News

Onboard and Online: Community Spirit

Regrettably, the Parish Council Meeting scheduled for last night (17th July) had to be abandoned as there were insufficient Councillors present for a quorum. I would normally open the meeting with a short statement and these are often time-sensitive. I’ve published what I was going to say below, rather than allow these things to be forgotten:

In opening the meeting, I’d first like to say a huge thank you to those villagers who helped out Richard Simms recently – Charlotte, Andy and Carol. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that these individuals saved a life by their actions; in fact, they saved two lives – that of both Richard and his dog. That is community spirit at its best

It made many of those I spoke to realise just how tenuous life can be and how vulnerable some members of our community are. It also struck home that when things do go wrong, we might not notice and if we do notice, we might not always know the best way of contacting other villagers; this is just a fact of modern life.

So thank you once again, on behalf of all the village, to Charlotte Andy and Carol. You represent the best of what Winterbourne Stoke has to offer.

Thanks also to the South-West Ambulance Trust and the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance without whose prompt action and professionalism we would have lost a villager. This event demonstrated the benefit of social media, in this case Facebook and we have introduced a way this could be of benefit to more villagers. Take a look at the Village website or the next edition of the Benefice magazine for details.

I’m delighted to say that Richard came home last Friday and seemed in good spirits when I spoke to him on Monday evening

I’d also like to thank William Grant for the excellent management of this years Solstice celebrations at the Stonehenge Campsite. The visitors of all ages were, quite frankly, delightful and a pleasure to meet. The one minor problem that cropped up was dealt with swiftly and without fuss by William and his staff. The music was not intrusive in the heart of the village and I received not a single complaint – actually, not true. I did hear one elderly resident complain that he hadn’t heard a thing and thought it had been cancelled.

Sadly, not everyone in the village is so public spirited. Frankly, I am appalled by the continued anti-social behaviour of a few villagers and possibly a few others from surrounding villages and further afield.   These are the selfish people who allow their dogs to foul roads, footpaths and byways around the village. If your dog has fouled on a footpath, or within a 2 metre lead-length from the edge of a footpath, it’s up to you to pick it up and take it home with you, or put it in one of the Wiltshire Council bins in Church Street or the High Street. Please don’t put it in your neighbours bin without their express permission; put it in your own.

Asking dog-owners nicely has clearly failed and so we will be meeting with the dog warden for this area, with a view to putting a stop to this selfishness once and for all.

A further Parish Meeting will be scheduled as soon as we can do so and certainly in before the next scheduled meeting in September.

July 18, 2018 in Community, Footpaths and Byways Comments (0)

Onboard and Online: Amesbury Incident – UPDATE FROM COUNTER TERRORISM DETECTIVES: Source of nerve agent contamination identified

Counter terrorism detectives investigating the contamination of two people by the nerve agent Novichok believe they have found the source of the deadly substance.

Dawn Sturgess, 44, from Durrington, died in hospital on Sunday evening (8 July) having been exposed to the nerve agent. Detectives launched a murder inquiry following her death.

A post-mortem is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 17 July and an inquest into Dawn’s death is set to open and adjourn in Salisbury at 11:00hrs on Thursday, 19 July.

Her partner, 45-year-old Charlie Rowley, was also taken to hospital critically ill but has since regained consciousness. Charlie remains in a serious, but stable condition as hospital staff continue to work hard to provide the care that he needs.

On Wednesday, 11 July, a small bottle was recovered during searches of Charlie Rowley’s house in Amesbury. It was taken to the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) at Porton Down, Wiltshire, for tests.

Following those tests, scientists have now confirmed to us that the substance contained within the bottle is Novichok. Further scientific tests will be carried out to try and establish whether it is from the same batch that contaminated Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March – this remains a main line of enquiry for police.

Inquiries are under way to establish where the bottle came from and how it came to be in Charlie’s house.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, Head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “This is clearly a significant and positive development. However, we cannot guarantee that there isn’t any more of the substance left and cordons will remain in place for some considerable time. This is to allow thorough searches to continue as a precautionary measure for public safety and to assist the investigation team.

“I also appreciate there is a lot of interest in this; however, we are not in a position to disclose any further details regarding the bottle at this stage.

“The safety of the public and our officers remains paramount and we are continuing to work closely with Wiltshire Police, scientists, health experts from Public Health England and other partners.”

Around 100 detectives from the Counter Terrorism Policing Network continue to work on this investigation, alongside colleagues from Wiltshire Police.

Officers from the investigation team have spoken to Charlie and will be speaking to him further to establish how he and Dawn came to be contaminated. This contact is being done in close consultation with the hospital and the doctors.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is urged to contact counter terrorism police on 0800 789 321.

