NO INCREASE TO PRECEPT
The Parish Council through careful cost control during 2024/2025 have been able to carry over funds resulting in not having to raise the precept for 2025/2026; this is in spite of the heads winds of inflation.
Due to the complex way Basingstoke and Deane calculate precept contribution to Council tax (which is based upon the number of Band D properties within the Parish , which have changed over the last few years) an overall change in percentage may show on your Council Tax statements to be received in March, even though the precept amount has remained the same.
PARISH COUNCILLOR VACANCY
North Waltham Parish Council are looking for a community minded individual to fill the rewarding role of a Parish Councillor.
North Waltham Parish Council acts as a link between the village and the other bodies responsible for services to the community including Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Hampshire County Council. Current projects the North Waltham Parish Council are working on include:
- Advocating to maintain a strategic gap for North Waltham
- Reviewing and commenting on planning applications in and around the parish
- Maintenance works throughout the village including to trees, noticeboards, village entrance gates and the telephone box.
- An upcoming Pond refurbishment
To find out more or to put your name forward, please contact clerk@northwaltham.info
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR STRATEGIC GAP WORKING GROUP
The past year has seen increasing pressures from development on the village, with the recent approval of the Oakdown Warehouses and the proposed Manydown Development in the draft Basingstoke Local Plan Update extending as close to the village as Maidenthorne Lane. Unfortunately, these pressures are not going away. As such, we are looking for volunteers to join a working group tasked with lobbying to keep North Waltham’s Strategic Gap. The group will hopefully play an important role in collating information on any proposed large scale developments and circulating the information to the village so that residents can be more empowered to raise their objections. The Parish Council have made the importance of maintaining North Waltham’s Strategic Gap well known to Basingstoke and Deane and are in ongoing discussions with them. However, we are short handed and are in need of volunteers to keep pushing this forward. If you have knowledge of the planning system or are able to offer your time to support this important campaign, please get in touch by emailing clerk@northwaltham.info
MESSAGE FROM CLLR JULIET HENDERSON, HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
Please have your say!
A public consultation has been launched by central Government inviting everyone in Hampshire and the Solent area to have their say on the proposal to form a Mayoral Combined County Authority for Hampshire, Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, and Southampton. It follows the recent announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister that our region has been accepted on Government’s Devolution Priority Programme.
The consultation specifically asks about:
- The Proposed Geography
- Governance Arrangements
- Supporting the Economy
- Improving Social Outcomes
- Local Government Services
- Improving the local natural environment
- Supporting the needs of local communities and reflect local identity
The consultation runs for eight weeks from 10am, 17 February 2025 to 11:59pm on 13 April 2025.
It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/hampshire-and-the-solent-devolution/hampshire-and-the-solent-devolution-consultation
Further dedicated information about devolution in Hampshire, including Q&As, details of the public consultation and how to have your say can now be found on the County Council’s webpages, www.hants.gov.uk/devolution.
