within the planning system. On the
other hand, our local planning
authority, Test Valley Borough Council,
has stated that they will be ‘given
weight’ as supporting evidence for any
planning proposal where relevant. In
addition, a Parish Plan can lay the
groundwork for a ‘Village Design
Statement’ (or ‘VDS’). If properly
undertaken, a Village Design
Statement will achieve formal status
in the planning system, as a
‘supplementary planning document’.
VDS’s deal specifically with design,
rather than development. They give
guidance not on whether development
should take place but on what it
should look like if it does. The VDS is a
standard method by which village
communities can have a say in the
design of new buildings. A significant
number of Hampshire and Test Valley
villages have prepared them.
We all believe that we are privileged
to live in this beautiful place, set in
the most stunning countryside. All of
us want to protect what is good about
our environment and, we believe, to
address the issues which have arisen
in recent years but above all to ensure
that any future changes will accord
with the wishes of all the villagers
and, if possible, improve life for
everyone living here.
Part of the Test near Black Lake Farm.
3
Consultation
In February 2005 a Steering Group was
set up, following earlier work during
2004. The objectives of the Parish Plan
(see Appendix 1) and the key topics for
discussion and consultation were
identified. The process was publicised,
in particular through the parish
magazine. Volunteers who had a
particular interest in one or more of
the topics were then invited to join the
Steering Committee, (see Appendix 2).
It was agreed that each member of the
Steering Group would be responsible
for canvassing opinion about the
nature and possible solutions on one
topic each. They produced a draft
section of the Plan.
As result of this work, a Discussion
Paper was developed with an
accompanying Questionnaire which
was presented at three public
meetings at the Village Hall in
February 2006. For those villagers
unable to attend any of the meetings,
copies were hand-delivered to their
homes. Each household (based on the
2004/5 Electoral Register) was invited
to complete and return the
Questionnaire. Seventy-eight
completed Questionnaires were
returned representing almost 50% of
the households in the villages – and
197 people. We have analysed your
views and have modified our original
suggestions into recommendations,
accordingly. We believe that the
following proposals now represent the
majority view in the village on the
key issues.
The ‘raw’ statistics of numbers of
responses per topic and question
together with ‘free text’ responses are
posted on the village website
www.houghton-bossington.org.uk
The Parish Plan Steering Group would
like to thank all the respondents for
their support.
KEY PROPOSALS AT A GLANCE
The overall Plan and the Recommendations are the outcome of a two year process of
consultation, outlined in the Introduction. The key issues are more fully explored in
the following sections and the purpose of this section is simply to itemise all the
specific recommendations.
The Parish Plan Steering Group has endeavoured to give full consideration to the
views of all the villagers who have contributed either in meetings or via the
Questionnaire. The Group is most grateful for all the feedback and is now confident
that the Plan is representative of the majority opinion and does address the issues
which concern the majority of the villagers.
The key recommendations are as follows:-
Landscape, Environment and Planning
• Establish an Environmental Action Group to raise awareness of environmental
and sustainability issues within the parish and encourage local environmentfriendly projects.
• Retain the rural character of the roads by discouraging, for example, further
street lighting, excessive signage, intrusive traffic-calming measures.
• Press for building projects to be in the form of individual buildings on
appropriate plots or brown-field sites within the village.
• Set up an Action Group to prepare a Village Design Statement.
Communications
• Investigate the feasibility of an emailing list, under which participants providing
their email addresses receive email notification of parish events.
• Launch a Welcome Pack for all newcomers to the village.
Leisure, Sport and Youth
• Endorse the recommendations on improvements to verges and walkways in and
around the village and to pass those requirements to Hampshire County Council
for implementation.
• Create an Action Group to run a riverside event.
• Establish a Leisure and Sports Committee with three Action Groups:
1. village hall based activities;
2. development of the recreation ground;
3. development of other locally based sporting and leisure activities.
These Recommendations seem sensible, achievable and affordable and, as such, will
contribute to the quality of life in the village. However it must always be
remembered that circumstances change and a plan can never remain static. It is
vital, therefore, that the Plan is regularly reviewed and continually updated to meet
new requirements as they emerge.
Finally it cannot be sufficiently stressed that the Plan itself will be meaningless
unless the Recommendations are implemented; and these require people in the
village to assume leadership roles – obviously unless this happens, nothing will be
achieved!
4
BACKGROUND
Physical Characteristics
The parish of Houghton and Bossington
covers an area of approximately
7 square miles on the west bank of the
River Test south of Stockbridge, as
can be seen from the map on page 10.
The parish is an ancient settlement with
Saxon or even Roman origins. It is an
attractive parish with a wealth of old
buildings, including many
thatched/timber-framed houses. The
parish is secluded deep in the
countryside approximately equidistant
between Andover and Romsey which are
respectively 8-9 miles to the north and
south and between Winchester and
Salisbury 10-15 miles to the east and
west. The setting is a peaceful one,
miles from the nearest main road,
railway or flight path. The parish has a
beautiful riverside location on the west
bank of the River Test, ‘the queen of
chalk streams’, with open meadows
opposite the village on the east bank of
the river, stretching the full width of the
valley floor and broken up by a variety
of carriers of the River Test. This
riverside location means a wealth of
valley flora and wildlife and there is
substantial mature tree cover, both on
the approaches to and within the parish.
The parish has a relatively small
population of only 350 and has
developed in ribbon form along a single
road. This is not unusual for the area –
for example Longstock and Middle
Wallop - but the parish is unusually
long, about 2 miles from North
Houghton Farm to Bossington. There are
at least three distinct sections of the
parish: - North Houghton (with sporadic
houses/farms); central Houghton (with
much denser housing) and Bossington
(centred on the Bossington estate).
There is a river crossing on the
Horsebridge Road near Bossington,
giving access to the A3057 RomseyAndover road. There are relatively low
levels of through traffic, virtually no
street lighting, no mains gas, and no
mains sewage. The north and south
ends of the parish are each dominated
by substantial private estates Houghton Lodge in the north and
Bossington Estate in the south - each
owning a number of tenanted houses in
the parish. There has been a trend for
post-war development, other than
individual houses, to use sites on the
western fringe of the parish, hidden
from the main village road.
The parish’s facilities include two
churches, a village hall, a small playing
field and playground, a pub (The Boot),
a farm shop (Dairy Barn), and a
hydroponicum at Houghton Lodge. Until
recently there was also a small garage.
Local businesses are focused on
agriculture, construction and services
and there are also a number of small,
sole trader businesses.
There is high quality, private fly fishing
on the River Test within the parish,
primarily under the auspices of the
Houghton Lodge estate, the Bossington
estate and the Houghton Fishing Club.