The risk to the public in Salisbury and Amesbury remains low. We have not seen any further cases of illness linked to this incident. As a precaution Public Health England continues to advise the public not to pick up any strange items such as syringes, needles, cosmetics or similar objects made of materials such as metal, plastic or glass.

The advice remains “if you didn’t drop it, then don’t pick it up”.

We would like to thank the public of Amesbury and Salisbury for their tremendous support and understanding that they have shown to officers from the Counter Terrorism Policing Network.

A dedicated helpline – 0800 092 0410 – has been set up for anyone with health concerns in relation to this incident.

An advice sheet from Public Health England can be found here.   A series of FAQs are here.

A further information sheet from Wiltshire Police can be found here.

 

 

July 14, 2018 in Community, Lifestyle, Uncategorized Comments (0)

New Facebook Group For Villagers

Following a recent serious event in the village, where social media played a part in solving a pressing issue, not to mention all the other things that have been going on in the local area, Winterbourne Stoke Parish Council have set-up a Facebook Group for villagers.  It is open to anyone living within the Parish boundary who has a Facebook account (and complies with the Facebook minimum age limits!) – so adults and teenagers. We will also allow non-resident family members, who are carers for villagers, to have access to the group – particularly where there may be safe-guarding issues.
The group is purely for notification of things that are going on in and around the village and are likely to affect people’s lives.  We expect most of these will be urgent.  For example:
– problems on the A303
– events in the village
– Neighbourhood Watch – dodgy people and vehicles in the area
– a need for assistance by a villager
The group isn’t intended for general chit-chat, gossip, or advertising goods and services – just those few urgent things that might really matter.   The Parish Council may use it from time to time to alert you to meetings or notify you of other issues being published on the village website: https://winterbournestokepc.org.uk/
If you want to discuss an issue with other villagers then please use the Forum pages on the village website, or better still, come along to a Parish Council meeting and raise the issue there during the “Villagers Questions session at the start of each meeting.
The Facebook group is moderated and we will insist on a few basic rules being adhered to.  If you want to get access to the group,  just drop an email to the Clerk (clerk@winterbournestokepc.org.uk ) from the email address you use for FaceBook (that’s really important or else the invitation won’t work!), or have a word with any of the Parish Councillors who can help you sign up.   Please note that this doesn’t mean you have to be Facebook friends with anyone else in the village, you just get access to the group!  Please mention this to your neighbours.
July 12, 2018 in Community, Internet and Digital Inclusion, Lifestyle Comments (0)

Highways England To Consult Further On Proposed Changes To A303 Upgrade Past Stonehenge

A Press Statement from Highways England today made the following announcement about a supplementary consultation.  Please note the date of the public information events (in bold below):

Begins:

People interested in plans to upgrade the A303 past Stonehenge are urged to have their say on Highways England’s revised proposals to further protect the World Heritage site.

Taking on feedback from a consultation earlier this year Highways England has adjusted some of the design detail of the planned £1.6bn scheme which will improve journeys on the busy route and create a much-needed bypass for Winterbourne Stoke while preserving the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site.

The changes, which seek to further enhance the famous landscape and reconnect the two halves of the 6,500-acre World Heritage site (WHS), include:

• Removing the previously proposed link between Byways 11 and 12 in the Stonehenge WHS to avoid affecting the setting of the Normanton Down barrow group and tranquillity of the site in this area

• Widening the green bridge proposed near the existing Longbarrow roundabout to improve the physical and visual connection between the northern and southern parts of the WHS

• Moving the proposed modification of Rollestone crossroads to provide a more compact layout

Derek Parody, Highways England Project Director for the A303 Stonehenge scheme, said: “We had a great response to our earlier consultation and have acted on the feedback. We now want to get people’s views on our proposed changes to our original consultation.

“The further feedback we get will allow us to make sure we have got the best scheme before we make our application later this year to build the scheme.

“Meanwhile we continue to work with heritage groups including Historic England, English Heritage, the National Trust, and experts in the field, including the Stonehenge Scientific Committee – a body of leading independent archaeologists – to ensure a new route is built sensitively to the World Heritage site.”

Highways England received more than 5,000 responses to consultation on improving the A303 route past Stonehenge, between Amesbury and Berwick Down, which includes a tunnel at least 1.8 miles long, a free-flowing dual carriageway and a much-needed bypass north of Winterbourne Stoke.

Consultation will run from 17 July to 14 August, with two public information events – at The Manor Barn, High Street, Winterbourne Stoke, SP3 4SZ, on 19 July (2pm-8pm) and Antrobus House, 39 Salisbury Road, Amesbury SP4 7HH, on 31 July (2pm-8pm).

