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On the 22nd April the council welcomed some parishioners to a talk by Catherine Chatters from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife trust for a presentation about the New Forest Non-Native Plant Project.
It was an enjoyable evening and the council thanks Catherine for joining us.
If you would like a copy of her presentation - please email
The Chairman addressed the room with his speech, which can be 
Downloaded or viewed below
2024 Annual Assembly - Chair’s Report
Boldre Parish Council
As ever, it has been a busy year for Boldre Parish Council. Prior to the May Elections two councillors – Patrick Kempe and Oliver Moore – said they would stand down, both worked with the council for many years, contributing significantly to the Community. But we are fortunate to retain Oliver’s services as IT Officer!
A New Council was formed in May; we welcomed Robert White as a newly elected member. We were also lucky to co-opt Martin Manning a couple of months later – but there remained a vacancy on the Council through the year.
Boldre Fete – July 1 – saw all the work associated with the Playpark – design, planning, dismantling, fundraising, construction – come to fruition with the official opening of what we now know as Phase 1. Donna Mortimer cut the ribbon (not sure who had the job of clearing the children away for the photos!). But a big thank you to Sherwin and the Amenities team for all their work.
BPC had a stand at the Fete – with the aim of explaining what we do and how we work to raise our profile with local people. A couple of weeks later Pamela Keen was invited to attend an end of term event at Southlands School and receive a donation to the Playpark Fund. These were the early stages in a plan to engage more effectively with the local community. Spearheaded by Victoria, the Parish Clerk – our programme of Community Engagement continued through:
- A consultation with local young people about development of the recreation area
- A Meeting at Boldre Hall for New Forest Parish Councils, addressed by figures from the New Forest National Park, Hampshire County Council and New Forest Marque
- An Open Evening for local residents to discuss local priorities while enjoying mince pies!
- A Bulb Planting session on a wintery Saturday. But some volunteers came back for more on Sunday! And the doubters were thwarted by many late, but successful blooms.
- A Planning for Resilience meeting to develop our Emergency Plan, addressed by SSE and Hampshire Police – well attended with a room full of residents.
The Planning Team has continued to advise the Council with a consistently rigorous approach to planning and heritage issues. There are an ever increasing number of cases to deal with and applicants (and objectors) regularly attend Council Meetings - so it is important to get it right ! Our Tree Officer has been active throughout the year – offering advice to the Council and ensuring as far as possible that trees across the area are protected and healthy.
The Council adopted a Highways Strategy this year and despite many frustrations, there have been a couple of ‘wins’ on the target list for this year (Jordan and Monks Lane re-surfacing was not a target!). The Council is heavily reliant on Hampshire Highways and Countryside Services and we have had a clear message that funding for projects will not be available. The proliferation of problems on the adopted roads – potholes, flooding and drains – has been annoying for many, but I cannot be confident that things ‘Can Only Get Better!’
The Council has continued to host football on the Recreation Ground – Lymington Sprites have played and trained regularly and we have also hosted others including NMO (New Milton Orange) from New Milton. It is great to have the pitches and pavilion being used regularly again. However the work involved in making football possible in Pilley represents a huge commitment of time and effort by Adrian and Sherwin.
Moving forward the plan is to develop ‘Phase 2’ of the Playpark. The intention is to broaden the appeal of the park with exercise, sport and gym equipment and facilities. The Council has been successful in bids for funding – from NFDC, confirmed a couple of weeks ago, and a Community Infrastructure Levy grant - confirmed Friday. BPC will contribute from Reserves and from Fundraising. It is an exciting project and we are especially fortunate to have been awarded significant sums, in the current environment, to support the development.
The Council have been planning work with Community Payback to provide some maintenance and improvements around the parish. There are also plans to improve the natural environment around the recreation area – some new wildflowers on the mounds by the playpark; clearance of some scrub to facilitate a ‘nature trail’ and replacement trees and hedging on the north of the Ground.
There have been significant challenges and frustrations through the year and the financial environment and circumstances in which Councils are operating will continue to be difficult, but we are well supported by Adrian and Victoria and there are some clear plans to work on. There are many reasons to be optimistic.