Indeed, Houghton can with some
justification claim to be the birthplace
of modern dry fly fishing. There is also
pond-based fishing available on the
valley floor beside the Horsebridge
Road, near the John of Gaunt pub at
Horsebridge.
There are a number of local public
footpaths and/or bridleways, while the
road through Houghton and the
Horsebridge Road form part of a
designated cycle route.
Fishing at Bossington.
Items of particular historical interest
within the parish boundaries include:
• The course of the former Roman road
from Winchester to Sarum, south of
Horsebridge Road;
• The 12th century church of All Saints
in Houghton village;
• The 14th Century remains of the
boundaries of John of Gaunt’s Deer
Park, in the meadows in the vicinity
of Blacklake Farm;
• The site of a medieval village in
Bossington Park;
• Pittleworth Manor, whose origins
date to the Tudor period;
• Houghton Lodge, an exemplar of the
‘Cottage Ornée’ architectural style,
and a Registered Historic Park and
Garden;
• Bossington House, an early 19th
century building set in its own park.
“
We want the village to
retain its quiet peaceful
atmosphere...
”
5
From a planning point of view, the
parish is affected by the following forms
of planning/environmental designation
and control:• The main, built area of the parish
falls within a Conservation Area; this
means greater planning controls
than the norm.
• The River Test itself is a designated
Site of Special Scientific Interest
(‘SSSI’), designated by English
Nature in 1996. This involves the
imposition of certain land
use/environmental restrictions on
much of the valley floor.
In questionnaire responses almost all
respondents said they feel that the rural
environment of the parish is important
to them. About 65% also said the
community is important to them. Over
50% feel the buildings of the parish
important and around 40% feel the
parish’s history is important. Over 33%
also feel the parish important in terms
of convenience for work. A common
refrain is appreciation of the tranquillity
of the village. Others appreciate the low
levels of vandalism and littering.
In summary, the parish is set in a very
high quality natural environment with
an equal quality of buildings. It is rural
in character and has a much valued air
of tranquillity.
All these assets are treasured by the
villagers and the Plan should clearly
seek to preserve them.
However, there are also possible areas
for improvement. These include
addressing the practical difficulties
associated with the length of the parish
and enhancing the focus of the parish
on the river.
HISTORY
Although Houghton itself is an
archetypal Saxon village, straggling
along the western bank of the Test and
recalling the arrival by river of the
Germanic invaders, Bossington and
Houghton together have a long history
that goes back some 10,000 years to the
middle Stone Age. The surrounding
countryside was settled and farmed,
much as it is today, in the first
millennium BC. In Roman times the
road from Winchester to Old Sarum ran
through Bossington to the south of the
present church and it is likely that a
small town grew up around a poststation near the Test. In the Dark Ages
with rising water levels the road and the
centre of population moved north to
Stockbridge which in time became one
of King Alfred’s fortified burghs. By the
time of the Norman Conquest the
villages had more or less developed into
their present form. Indeed the
Domesday Book compiled at that time
suggests that the population was even
larger than today, although it does
seem that Houghton suffered badly from
the Black Death since church records
show that four priests died during a
single year and the population could
well have been halved. The most
significant event which is recorded for
the Middle Ages was when Henry V
camped with his army in the Bossington
fields before setting off for France and
the campaign that culminated at
Agincourt. Cottages in the village date
back to the end of this period but the
Church of All Saints actually goes back
to the 12th century and is likely to have
replaced an earlier Saxon church.
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
under Henry VIII radically changed land
Gold ring of a Saxon Bishop found locally.
ownership in the area as church lands
became private estates and it is likely
that the subsequent development of
agriculture, including the creation of the
water meadows by the Test, brought on
a period of agricultural prosperity. It
seems that local landowners in the
villages remained predominantly
Royalist during the Civil War and
Houghton itself saw two rectors
removed from office because their views
did not accord with those of the
Puritans. For the next century and a half
Bossington and Houghton saw
comparatively little change until the
post-Napoleonic agricultural depression
and the advent of mechanisation
sparked off agricultural riots across the
land but the impact locally was not
dramatic. However, it was during the
early part of the 19th century that a
number of the significant buildings in
the village were constructed: the
‘Cottage Ornée’ of Houghton Lodge and
the present Bossington House which
replaced an earlier building. At the
same time the old village of Bossington
was cleared to create a park, while the
old church of St James at Bossington
was replaced by the present neo-gothic
estate church.
“Bossington Pig” Roman pig of lead found at Bossington.
6
It is likely that the most dramatic
changes in the history of the villages
have come in the last 70 years, with
the coming of electricity in the 1930s;
the war years when in 1944 this area
was crowded with American and
Canadian soldiers prior to D-Day
(reminiscent of Henry V’s army) and
the Test at Sheepbridge was used for
testing amphibious vehicles; to the
post-war period when mechanisation
has reduced the number of farm
workers in the village to little more
than a dozen. The village school was
closed as were the Baptist and
Methodist chapels. Then one by one
all six village shops ceased trading
and now finally the garage.
Historic Tudor wall painting 1580.
70 years ago most villagers had lived
here all their lives and some had
scarcely ever travelled outside. Today
the majority of villagers have lived
here less than twenty years; most
travel daily to work in neighbouring
towns and cities and some commute
to London or even live in London and
only come down here for the
weekend. Without question the
traditional village life has all but
disappeared – our challenge is not to
sentimentalise the past but to see
what of the old community spirit and
neighbourliness can be preserved to
make our villages better places in
which to live.
School in Church Lane 1908.
Bossington House.
Reg and Geoff Butler with Bert Weeks, 1949.
7
LANDSCAPE, ENVIRONMENT
AND PLANNING
We all value the quality of the
environment in our valley and, above
all, wish to maintain and/or improve it.
In practice this does mean that we
recognise the need to preserve what is
healthy, continually restore and
replenish what is failing and, where
necessary and only with general
approval, implement new schemes to
enhance what already exists.
The questionnaires show that almost all
feel the open views and rural aspect of
the village are ‘important’ and that
three quarters of respondents rate these
factors as ‘very important’.
Flora
The first consideration must be the
trees, plants and wildlife around us.
The village should make every effort to
preserve the mature, indigenous,
hardwood trees, particularly at the
entrances to the village, such as the
beeches of North Houghton and the
horse chestnuts by Bossington Mill. An
overwhelming majority of respondents
feel the trees of the village either
‘important’ or ‘very important’.
Roadside tree-planting of suitable
hardwood/fruit tree should continue
where practicable and landowners
should be encouraged to plant
accordingly and to replant in the event
that older trees have to be cut down.
Over 80% of respondents feel that treeplanting is ‘important’ or ‘very
important’.