During the consultation, Highways England will also clarify its public rights of way proposals accompanying the scheme, which will help people explore and enjoy the World Heritage site and enable them to walk or cycle unobstructed between Amesbury and Winterbourne Stoke.

As part of its £15 billion road strategy – the biggest investment in roads in a generation – the Government is committed to upgrading all remaining single carriageway sections of the A303/A358 between the M3 and M5 to dual carriageway standard.

The A303 at Stonehenge, the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester, and the A358 between the M5 Taunton and the Southfields Roundabout on the A303 are the first three schemes in that strategy.

The A303 Stonehenge upgrade will deliver major benefits to the World Heritage Site by reuniting the landscape and restoring tranquillity to the setting of one of our most famous cultural icons. At the heart of many of Highways England’s proposed refinements to the scheme is the protection of the WHS and its Outstanding Universal Value.

The scheme will also support a major boost to the South West economy, currently lagging 24% behind the national economy, by providing an effective transport link, and reducing the traffic blight on local communities.

Further details of the proposed changes will be available during the supplementary consultation and in the meantime, anyone wanting further information on the scheme or anyone who wants to respond to the consultation can go to www.highways.gov.uk/a303stonehenge

Ends

July 4, 2018 in A303 Stonehenge Scheme, Community, Public Consultation Comments (0)

A303 Stonehenge Scheme Community Forum – Legacy and Benefits

Last night (28th June 2018), the Chairman attended the A303 Stonehenge Scheme Community Forum at Antrobus House Amesbury, along with representatives of other Parish Councils and community groups.  Despite there being some sort of football match going on at the same time, the meeting, on the subject of the Legacy and Benefits of the A303 scheme was well attended.  Darren Henry, Wiltshire Councillor for the Till and Wylye Valley was also present.

The session was facilitated by Holly Taylor, the Communications and Engagement Manager for the A303 Stonehenge scheme and led by Esther Gordon-Smith, Benefits Lead for the A303 Stonehenge scheme, assisted by Emily Dawson, Legacy Lead for the A303 Stonehenge, A14 and Lower Thames Crossing schemes.  The purpose of the session was to look at the potential benefits and legacies of the scheme, over and above the delivery of the A303 superhighway and how Highways England is approaching them. This is something we have mentioned before and for which we have a forum already set up to capture any ideas you might have on the subject.

We are still awaiting the appointment of an independent chair for these meetings.  Although they have been set up by Highways England (HE), they want to step back and allow the various fora to have independent control; they say they don’t want to lead but to participate.  Clearly though, having an independent chair would be presentationally favourable to HE.  We were also told that the chair of the forum would also represent the forum at higher level meetings – especially those that dealt with funding.  That would be beneficial to the Forum members.

In terms of the recent consultation, we were told that there had been around 5,000 responses (there were around 10,000 for the first consultation).  HE felt the scale of the overall response and the drop in number were in line with similar exercises in the past.

The key thing to come out of the meeting was the fact legacies and benefits, like any other aspects of the programme delivery, need to be formally planned.  The first stages of this process are to be able to identify those legacies and benefits that can achieve the most.  Subsequently, attempts will be made to identify sources of funding and collaboration to take these ideas forward.  It was also important to not that legacies and benefits are unlikely to run in parallel with the road building and are likely to continue after the road opens.  The take home message is that we are all in this for the long haul.

Esther Gordon-Smith unveiled a fairly complicated graphic that captured the sorts of areas where we (All of us!) should be looking for benefits and legacies:

A large part of the meeting was spent identifying ideas that could impact on one or more of these areas.  HE are currently collating these and we will let you have sight of them as soon as we receive them.  However, we don’t have a monopoy on ideas that might contribute to the benefits and legacy Winterbourne Stoke can derive from the construction of the bypass.  Do you have any ideas that you want to share, however off-the-wall, or wacky they might seem?   If you do, pop over to the forum and add them there.  Don’t be shy, you are going to be hard-pressed to dream up anything more off-the-wall than the “writer in residence” for the A14 scheme.

If you look at some of the websites dealing with the legacy and benefits issues raised by the A14 scheme, it rapidly becomes apparent that Cambridgeshire Council has played a significant role in pulling together the local communities.  We don’t yet seem to have that level of participation from Wiltshire Council; notably absent from the meeting last night was Cllr Fleur de Rhé-Philipe, who is the Wiltshire Council Portfolio Holder for Strategic Highways, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, European Structural Investment Fund, Canals and Military-Civilian Integration.  With a portfolio like that, you might expect she would be all over the A303 Legacy and Benefits issue like a rash,  given it involves strategic highways, investment and military-civilian integration.