Vincent Slattery
BPC Chair 2023-24
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Boldre Parish Council - April 2024
Signs of spring are here and the flowers in the recreation ground are in bloom. New wildflowers will shortly be planted within the mounds of the play area. We look forward to a display of colour providing wildlife habitats this summer.
Spring Open Evening
Come and join us on Monday 22nd April for our spring open evening where we welcome Catherine Chatters from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. All welcome, Refreshments available. We look forward to seeing you there.
Boldre Parish’s Community Grants
Each year Boldre Parish council has a small budget for providing grants to the community for community projects. This year there will be two application windows, one in April and the second in September. There is a form to complete. Please contact the clerk for more information. The deadline for submission for the first round is the 30th April 2024.
Digital Telephone Charter
Did you know that by the end of December 2025 most analogue copper telephone wires will be replaced with a digital system?
What could this mean to you?
In an event of power failure digital phone systems will not work and you will be reliant on a mobile phone for communication.
What if I do not have mobile phone signal?
All phone service providers are expected to give residents that are dependent on their landlines or have no mobile phone signal a battery and phone with an antenna. They have 6 months’ notice to do this and they must provide equipment that has a life of up to 3 years and be able to continually replace the equipment once battery runs out.
Please contact your telephone service provider directly if this is something that will affect you.
The commitment is called The Public Switched Telephone Network Charter
Information can also be found online at – www.gov.uk – Public Switched Telephone Network Charter
Recreation Ground Project
It is with great pleasure we announce that a grant from NFDC has been approved to further develop the older children’s Play Area. Watch this space in the coming months to see how this is taking form.
Thoughts are being given to how the recreation ground as a whole could have alternative recreation uses. Do you have a group that could use the pavilion for an outside exercise class or use it as a base for some outdoor training? Contact the Clerk with your proposals.
A reminder that the Recreation Ground and Children’s Play Area are Dog Free Zones.
Parish Highways
A frustrating month for the group, we have continued to receive complaints about the state of the roads and paths across the locality. In reaction:
- We have written again to Cllrs Dunning and Adams-King detailing some of the damage to Boldre Lane and Pilley Hill and urging HCC to schedule both roads for significant resurfacing work (March and April) – awaiting a response
- Contacted NFDC (Cllr Poole) regarding the flooding on Pilley Street, reminding about the investigation and report promised
- Path at Trowbridge Cottages has improved – only because the grass is growing again. We have yet to achieve the positive action needed to avoid the problem (a slippery and dangerous surface) re-emerging.
- Countryside Services (HCC) responded positively to our flagging up (yet again) the problem on Footpath 33 of the collapsed handrail; but the repair was not done.
We have received a number of representations about recent verge cutting around the locality. This would appear to be in conflict with HCC policy to defer verge cutting until the end of May. We have sought an explanation from NFDC (Cllr Poole) – awaiting a response.
Please continue to report Road issues to the Highways Authority – Hampshire County Council – search:
Hampshire County Council Report a Problem and select Road Problem
Parish Emergency Incident Plan
The council recently attended a workshop to aid us in forming the plan.
The key areas we need to complete are
- Key people to act as an ‘Emergency contact list’, ideally one from each Boldre, Pilley, Norley Wood and Portmore areas
- Knowledge of available local skills and resources – e.g. Trained first aider, 4x4/tractor driver, chainsaw owner, mechanic, water and food supplies
- Forming a local networks where the community are looking out for and keeping check on the most vulnerable
If you can help with any of these, please get in touch.
The council will next meet on Monday 13th May at 18.30. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting.
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We have one vacancy for a Parish Councillor.
Email
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As a Parish Council we are able to provide small grants to community groups within Boldre Parish Council.
The application window is now open and will close on 30th April.
Grants will be approved in May.
There will be a second round of applications for submission by 30th September and approval in October.
Download the form - Grant Application Form
Forms to be returned to Parish Clerk -
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Do come along and join us for refreshments and a talk from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust about the New Forest non-native plant project
Monday 22nd April - 18.30 - Boldre War Memorial Hall