Similarly, bulb planting of indigenous or
other suitable, simple species in
appropriate green spaces, particularly
roadsides, should be encouraged. Most
respondents feel a continuing planting
programme is ‘important’ or ‘very
important’ and virtually no-one is
against the idea.
8
The parish website may include advice
to local residents and landowners about
control of designated injurious weeds,
such as ragwort, dock, creeping thistle
and spear thistle. No strong community
view on this issue emerged from the
questionnaire responses so this is left to
the discretion of the website editors.
Fauna
Local wildlife and of course the
environment necessary to sustain it,
should be preserved and maintained
with emphasis on wild, river-dwelling
birds and mammals, particularly at-risk
species such as water voles. Local
wildlife is overwhelmingly rated as
either ‘important’ or ‘very important’.
Clearly there must be liaison between
the parish and riparian owners to
achieve this. Again, the parish website
editors should consider including a
section on local wildlife and its
preservation.
Environmental and
Sustainability Issues
In terms of the much broader
environmental challenges which our
nation, and indeed the whole world,
faces due to global warming, our ability
to make any substantive difference in
our village is obviously small.
Nonetheless we believe that we can
contribute to the common effort and
specifically by setting an example to
other villages and towns. In the first
place we should support to the best of
our ability Test Valley and wider national
environmental programmes. We should
ensure that we recycle as much of our
waste as possible voluntarily. About
80% of questionnaire respondents say
they use the village bottle bank in
Stevens Drove; about 50% of those say
they would like the scheme extended
and about 50% say they would not. This
may in part reflect the impact of the
bottle bank locally – one respondent
notes the noise and suggests a more
central location (“so everyone can enjoy
the sound of crashing glass”); others
suggest some form of screening.
Suggestions for expansion of the
scheme do not include another bottle
bank, but rather the collection of other
recyclables as well, such as metals,
batteries, electrical equipment, plastics
and clothing.
Locally we can make a difference. For
example, in our use of water we can as
a village focus on reducing consumption
and waste; we can make more use of
collecting rainwater for our gardens. In
terms of carbon emissions we can
ensure the efficiency of our insulation
and heating systems or even changing
to sustainable energy sources such as
wood-burning stoves and solar energy.
We can encourage greater use of carsharing schemes and give full support to
local food producers and shops.
Awareness of environmental and
sustainability issues within the parish
should be raised and local environmentfriendly projects encouraged. A specific
section of the village website will be
dedicated to environmental good
practice and current local issues,
drawing on the expertise on hand in our
community. A majority of questionnaire
respondents feel that this is ‘important’
or ‘very important’. Above all we
should ensure that all new building
projects in the village are properly
scrutinised from an environmental point
of view. Ultimately we can best serve
the wider cause by establishing
ourselves as a beacon site in Hampshire
in sustainable environmental practice.
“
I think it is important to
have a mix of housing that
does not change the
current ambience of the
village.
”
Development
This Parish Plan presents an opportunity
to influence local planning decisions, in
particular in terms of design.
A variety of specific suggestions relating
to development and related issues have
been raised and addressed in
questionnaire responses: about 60% feel
there is a need for low cost ‘starter’
homes; about 45% for small family
houses (3 bedrooms); 40% for housing
association affordable housing - of which
many consider Alexander Close to be a
good example - and about 25% feel
there is a need for sheltered housing for
the elderly. Over 60% of respondents
expressed a preference for stopping the
conversion of multiple dwellings into
single dwellings.
Design
The design element of the planning
process, i.e. how rather than whether
development takes place and how new
structures should look, can be the
subject of a Village Design Statement.
Village Design Statements are the result
of a consultation exercise with a much
more specific scope than a Parish Plan
and set out detailed guidance
concerning the look of future
development (see Appendix 3). A Village
Design Statement prepared by us and
adopted by Test Valley Borough Council
as a Supplemental Planning Document
would have formal status within the
planning process.
Typical village cottage.
“
We need affordable homes
for young people who want
to remain or return to the
village.
”
Alexander Close development, porch design echoing the cottage above .
It was suggested in the Discussion Paper
that it would be a good idea to produce
a Village Design Statement for our
parish immediately after completion of
the Parish Plan. Sixty-five per cent of
respondents are in favour of this
proposal and (the acid test of true
support) a larger number of people
volunteered to assist with this task than
any other. This project should clearly
proceed without delay.
9
Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO. © Crown Copyright. All rights reserved.
10
Looking north from Bossington.
11
RECOMMENDATIONS
Development Principles
Retail/Service
Flora & Fauna
• Preserve the Parish’s clear physical
separation from adjoining
settlements (reflecting the views of
over 85% of questionnaire
respondents).
• Preserve and encourage local
retailers and other services providing
a local service and/or local
employment, such as the Dairy Barn
Farm Shop, the Boot Inn, the
Houghton Lodge Hydroponicum.
The Parish Council should:
• Investigate and implement all
practicable steps to preserve the
mature, indigenous, hardwood trees
in the parish, in particular at the
entrances to the village, such as the
beeches of North Houghton and the
horse chestnuts by Bossington Mill.
• Continue the programme of roadside
tree-planting of suitable
hardwood/fruit trees, where
practicable.
• Investigate and implement all
practicable steps to encourage
similar tree-planting by villagers,
including replanting in the event that
mature trees have to be felled.
• Continue the programme of flower
bulb planting with indigenous or
other suitable species in appropriate
roadside green spaces.
• Encourage village website editors to
include advice on control of
designated ‘injurious weeds’; and a
section concerning local wildlife and
its preservation, in particular with
regard to at-risk species such as
water voles.
Environmental & Sustainability
• Establish a parish Environmental
Action Group to raise awareness of
environmental and sustainability
issues within the parish and
encourage local environment-friendly
projects and invite the Parish Council
to cooperate and coordinate
activities.
• Dedicate a section of the village
website to environmental good
practice and current local issues.
• The Parish Council should explore
and implement all practicable steps
to ensure that all new building
projects in the village are properly
scrutinised from an environmental
point of view.
12
• New build to be in the form of
individual buildings on appropriate
plots and only on brownfield sites
(as preferred by over 60% of
questionnaire respondents).
• No building of new houses on the
east side of the river.
• Environmental and sustainability
issues to be taken into account
when considering any new building
or development.
Residential
The following guidance is considered
appropriate in respect of all future
residential building/development:
• Maintain a full range of house sizes,
including small houses.
• If the need exists, increase provision
of affordable housing in suitablysited developments of good
architectural quality. Scrutinise with
special care applications for
conversion of multiple dwellings into
single dwellings.
• Density and curtilage size of new
buildings should be appropriate to
the site and its surroundings and to
the character of the parish; houses
should be set back from the road as
far as practicable, unless this is
inappropriate by reference to
adjoining houses.