In the diagram above, one of the key elements is the environment – and Winterbourne Stoke is certainly going to get a huge environmental legacy for good or ill – the road itself, the noise and pollution it brings, the chalk spoil terra-forming the landscape, and who knows what else besides.  Earlier in the month we received an email from Robert and Fiona Turner of Manor Farm showing a photograph of a section of the A14: “to give village an idea of road construction/land take devastation during construction”.

This is, indeed, horrendous to look at, but it does need to be put into context.  The A14 is going to require some 5 million tonnes of construction material to build and 2.5 million tonnes is being taken out of the ground right next to the road.  As the the new road is being built near the Fens, the water level is just below ground level, so to abstract clay, sand and gravel from borrow pits they are having to dewater the ground and then pump the water back into the ground via a series of lagoons.  Whilst doing this, they have to protect the water levels in the River Ouse and the large fishing lake shown at the top right of the photo.  Many of the brown fields are caused by the dewatering and will green up quickly once the dewatering stops.  As far as we are aware, there is going to be no local abstraction of building materials, so HE will be adding to the land surface with the tunnel spoil, rather than removing it. On the other hand, we don’t want to underestimate the scope and the scale of the impacts to Manor Farm.

We wonder if the “white desert” at the eastern end of the Packway might not be a better example of the initial visual impact the scheme here is going to have on the landscape, albeit on a much smaller scale than will be experienced here, but might offer at least an idea of how quickly the adverse effects of construction might disappear into the landscape.

The one thing we can be certain of from this photograph, is that this is the scale of impact – transient or otherwise – that the government is prepared to accept in the case of the A14 and is likely to accept here as well in the case of the A303.

June 29, 2018 in A303 Stonehenge Scheme, Bypass Comments (0)

Lambs Attacked in Village

We were saddened to hear that two of the ‘village’ lambs in the field to the east of Riverside Cottage were attacked and savaged between the evening of Thursday 7th June and Friday 8th June.  These were quite large lambs, born in March this year, so fox predation may be less likely than if they were newborns; but foxes are known to take lambs up to around 10Kg in weight.  The rear ends of both lambs were attacked which again seems unlike foxes, which usually go for the throat.  There are also badgers in the area and they again have a reputation for attacking lambs; though it’s hard to get and fact and figures on this.

Regrettably, we can’t rule out sheep-worrying by dogs and it’s true to say that villagers have noticed an increase in the use of the footpath alongside the field by dog-owners from, or visiting, the village.  Certainly, that is supported by the increase in dog mess alongside, and even on, that particular footpath.   If it is a case of sheep worrying then that is a crime and it needs to be treated as such.  If you saw or heard anything that might suggest that this could have been an attack by dogs, please let Wiltshire Police know asap.

June 16, 2018 in Community, Footpaths and Byways Comments (0)

Arrangements For Summer Solstice 2018

English Heritage have announced the following arrangements for Summer Solstice 2018.   Full details and links can be found at their website here and by clicking on the highlighted links below

Visitors watching the sun rise over Stonehenge at summer Solstice

Please note that last normal day admissions to Stonehenge is on Wednesday 20 June at 13:00 and the site will close at 15:00 in preparation for Summer Solstice Managed Open Access. Stonehenge is closed on Thursday 21 June and will re-open at 09:00 on Friday 22nd June.

English Heritage is pleased to provide free Managed Open Access to Stonehenge for Summer Solstice. We ask that if you are planning to join us for this peaceful and special occasion that you read the Conditions of Entry and the information provided on the following pages before deciding whether to come.

Stonehenge is a significant World Heritage Site and to many it is sacred – please respect the stones and all those who are attending.

Admission to the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge is free of charge.  We hope the weather will be kind and wish you a peaceful and celebratory solstice.

WEDNESDAY 20 JUNE
SOLSTICE CAR PARK OPENS 19.00 hours
ACCESS TO STONEHENGE MONUMENT FIELD 19.00 hours
SUNSET 21.26 hours

THURSDAY 21 JUNE
SUNRISE  04.52 hours
LAST ADMISSION TO SOLSTICE CAR PARK 06.00 hours (or when full)
STONEHENGE MONUMENT FIELD CLOSES 08.00 hours
SOLSTICE CAR PARK TO BE VACATED 12.00 hours (Noon)

For further information about Managed Open Access for Summer Solstice at Stonehenge, please call English Heritage Customer Services Solstice Information Hotline on 0370 333 1181.

