Work on the New Elizabeth Hall has now started on site and is expected to take up to a year. Because of the space needed to build the new hall and for Health and Safety reasons, car parking will be somewhat restricted until the old hall is demolished at the end of the building work, but with considerate parking, there is still room for about thirty cars which we believe will provide sufficient space.
Summer road works are under way. Two weeks signed notice will be given thatStation Road will be closed for about two weeks to allow for repairs and resurfacing. Strictly controlled access will be available for homes and businesses that front the section under repair. Replacement works on two bridges near junction 5 of the M3 are currently causing occasional delays and there will be two complete overnight closures, probably on Saturday 14th July and Saturday 11th August, to allow the central spans of the bridges to be replaced.
Two of the three tennis courts near the Community Centre now have new nets. There is no charge or booking system for these courts so just turn up and play!
Work has now started on the central section of the footway/cycleway linking Holt Lane with Hook Centre including a new section near the Community Centre which avoids the difficult route across the tree roots. Significant work, including new lighting, will be needed in the Bell Meadow Road area but it is hoped to schedule it for the school summer holidays.
A number of teenagers in Hook have been seen carrying or using Ball Bearing Gunswhich are believed to have been bought from a market stall at Blackbushe. These imitation weapons can cause serious injury. They look so real that the user risks fatal consequences if an armed Police unit were to be called out. Please report any sightings or incidents to the Police on 0845 045 4545 or in an Emergency to 999.
Hook now has two dedicated Police Officers and two Police Community Support Officers as well as a Special Constable. The role of the Police Community Support Officers is to spend 80% of their working day out and about on the streets of Hook, providing reassurance, dealing with minor incidents and feeding useful information back into the Police network. It is most important that we continue to feed information on incidents to the 0845 and 101 numbers. Their operator is trained to provide an incident number which ensures that the information is logged and fed back to our local team. Response to Emergency 999 calls is handled by a central control room which manages the Hart wide 24/7 Police Emergency Response team. Witnesses are an essential part of any successful Police enquiry so it is important that anyone who witnesses an incident reports it and provides a Witness Statement if asked to do so.
Work on the War Memorial is now underway and expected to be completed by Friday 29th June. The wreaths that were laid last Remembrance Sunday have been removed for safe keeping and will be returned to the Memorial on Monday 9th July. Those who would prefer to return their wreath personally can collect it from the covered porch at Moles Meadow, Elms Road (the road between Mackenzie Smith and Budgens) anytime between Wednesday 4th July and Sunday 8th July.
A reminder that, due to national legislation, the interiors of all restaurants, pubs and offices will be smoke free from 1st July. Responsibility for enforcement rests with Hart who will be patrolling pubs and restaurants in particular.
Regrettably fly-tipping of grass cuttings and other garden refuse has increased recently. Although Hart no longer allow garden waste to be placed in Black Wheelie bins they operate a fortnightly Garden Waste Collection service at a cost of £20 a year. It would be good if the fly-tippers could support their Community by ringing Hart on 01252 844915 to subscribe!
Antony Hunter – Parish Councillor