“
We have inherited one of the
most beautiful parts of
England – we must do all
we can to preserve and
improve it.
”
• Support is given to the addition of
further appropriate retail
outlets/services that would provide a
service to the community and/or
local employment.
Commercial (including small
businesses)
• Encourage existing businesses
located in the parish as providers of
local employment and services,
conducted with minimal adverse
impact on the local environment.
• Encourage small businesses,
particularly those making use of
existing or former agricultural
buildings.
Agricultural (including country
sports)
• Encourage and support local
agriculture and traditionally
associated rural activities such as
riding and field sports.
• Scrutinise with particular care
applications for development of
agricultural buildings within the
parish, to take account of the
community’s preference for the
continued use of agricultural
buildings for agriculture and/or
appropriate small business, failing
which, any change to residential
and/or office use should aim to
retain the original building and/or its
style wherever possible
(a proposition with which a strong
majority of over 80% of
questionnaire respondents agreed).
Public buildings/amenities
Utilities
• Encourage and assist the use of all
public amenities in the parish,
including the two churches, the
village hall, the bus stops, the notice
boards, the playing field and the
playground.
• Parish Council should take steps to
facilitate and/or secure appropriate
tree-screening (with suitable species)
of intrusive public utilities buildings,
such as the electrical sub-station on
Monarch’s Way (as approved by a
strong majority of over 75% of
questionnaire respondents).
Highway
• Retain the rural character of the road
by discouraging street lighting,
excessive signage, intrusive trafficcalming measures (unless these
become plainly necessary).
• Invite the Parish Council and
Environmental Action Group to
consider the installation of further
benches or other appropriate
amenities at suitable roadside
locations; encourage use of the
roadside walkway and create natural
meeting points (a third of
questionnaire respondents favoured
the installation of further roadside
benches).
• We welcome the recent arrival of
Broadband in the parish, and wish to
encourage general improvement in
communications to the parish.
• Recommend that Parish Council and
District Council encourage an
environmentally-friendly approach to
local utilities.
Design
• Set up an Action Group to prepare a
Village Design Statement.
12th Century All Saints Church.
• Encourage off-street parking
wherever possible; any increase in
through-traffic from heavy vehicles
should be discouraged.
The Test at Boot Island.
13
COMMUNICATIONS
Background
With its changing population, the busy
lives that so many villagers lead today
and the current low level of organised
activity within the village, good
communication about facilities, events
and activities is essential if we are to
create an active and caring community.
The established means of
communication within the village
consists of the traditional ‘word of
mouth’ (which is clearly dependent
upon a healthy mixture of social
gatherings), village and church noticeboards, the Parish Magazine and the
village Website. The relative popularity
of these was shown in the Survey:
• The Parish Magazine was the major
way of keeping in touch – 60%
• Notices on telegraph poles - 49%
• Word of mouth, the traditional
method – 31%
• The notice board by the Village Hall –
25%
• Official notices in the local press –
6%
• Parish website – 2%
Of these, the Parish Magazine has been
ably edited for many years by Dawn
Williams. It is now edited with equal
professionalism by Ingrid Burt and
clearly fulfils a very useful function;
however, it does not go to every
household in the village.
Village Website
www.houghton-bossington.org.uk
The village website offers immense
potential but is still only accessed by a
small minority of villagers. Recently
the management of the Village
website has been taken over by Ken
Jones and he has instituted a number
of significant changes to improve its
attractiveness and usefulness:• It has been completely revised and
simplified, keeping some pages and
removing others, while adding a
number of new pages, although the
overall aim has been to retain the
feel of the site as originally designed.
• Every effort will be made to keep the
site up-to-date with regular updates,
so that news of coming events will
be both timely and current.
• The actual recording of events will
obviously rely heavily upon
individuals providing reports and
photographs of the events that they
organise. Ken himself has started to
record village events on a digital
camera for entering directly onto the
website.
To widen the appeal, the Village website
has now been registered with the
following sites:1. Hampshire Association of Parish
Councils (HAPC).
2. Hampshire County Council
‘Hantsnet’.
3. ‘Villages on Line’ - this is a website
dedicated to community websites
throughout the UK.
4. Google - the most widely used search
engine.
A number of improvements were
identified in the Questionnaire
responses which will be implemented.
The first is that many local people are
unaware of its presence and those
who know of it can find it hard to
access. Secondly, the information
provided needs to be expanded and
updated on a regular basis. The
following are the first of a number of
changes:
• The majority of respondents would
like to participate in an e-mail
listing so that they can receive
notifications of events in the
village. We hope to introduce this
as soon as practical.
• The website must be registered by
major search engines such as
Google
• Formation of an editorial group to
update the website on a regular
basis; volunteers have been
identified.
• Expand the website content - for
example: the Parish Council’s
minutes should be published on
the web.
Among other changes that were
suggested are a ‘talkboard’,
sales/wanted lists, recommendations
of restaurants, pubs, etc. Pages such
as this will be introduced but again of
necessity will rely heavily on input
from villagers.
“
‘We like Houghton as it is
and no great changes are
required - once the village is
developed its charm will be
lost; changes should be
subtle...’
”
Village hall
14
Parish Council
Communicating the decisions made by
Houghton Parish and Test Valley
Borough Council is relevant to everyone
who lives in Houghton. How this
information is made known and how the
process could be improved were key
questions. Generally the overall
responses confirm that the villagers are
happy with the work of the Parish
Council and the way in which its
decisions are communicated. Fifty-two
per cent felt that the Parish Council
does ‘very well’ or ‘adequately’. On the
critical issue of planning applications,
41% feels that these were properly
advertised, while 32% thinks that this
process could be improved.
Welcome Pack
For newcomers to the village it is
planned to produce a Welcome Pack to
provide them with all the necessary
information that they need to settle
quickly into village life. This will include
essential local services and facilities, key
telephone numbers and more general
information about our village and this
part of Hampshire. The Pack will also
contain copies of the Parish Magazine
and Hampshire Now. The emphasis will
be very much on the ‘welcome’ with a
message of goodwill from the Parish
Council. Other items of potential use for
newcomers will include:-
It will be produced on laminated paper
to make it durable for use by
householders. The pack will also
include publications from Hampshire
County Council, Test Valley Borough
Council and Stockbridge. As their
pastoral duties include visiting new
arrivals to the village, the Rector and
Reader of All Saints Church, the
Reverend Ron Corne and Gina Livermore,
have volunteered to distribute the
Welcome Pack.
Recommendations
Telephones
• Extend the website to include
information on all the issues raised
elsewhere in the Parish Plan.