Follow @eh_stonehenge on Twitter for live information during the Summer Solstice.

June 13, 2018 in Uncategorized Comments (0)

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

 

Privacy Policy

To support changes in European data law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), I have updated our Privacy Policy.  This new data protection law came into effect on 25 May 2018.  The new policy provides clear information about the data we collect, and how we process and protect your personal information. It also covers your rights as an individual and how the law protects you.

What is personal information?

When I use the term “Personal information”, I mean the same as “personal data”.  Personal data includes any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.  This means any individual who can be identified directly or indirectly by reference to an identifier such as name, identification number, location data, online identifiers (for example, IP addresses – if they can be used to identify you) or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.  Put simply, this includes data which either by itself or with other data held by us or available to us, can be used to identify you.

The categories of personal information I collect

Personal information collected from you includes the following:

  • your name and
  • your e-mail address,

The purposes for which I use your personal information

I will only use your personal information for the purposes that you would reasonably anticipate or that we state when we collect it and, where necessary, for which you have given us your consent.

Disclosure of your Personal Information to other third parties

I do not disclose your personal information to third parties.

Retention of your personal information

I will keep your personal information for no longer than is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected taking into account the requirements from the following criteria:

  • any laws or regulations that we are required to follow;
  • whether we are in a legal or other type of dispute with each other or any third party; and
  • the type of information that we hold about you.

Individual rights

You have various rights under data privacy laws.  These may include (as relevant) the right to:

  • access information held about you.  You must make your request in writing and provide me with enough information to permit me to identify your personal information.  In certain circumstances under the privacy laws, I may not be required to provide all the details of personal data held;
  • amend and rectify personal information that is inaccurate;
  • request restriction of information processing concerning you or to object to processing of your personal information;
  • the right to request the erasure of your personal information where it is no longer necessary for us to retain it;
  • the right to data portability including to obtain personal information in a commonly used machine-readable format in certain circumstances such as where our processing of it is based on a consent;
  • the right to object to automated decision making including profiling (if any) that has a legal or significant effect on you as an individual and the right to object to marketing; and
  • the right to withdraw your consent to any processing for which you have previously given that consent, without affecting the lawfulness of any processing based on your consent prior to its withdrawal.

if you wish to exercise any rights please contact me on clerk@winterbournestokepc.org.uk; I will endeavour to acknowledge requests within two working days and the appropriate response and information promptly and within the relevant statutory timescale (usually one month).

 

 

June 2, 2018 in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Onboard and Online: Our Defibrillator Goes Live

We are delighted to be able to report that the defibrillator, kindly provided last year by the British Heart Foundation and funded by the Department of Health, went “live” earlier this evening (Wednesday 9th May 2018), having been mounted alongside the front door of the Solstice Rest.  The defibrillator is overlooked by several houses and can be seen by every vehicle leaving the village via Church Street; a good location for a device that will be in an unlocked box.  Some villagers have expressed surprise at this, but South West Ambulance Service Founsation Trust (SWASFT) make the following point:

“Storage of defibrillators should not add barriers to access. Locks and coded storage are not supported by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust as these can delay access. The rescuer will already be in a heightened distressed condition and may forget a code; may not correctly type in a code; or may not be able to find a key to gain access”

The defibrillator is also easily visible from the A303, in a very obvious location to which passers-by can easily be guided by SWASFT and other first responders.

Cllr Tom de Jonge doing the honours by switching on the defibrillator for the first time!

Although the defibrillator is intended for use without any instructions – it tells you what to do – we suspect that some villagers may be a little uneasy with this concept. You can get a copy of the Quick Reference Guide online from here.  If you don’t have internet access, but would like a copy to keep at home, then please contact the Clerk using the details at the bottom of this post, or speak to any of the Parish Councillors.

If you want to know more about CPR (if you know what you are doing, you can maximise someones chance of survival – even with an automatic defibrillator to hand) the Clerk has a number of CD/DVDs carrying CPR instruction information.  He even has Resusci-Annie dolls available, should anyone want to practise their CPR techniques.  Please contact him if you want to have one.  The more people who wish to receive training in CPR, the better and we will be organising a more formal training session for those of you who would like to participate.  Watch this space for further details.

Finally, the Parish Council would like to thank the tenants and owner of the Solstice Rest for allowing the defibrillator to be mounted on the pub wall and for letting us to tap into the power supply.

 

Clerk to the Parish Council

1 Cleeve View
Winterbourne Stoke
Salisbury
SP3 4SY

Phone: 07973 366762
Email: clerk@winterbournestokepc.org.uk

May 9, 2018 in Community Comments (0)
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