In accordance with government guidance, the Parish Office is now closed to the public and staff are working from home wherever possible.  We will do our best to help with your enquiry but it may not always be possible to prioritise your enquiry during this challenging period.

Government guidance also prevents face-to-face meetings which will affect the way in which OPC makes its decisions.

The Coronavirus Act passed this week includes powers to the Secretary of State to allow virtual Council meetings.  Whilst these powers are not yet in place, OPC will be following sector advice by holding virtual meetings (where a meeting is considered essential) and the Clerk has been given temporary delegated authority to make essential decisions on behalf of OPC in consultation with the Chair or relevant Committee Chair – such decisions are those which are necessary to run the Council or where OPC risks breaking a contract or agreement.  All decisions will be reported to the next available convened meeting.

Responses to Planning Applications will be agreed in consultation with Planning & Development Committee members via email or virtual meeting.  All decisions will be recorded in the minutes in the normal way.  Residents within the parish are welcome to submit their comments on a specific application by emailing clerk@odiham.org.uk and/or cllrverdon@odiham.org.uk.

We will consider livestreaming virtual meetings as soon as we receive notification that the virtual meeting power is in place.

Please refer to each meeting agenda for further details.

The playgrounds at the Recreation Ground, Bufton Field, Chamberlain Gardens and Chapel Pond Drive are now CLOSED.
By order of HM Government as part of the UK Coronavirus (Covid-19) Response.
This closure is effective from midnight 23rd March for a minimum period of 21 days.
No equipment safety checks will be carried out whilst the play area is closed.

Following an extraordinary Council meeting held on 23rd March and following government advice:

–  Open space areas will stay open.
–  The public toilets in King Street will stay open unless the government advises otherwise and as long as regular cleaning can be maintained.
–  Allotments will stay open but users are encouraged to follow social distancing guidance.

The government has issued stay at home guidance for households with possible Coronavirus (Covid-19) infection.

To protect the safety of Council staff and Councillors, the PARISH OFFICE IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC.

Staff and Councillors are working together to maintain an administrative service where possible.

Please phone or email the Parish Office with your enquiry or following Odiham Parish Council news online.

To find the latest information we are all encouraged to go online first wherever possible and this is the main website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

Dear Residents
We have just produced our SPRING NEWSLETTER which will be distributed to all households in the next few weeks.
We wanted to share this with you now as it includes some details on local support throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.
Please share this with your neighbours who may not be online and in need of a little extra help.

The OPC are following national guidance which is evolving as the situation develops.  We are particularly concerned for those who may need help but are not on social media or cannot get online.  If you know someone in that situation please share as much information with them as you can.  There is also information below for those who want to help.

If you feel unwell or are vulnerable it is important you follow the current advice – the 111 telephone help line is there for those who cannot get on line – this is likely to include many in the most vulnerable groups.

One piece of advice is to arrange for family or friends to bring deliveries of essentials if you cannot get out because you are self-isolating or unwell.  It’s a good idea to set this up before you need help.  Remember DO NOT meet face to face – deliveries should be left at the door.

Many community minded residents are keen to help their neighbours.  Covid-19 Mutual Aid (a volunteer run organisation) recommends setting up a local group. It says ‘the smaller the better – a group that brings together those people who live on your street alone could be more effective and manageable than a district-wide support group.’ The Covid-19 Mutual Aid website provides advice on how to set up a local group, including important guidance on safety and security. You can also register your group so others can find it. https://covidmutualaid.org

Some residents, and local groups such as All Saints Church, Love Your Neighbour – Odiham on Facebook and local-community groups, are already using the attached form to contact their neighbours:  Corona help postcard

We suggest the best thing for volunteers to do is to print out the form above and deliver it around their neighbourhood, especially to those houses where they know elderly people may live.  Then those who are self isolating, who need help, will have somebody close to them to contact.

The find the latest information we are all encouraged to go online first wherever possible and this is the main website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

POSTPONED:  this event is postponed to September in accordance with the national Great British Spring Clean event

https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/get-involved/volunteer/litter-heroes?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9JfXjL-h6AIVFODtCh0OgASaEAAYASAAEgKwtvD_BwE

Join us for our Spring Clean on March 28th!
We’ll provide the equipment, you just need to sign-up on the link below to let us know who’ll be attending.
If you know of any particular areas in need of attention leave a comment below.

https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/events/odiham-north-warnborough-spring-clean-5e5be215c3595

Hart District Council has announced receipt of the Inspector’s Report for its Local Plan.  This follows the examination hearings which took place in late 2018 and the consultation on the proposed modifications which concluded in August 2019.

Full details can be viewed at https://www.hart.gov.uk/local-plan-examination-2018/19.

At the full Council meeting on 11th February, Hart District Council gave a presentation explaining how housing is allocated within the Hart District.

Applications for both affordable housing homes and rural exception scheme homes are assessed against certain eligible criteria and homes are allocated to applicants meeting these criteria demonstrating the highest priority.

Rural exception scheme homes are first allocated to those on the register with a local connection and we are aware of a pending rural exception scheme planning application in Odiham.  If you can meet the required criteria and are interested in a property it is important to register on the Hart Housing Register https://www.hart.gov.uk/housing.

A message from Hart regarding the North Warnborough Pumping Station which failed over the weekend sending raw sewage into the River Whitewater:- 

Please can you get everyone who has been affected by the pumping station issue to fill in the Thames Water survey.

https://www.thameswater.co.uk/-/media/Site-Content/Thames-Water/Help-and-Advice/Sewer-flooding-questionnaire.pdf

These then need to be posted to Thames Water.

If you have been affected by flooding anywhere else – particularly Mill Corner – it may help get action to also complete the survey.  It seems Thames Water consider the number of reports.

We would like to reiterate that all crimes need to be reported to either 101 or 999 depending on severity/urgency. Certain minor crimes can also be reported via https://www.hampshire.police.uk/. This will assist the Police in building a picture of any local issues, plan patrols and allocate resources appropriately.

The community safety team work closely with partner agencies and are available to assist in matters of crime and antisocial behaviour but this does not remove the need to formally report to the Police. The team can be contacted on 01252 774476 or communitysafetyteam@communitysafetynh.org.