Telephones, both fixed and mobile, were
included in our Survey. However,
despite the widespread use of mobile
phones, only 53 out of 140 replies would
support any application for the erection
of a mobile phone mast in order to
improve communications in the village.
Until opinions change, there seems little
need to pursue this part of the
communications questions.
In view of the recurring damage to the
public phone box in Stevens Drove and
the widespread ownership of home and
mobile telephones, there is a need to
retain it and for British Telecom to
continue to maintain it.
• Create a small editorial team to
assist with the updating of the
village website.
• Launch a Welcome Pack for all
newcomers to the village.
• Investigate the feasibility of an
emailing list, under which
participants providing their email
addresses receive email notification
of parish events.
“
I think a Welcome Pack
would definitely be a good
idea, having just moved into
the village.
”
• Names and contact details of elected
officers, including the Member of
Parliament, County and Borough
Councillors as well as Parish
Councillors
• Telephone numbers of schools
• Stockbridge Surgery details
• Local post offices and times of
collections
• Utilities such as the electricity and
water companies
• Churches
• Local organisations like the
Women’s’ Institute
Family life in the village.
15
COMMUNITY
The Village Hall is geographically very
much in the centre of the village and is
run by a small Committee. The building
is of 1920’s design and although it has
recently had a refurbished kitchen, lacks
some of the facilities that more modern
village halls have. It is available for
hiring by people both in the village and
outside. Villagers contribute financially
to the running of the Village Hall via the
Parish Council which regularly makes
budget provision for funding.
The Village Hall Committee runs a
monthly ‘draw’. Results from the
Questionnaire show that an
overwhelming proportion of respondents
(nearly 90%) would welcome the Village
Hall arranging more fund raising events
to help improve the Hall’s facilities.
More detailed information about the
sorts of improvements highlighted by
respondents can be found under Leisure,
Sport and Youth.
There is a thriving Women’s Institute
group with approximately 22 members.
It is run on a joint basis with
Stockbridge. Monthly meetings are held
in Houghton Village Hall covering a very
varied range of topics from walks to craft
classes - not all ‘jam and Jerusalem’.
Perhaps the highlight of the year is the
Annual party and drama show to which
non-members are always invited. The WI
also does a terrific job, in conjunction
with the Parochial Church Council, in the
catering and entertainment for the
annual Harvest Supper. 2008 is the 90th
anniversary of the WI and there will be
lots of special events.
Harvest Supper in the village hall.
There is a well established ‘free house’
public house – The Boot – which has a
reputation both locally and further afield
for good food. Many of the vegetables
served in the pub’s restaurant are grown
by the pub’s Landlord.
Until recently there was a Garden Club,
which held talks and presentations in
the village hall on a wide variety of
topics related to the environment,
horticulture and local history/landscape
as well as visits to local gardens and
farms (cheese and buffalo farms). There
was an annual barbecue and Christmas
party. Sadly, the Club stopped operating
within the last couple of years, due to
lack of on-going support to run the Club.
For centuries the Church has been in the
centre of our community, both physically
and socially. All Saints remains the
oldest, most historic and most beautiful
building in the village and a source of
communal continuity.
Although these days
regular attendance is low,
the Church is usually
packed for the major
festivals, such as Easter
and Christmas; and most
village families like to mark
the major events in their
lives, such as christenings,
weddings and funerals,
with a church service in
front of all their friends.
Not all ‘Jam and Jerusalem’, the W.I.
16
The results of the Questionnaire support
this, with 80% of respondents valuing All
Saints for such special events.
“
I would like to see the
villagers, whether church
goers or not, taking a more
active interest and concern
for the historic and lovely
old buildings.
”
As representatives of the established
church, our Rector, Ron Corne, and our
Reader, Gina Livermore, endeavour to
visit and welcome all new arrivals to the
village, as well as visiting people who
are suffering sickness or bereavement.
The responses from the Questionnaire
indicate that most people are satisfied
with the level of contribution of the
church to community life - only 16% of
respondents feel the church should
contribute more to community life.
However, a small number of parishioners
would like to see more child-friendly
services.
In terms of support for the general
running of the church, most respondents
wish to contribute financially or
physically assist with the maintenance of
the fabric of the church (cleaning,
churchyard).
The provision of Sunday school is
dependent upon the number of very
young children in the village at any time
and therefore is shared with
neighbouring villages - at the moment it
is provided in Broughton. The full
programme of church activities and
events is published in the Parish
Magazine which is distributed monthly
to subscribers (which is most households
but not all).
In terms of child care, there is no current
provision in the villages to support
working mothers. Other villages have
organised local services, such as afterschool latchkey care and mother and
toddler groups. Again this is very much a
matter of numbers and actual demand;
the response from the questionnaire
recorded 36 under 16 year olds in the
village, 14 of whom were 10 years and
under. Given the relatively small
number, together with a very low
interest in village-based child-care
facilities, it is proposed that existing
arrangements are adequate for the
foreseeable future.
The village is served by a mobile library
which calls weekly. The responses from
the Questionnaire indicate that although
80% are aware of the service, it is used
by only 3% mainly because it arrives
during the day when the majority of
householders are out at work, school or
college. (“I would use it if the timing
was more convenient.”). Most
respondents feel the service is adequate
as it is. It should be noted that the
service is aimed at rural areas and those
people who are unable to visit town
centre libraries.
“
I think a tennis club
would be a social centre
for the village.
”
LEISURE, SPORT & YOUTH
Perhaps the starting point in village life
in Houghton is the River Test. Its health
and integrity should clearly be preserved
at all costs. Wherever necessary, the
Parish should co-operate with the
owners of the river bank and of fishing
rights to this end. Public (or semi-public)
access to the river is currently limited to
the crossing at Sheep Bridge and from
the garden of The Boot public house.
There is no riverside walk. The benefits
of what is perhaps the parish’s greatest
potential asset are consequently not
maximised. Increased access to the
river for local residents is a highly
desirable objective and this is confirmed
by a majority of respondents. This could
be in the form of an open space
bordering the river (even if only
occasionally used) and/or a riverside
walk even if no more than permissive
and limited in length and in some way
restricted to Houghton villagers.
Until relatively recently there was a
path along the east side of the River Test
from the Sheep Bridge to Houghton
Mill. Its historical origins lay in a
Romany encampment on the east bank
near the Sheep Bridge and the wartime
closure of the Sheep Bridge for military
training. The Houghton Fishing Club
and the Bossington estate co-operated
to create the permissive route to enable
access from the encampment to the
village. The path persisted long after
the war but more recently has been
allowed to become overgrown, largely
because of its use by increasing
numbers of people from outside the
village and bad behaviour by some of
those using the path. The Houghton
Fishing Club has been approached about
reopening this walk but the members
feel strongly that it would prove
impossible to guarantee that access
could be limited to villagers and that
the situation would rapidly deteriorate.
However, Captain and Mrs. Busk have
already opened up a river walk as part
of the attractions in season at Houghton
Lodge and kindly offer vouchers in the
Parish magazine to enable villagers to
have access to the river walk at reduced
rates. They have also offered access
‘out of season’ to villagers, subject to a
telephone call to the Lodge.
An annual river-related parish event was
thought highly desirable by a strong
majority. This would strengthen the
parish’s riverside identity as well as
providing a community focus. In the
relatively recent past regular public
events have been held in the parish,
such as the Houghton Flower Show and
an event which involved ‘carrying the
maiden across the Test’. If such an event
could take place in a riverside location,
preferably central within the parish, such
as a field bordering the river and
adopting a river-related theme, it would
both help to strengthen our riverside
identity and provide a focal community
event. Equally, such an event could be
an opportunity for developing relations
between local residents and the sporting
estates. There is no doubt that a suitable
site could be found in the village and the
real challenge is to find a team of
volunteers to organise the event and
especially someone to take the lead role.
“
I like the idea of an
annual event by
the river.
”
For walking and cycling around the
village there are, outside the built area,
a number of public footpaths that pass
through or near to the parish and form
part of natural local circuits for walking.
However, in almost all such cases it is
also necessary to walk on the road, in
particular along the Horsebridge Road –
which is narrow with a number of bends
with poor visibility and sometimes
carrying relatively fast traffic. This is
also true of the road to Mottisfont and
the road to Stockbridge through North
Houghton where traffic tends to be fast
despite a 40 mph speed limit for most of
its length. These features significantly
reduce the safety and amenity value of
walking locally.
17
We suggest implementing a
programme of establishing and
maintaining good walkable grass
verges on all obvious walking routes
outside the built-up area.
This may required the levelling and/or
widening of the verge in places and
will involve ensuring that grass is kept
below a walkable height and ensuring
hedges are trimmed back as necessary.
Over 75% of respondents were in
favour of walkable verges whereas
views about increased pavements were
much more mixed - possibly reflecting
the response from over 40% who were
concerned to maintain the rural aspect
of the village.
One of the most significant changes
which have occurred over the last 50
years and one that has radically
changed the face of village life has
been the steep decline in village-based
sports and leisure activities. There are
a number of reasons for this - a more
mobile population with many villagers
enjoying leisure activities away from
the village; working couples having
little time for other activities when
they are at home and a lack of critical
mass of young people in the village to
be able to form clubs or teams.
However all these factors are prevalent
in other villages where, like Mottisfont
for example, it is still possible to turn
out both a football and a cricket team.
The critical factor is the presence of
people who are prepared to give their
time and effort to create and run the
clubs – without these enthusiasts
nothing will happen.
Even in the 1960s, Houghton had two
cricket teams (for men and women), a
football team, a hockey team, a tennis
club and earlier a very dedicated quoits
team. Also at that time there was an
annual Pram Race across the Test.
Apart from sports, there was a
flourishing amateur dramatic society
and the main social event of the year
was the annual Flower Show. Today all
these have disappeared and only the
Women’s’ Institute continues to
flourish.
18
While we fully acknowledge that it is
impossible and undesirable to turn the
clock back to the 1960s, we understand
from responses that there is a desire in
the village for more organised leisure
and sport; but the question remains of
who will be prepared to take a lead in
organizing specific sports. Above all,
we would like to improve facilities for
young people.
While previous pitches for cricket,
hockey and football have been
ploughed up, teams could be formed
with neighbouring villages and
matches played on their grounds. In
addition, the re-creation of a tennis
club could be possible. One suggestion
is to build one or possibly two tennis
courts on the present playing field
which could then double up for minifootball, basketball, netball. By
extending and glazing the veranda
behind the Village Hall we could
provide not only a Clubhouse but a
meeting place for young people.
Clearly such development would
seriously affect the football area but
this is already too small. The Busk
family has indicated that the lower
portion of the field to the north west of
the playing field could be made
available to provide a more sensibly
sized area for football, although
obviously not a full-sized pitch. The
finances of such an ambitious project
need to be studied carefully but a
preliminary estimate suggests that it
could be feasible.
There are other sporting and leisure
activities which have attracted interest
such as starting a badminton club
using facilities at Test Valley School.
Other suggestions include fly fishing
coaching and bell-ringing. Many came
up with a variety of ideas for activities
in the Village Hall. Given the high level
of interest and enthusiasm we believe
the best way forward is to establish a
Leisure and Sports Committee to be
responsible for considering all the ideas
in terms of feasibility and demand and
drawing up an implementation
programme.
Houghton Lodge offers a riverside walk.
It will need to liaise with the Village
Hall committee and the Chairman
Brian (Bucky) Stanfield has welcomed
the proposal.
In terms of more active co-operation
with neighbouring villages, we should
seek interest from sports teams in the
area for accepting Houghton players on
a regular basis. We have already
received an approach from Kings
Somborne for Houghton villagers to
join their newly formed tennis club.
Similarly, both Broughton and
Stockbridge have amateur dramatic
societies that could welcome people
from Houghton; other villages might
be interested in establishing a joint
venture such as a Flower Show.
Recommendations
• The Parish Council to endorse the
recommendations on improvements
to verges and walkways in and
around the village and to pass those
requirements to Hampshire County
Council for implementation.
• Create an Action Group to run a
riverside event
• Establish a Leisure and Sports
Committee with three Action Groups:
– Village Hall-based activities;
– development of the playing field;
– development of other locally-based
sporting and leisure activities.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The need for public transport has
changed dramatically over the last few
decades. A small minority of villagers
now work on local farms and
businesses while the majority travel to
the local towns and cities. Moreover
houses in the village are increasingly
being bought by people who commute
even further away or indeed only use
the houses for weekends. At the same
time over 90% of households now own
cars and therefore do not consider
public transport as a viable, still less a
necessary, alternative.
However despite the above changes,
8% of respondents, both young and
old, do rely on public transport not
only for work, but for shopping, school
and college and doctors and hospitals.
For these villagers adequate
transportation is of vital importance to
their quality of life and indeed their
health and future lives.
It has become only too obvious that
regular scheduled bus services have
become increasingly hard to justify.
One only has to see the number of
buses driving through the village which
are virtually empty, except for those
that cater for students and commuters
in the mornings and evenings. As a
result of pressure from the Parish
Council more recently it seems likely
that a modified service will be tried
that will go to Winchester via the Royal
Hampshire County Hospital; it is hoped
that this will significantly increase the
convenience for patients and visitors.
Recommendations
The main provision for future services
therefore is more likely to be ‘on
demand’ rather than scheduled
services. There are a number of such
services already available which are
outlined in the table of bus schedules.
All prices are approximate and are of
course subject to change.
• Confirm earlier discussions with
Stage Coach to modify their route
into Winchester to facilitate more
convenient drop off and return from
the Royal Hampshire County
Hospital.
One significant issue has been the
apparent lack of interest in our village
in using the apparently successful
Broughton and Mottisfont bus which is
run by the villagers themselves. It
seems likely that is largely due to a
general lack of knowledge about the
service, which can go to all the popular
local destinations with 24 hour’s notice
of requirement. It is an excellent
service at a modest price. This also
raises another key issue, namely, that
there is generally a lack of knowledge
in the village of what transportation
services are available and it is vital that
the village website and the parish
magazine carry full details and are
regularly updated.
• Re-open discussions with Broughton
and Mottisfont to see if their bus
schedule could be adapted to meet
the needs of Houghton and
Bossington.
• Ensure that details of all available
services are published on the village
web-site, parish magazine and
included in the new information pack
for newcomers to the village.
Provider
Flexibility
Destination
When
Booking
Costs (return)
Broughton &
Mottisfont Bus
Set times
Salisbury
Tuesday
‘Phone with 24 hours’ notice
£3.60
Broughton &
Mottisfont Bus
Set times
Southampton
1st Wednesday of each month
‘Phone with 24 hours’ notice
£3.90
Broughton &
Mottisfont Bus
Set times
Winchester
2nd Wednesday of each month
‘Phone with 24 hours’ notice
£3.75
Romsey
Thursday am
Friday pm
‘Phone with 24 hours’ notice
£2.80
Broughton &
Mottisfont Bus
Broughton &
Mottisfont Bus
On demand
Any
Any time when free
‘Phone with 24 hours’ notice
90p/mile
Dial-a-Ride
Set times
Romsey
Wednesday
‘Phone with 24 hours’ notice on
Roughly as above
Joy Rides
Set times
Andover
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Negotiable
Competitive
Stagecoach
Set times
Winchester
(via Sparsholt)
As per bus timetable
None
As per company
price list
19
ECONOMY
There are now at least 16 businesses
located within the boundaries of the
village, employing over 80 people of
whom less than half live in the village.
The number of businesses is not
dissimilar to the situation that existed a
hundred years ago. There are the two
major agricultural estates, two
construction companies, the tourist
attraction of Houghton Lodge and
Gardens and, in terms of food and retail,
The Boot and Dairy Barn Farm. The other
businesses cover a wide range of
markets with, for example, Disability
Matters at Tiebridge even having an
international as well as a national focus.
The fundamental difference from the
past is that the large agricultural estates
no longer depend upon people from the
village for their labour force and indeed
few villagers actually work for them.
Similarly the rest of the businesses,
which once included six shops and a
number of craftsmen, no longer serve
the needs of the village, either
exclusively or even largely, and the
villagers themselves no longer depend
upon any village business for their
services. People now travel to
Stockbridge and neighbouring towns for
their shopping and find craftsmen to
meet their needs from a wide radius.
However, although The Boot public
house and Dairy Barn Farm do serve a
much wider market than the village
both have indicated that they would
welcome much more local support than
they currently receive.
When asked to describe the benefits of
locating in Houghton, local business
people cited the attractive rural setting,
good access to arterial roads, free
parking and support from Hampshire
County Council. In terms of
disadvantages, one business actually
said that it could not see any! Others
mentioned distance from commercial
centres, poor public transport and icy
roads in winter. Generally the feedback
was very positive and it would not seem
difficult to attract more businesses to
locate here.
“
‘It is impossible to recreate
the social and economic
conditions of 40 years ago better to encourage us to
accept some changes than
try to protect vestiges of
village life based on the
agricultural past...’
”
Interdependence between business and
the village clearly does exist in that
some villagers enjoy employment at
home or at least within walking
distance. This is not only attractive in
itself for some people but very necessary
for others who have pressing family
commitments. Similarly we are wholly
dependent upon the local agricultural
estates to maintain and improve the
natural environment, whilst the
attractive features of the environment in
turn attract small businesses and those
who wish to work from home.
However, the most obvious question to
ask is what real benefit the village itself
derives from new businesses,
particularly if they do not serve the
needs of the villagers. There does not
seem to be any obvious disadvantage
but is there a need to seek and
encourage more businesses to set up
within the village?
Forty-eight per cent of respondents say
they would support attracting more
businesses to the area and
approximately 66% feel that such
businesses should aim specifically to
offer employment opportunities to
villagers.
Twelve per cent say they have an
interest in the provision or
development of business premises in
the village and about 50% ‘agreed’ or
‘strongly agreed’ to encouraging the
presence of small business in the
village, in particular those making use
of former agricultural buildings.
When asked to respond as to how
realistic economically it was to open
further retail outlets in the village, most
respondents recognise that it is not
economically viable. Of those who feel
it would be viable, 25% would prefer
food/household and 6% preferred
furniture/antiques and ‘other’
(eg: garden centre, newsagent).
Everest Construction.
20
POLICING AND TRAFFIC
Policing
The growth of rural crime is becoming
a growing concern for many villagers
and the village has experienced a
number of burglaries in recent years. At
the same time the local police presence
has been reduced as a matter of
deliberate policy by the Police
Authority.
Stockbridge Police Station is resourced
with a Sergeant, six Police Officers and
a Beat Manager, who also operates as
the village’s Liaison Officer.
Emergencies are dealt with by the
‘targeted patrol team’ based at
Andover.
The Stockbridge team deals with
neighbourhood and community issues
and rural policing.
The Road Policing Unit provides 24
hour service for road accidents. In
addition there is now a Mobile Police
Office which will be taken to the
various villages in the TVBC area on a
rota basis but we are told that priority
will be given to ‘hot spots’. Contact
with our local Beat Manager is via
0845 0454545 and a message will be
relayed to the officer on duty. However
in emergencies, the usual 999 number
still applies. A request has been made
for the villagers to be given a specific
mobile telephone number for the local
police. However, the police have been
reluctant to do this and for the
moment we must continue to use the
0845 number but at the same time
continue to monitor its effectiveness.
“
I walk through the village
every day with my children
to the playground and I find
that cars always speed down
the straight bit which I find a
little frightening...
”
Village sign 100yds within village boundary.
We do have an operational
Neighbourhood Watch scheme in
place, which has been well supported
by the local police. The village
representative is Peter Kennesion who
makes every effort to contact
newcomers to the village, to introduce
himself and explain how the scheme
works. Every two weeks the police
provide ‘crime sheets’ of any local
criminal activity in the Test Valley and
these are then published on the notice
boards by the Village Hall and by the
bus stop opposite The Boot and in the
Parish Magazine.
Traffic
The growth of traffic clearly presents a
challenge for a village like ours with a
long and sometimes narrow main
street with some sharp corners. A
comprehensive traffic survey carried
out five years ago sought villagers’
views on all aspects of traffic through
the village as well as parking in the
main street. The general view was that
the 30 mph speed limit should be
extended and a 40 mph limit
introduced to the north of the village.
Both of these measures have now been
implemented. However 50% of
respondents feel that these measures
should be enforced with periodic police
speed traps and that the Parish Council
should continue to press for action.
Similarly the Parish Council has
initiated proceedings with the
Highways Department to have the 30
mph restriction sign moved to the
Horsebridge side of the Mill Bridge.
Parking can be a problem in the main
street but it was generally felt that it is
not sufficiently troublesome to warrant
creating no-parking zones or any other
measures.
Recommendations
• Monitor communications with local
police to ensure that response is
acceptable and ensure that contact
details for local Police are available
on village website.
• Continue to press the Police
Authority to establish at least two
speed checks a year to encourage
greater compliance to the existing
speed limits.
• Relocate the village sign and 30
mph restriction sign to the
Horsebridge side of Mill Bridge.
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Appendix 1
Appendix 3
Objectives of the Parish Plan
Village Design Statements
The Village Design Statement (‘VDS’)
gives the local community a recognised
voice in the planning processes which
affect the visual quality of villages.
1 To enable effective representation to
local authorities and other service
providers and grant makers, with
evidence of proper research and wide
consultation to underpin the validity
of the plan.
2 To identify the real needs of the
village, and the opportunities to meet
them, by taking an integrated view of
all local social and economic activity.
3 To identify the environmental
strengths and weaknesses of the
village and its environs and make the
most of the opportunities they offer
and, where necessary and/or
possible, to plan for the probable
impacts of climate change.
4 To achieve an understanding and
consensus as to how, indeed if, the
village wishes to influence or attract
future growth, with particular interest
in the preferred style and scale of any
development.
5 To develop a strategy for the local
community with respect to actions
that we can take for ourselves in
terms of both facilities and activities.
6 To foster a sense of community spirit
by engaging as many people as
possible in our planning process and
by using this process to start or renew
village institutions and organised
activities.
Appendix 2
The Parish Plan Steering Group
• Chairman – David Livermore
• Secretary – Jim Atkinson, Llyn Adams
• Production – John Hurley
Leaders
• Social & Community – Lucy Gosse
• Landscape, Environment & Planning
– Tom Graham/Charles Burt
• Economy
– Llyn Adams/David Livermore
• Public Transport, Policing and Traffic
– Alan Young
• Sport, Leisure, Youth – David Livermore
• Communications – Ken Jones
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VDS's are the work of the local
community, not the local planning
authority.
VDS's address design, rather than
development issues. They are not about
whether development should take
place, but about how planned
development should be carried out, so
that it is in harmony with its setting and
contributes to the conservation and
enhancement of the local environment.
VDS’s describe the qualities and
characteristics which residents value in
their village and its surroundings, and
set out clear and simple guidance for
the design of all development in the
village, based on that character. Design
includes such matters as size, shape,
scale and materials.
VDS’s are advisory documents which are
intended to influence future planning
policies. They may also be adopted by
the local planning authority as
Supplemental Planning Documents, in
which case they have a formal role in
the planning process.
Test Valley Borough Council has a policy
of adopting VDS’s as Supplemental
Planning Guidance.
VDS’s must be prepared in accordance
with specific government guidance.
This includes careful analysis and
consultation, according to a particular
model.
There may be some overlap between the
contents of a Parish Plan and a VDS.
Indeed it is theoretically possible to
incorporate an entire VDS in a Parish
Plan.
The Parish Plan Steering Committee
does not think it practicable to
incorporate a VDS in the Parish Plan,
because the Parish Plan would be held
up unduly. Instead, it has been
suggested that a Village Design
Statement be prepared as a separate
project, immediately after the Parish
Plan is completed, building on the
relevant material in the Parish Plan.
Appendix 4
Verges - cutting arrangements
(as at 2007)
Most grass verges are technically part of
the highway and are the responsibility
of the highway authority, Hampshire
County Council, which has delegated
the task locally to Test Valley Borough
Council (TVBC).
TVBC cuts its rural grass verges as
follows:
Frequency:
• within the built–up area of villages,
six times a year;
• outside villages, twice a year.
• in Houghton and Bossington, the
verges in the central part of the
village receive 6 cuts per annum,
beginning at Drayton Corner in the
north and extending to the Mill
Bridge on Horsebridge Road, and
beyond Corner Cottage on the
Mottisfont Road; all other verges are
cut twice yearly.
The swathe width is 1 metre in most
locations. At main T-junctions, such as at
Horsebridge, it is 2.5 metres, to improve
sight-lines.
Hampshire County Council and TVBC are
willing to receive representations
seeking changes to the cutting
arrangements.
The Highway Authority is not directly
responsible for hedge-cutting, though
may become involved in bad cases of
hedges overgrowing the highway.
Appendix 5
Volunteers from the Questionnaire responses and their areas of interest
Issue of interest
Name(s)
Other issues/interests
Name(s)
Church activities –
Barry Clarke
Kirsten Ellwood
Lucy and Bob Gosse
Lindsay Parker
Iain Rushbrook
Mike Saunders
Tim Spriggs
Writers Club –
Jean Cooper-Moran
Village Welcome Pack –
Philippa Williams
Churchyard maintenance –
Kevin Barwick
John Hurley
Village Fete –
Claudia Bradby
Barry Clarke
Iain Rushbrook
Auction of promises supper –
(to raise money
for tennis court,
football, etc.,)
Claudia Bradby
Environmental work –
Leisure and/or sports facilities –
Kevin Barwick
Tom Bradby
Charles and Ingrid Burt
Philip Cooper
Jean Cooper-Moran
John Gilbert
Lucy & Bob Gosse
Tom Graham
Lisa Howell
Phil Jones
Philip Parker
Peter Rae
Tim Spriggs
Tom Bradby
Tom Cartwright
Lisa Howell
David Livermore
Tim Spriggs
Development of village website – Tom Graham
David Livermore
Village Design Statement –
Tom Bradby
Charles & Ingrid Burt
Dieter Dent
Tom Graham
Nick Harding
Phil Jones
Peter Rae
Vibi Saunders
Tim Spriggs
Gill Young
The Boot Inn, village pub and restaurant.
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HOUGHTON AND BOSSINGTON PARISH PLAN