WILDFLOWERS
Bishopstoke Parish Council would like to help any local residents that wish to enhance their local area by planting wildflowers. Often, the areas best suited for planting are owned by either Eastleigh Borough Council or Hampshire County Council. The Parish Council can help you get in touch with the right people to gain permission for your planting.
The Council may be able to support in other ways too. Anyone interested should contact the Clerk by emailing the Clerk.
ATTENDING MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL
Meetings of Bishopstoke Parish Council and its Committees are open to the public to attend. The details of the meetings will be available on this page, and more information about the Council and the Committees is available throughout the site. Additionally, the agenda and the document packs for each meeting will also be available at the top of this page when published.
Meetings are currently being held at the Bishopstoke Methodist Church on Sedgwick Road. Although the national restrictions are now lifted, the numbers who can attend meetings are currently limited. If you would like to attend please contact the Clerk by emailing clerk@bishopstokepc.org. Alternatively you can call 07368 487464 and leave a message.
If you would like to speak on an agenda item, or would like a statement read on your behalf, again, please contact the Clerk.
MEMORIAL HALL NEWS
Bishopstoke Parish Council is currently working on plans for a new community building to replace the beloved Bishopstoke Memorial Hall which has served the community so well for over 60 years.
To help with that we are asking anyone who has 5 minutes spare to complete a short survey online.
To get to the survey please just click on the link below.
Thank you.
OPEN SPACE CONTRACT FOR THE PARISH COUNCIL - INVITATION TO TENDER
Bids are invited for the contract to manage the grass cutting, hedge trimming and various other grounds maintenance jobs for Bishopstoke Parish Council. Full details of the work to be undertaken on behalf of the Council, the locations that are to be maintained, and the timetable for bidding can be found in the links below. The contract commences on 1st April 2022.
Please note that the deadline for applications to be received is December 8th 2021. Bids received after this date will not be considered.
For further information, or to arrange site visits, please contact the clerk by emailing clerk@bishopstokepc.org.
Thank you.
PARISH COUNCIL AUDIT - UPDATE
Each year the Parish Council has its finances audited and is required to publish the final results. The current audit is for the financial period 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021. An internal audit was completed shortly after the end of the financial year by an independent auditor. This audit raised no issues for the Council to correct. Once the Council had approved the results of the internal audit and the submission to the external audit authority in June the final audit was submitted for inspection.
Usually the Council receives the final report from the external auditors in time for publication by the end of September. This year we have been informed by the external auditor that they have been unable to complete the audit in time. Bishopstoke Parish Council wishes to stress that this is not as a result of late or faulty submission on its part, but merely that the audit authority has been unable to complete the work in time.
The interim report stating that the audit authority has failed to complete the work in time, along with the submitted accounts of Bishopstoke Parish Council and a notice giving details of how any Bishopstoke elector can inspect the audit are provided in the links below.
The external auditor has now completed the audit and has found no problems with Bishopstoke Parish Council's accounts. An updated notice of inspection rights and the final report from the external auditor are linked below.
Notice of audit giving inspection rights
Sections 1 and 2 of the audit (submitted by Bishopstoke Parish Council)
Section 3 of the audit (interim report from the audit authority)
Section 3 of the audit (final report from the external auditor)
PROPOSED BISHOPSTOKE BUS LANE IMPROVEMENTS
Hampshire County Council are currently holding a consultation on creating a priority bus lane for traffic heading from Bishopstoke to Eastleigh in between the bridges by the Hub and by Chickenhall Lane.
The main features of the scheme are as follows, taken in order from Riverside to Chickenhall Lane.
The current pedestrian crossing by Toby Carvery would be moved and become part of new signals for the junction between Riverside and Fair Oak Road. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to safely cross from the Toby Carvery to Riverside (as they currently do) but in addition they will be able to safely cross Riverside. There will be no right turn into Riverside when coming from Fair Oak and no left turn coming out of Riverside. The bus stop at Riverside is likely to be moved to Spring Lane.
Once the bridge has been crossed there will be a priority westbound bus lane which will merge back into traffic just before the bridge by Chickenhall Lane. This merging will be signal controlled. There will be a new signal controlled pedestrian crossing where the current island is. The bus layby at the Hub will be removed. There will be the addition of a new pedestrian footway on the Hub side of the road. This will mean the current hedges will be removed, but replanting with more suitable species is planned.
The roundabout at Chickenhall Lane will be replaced with a new set of traffic lights. This will include a pedestrian crossing for Chickenhall Lane, but not for Bishopstoke Road. Buses will already have merged back into traffic by the time they reach this point.
There is no bus lane running from Eastleigh towards Fair Oak.
There are several documents showing the changes, all of which can be found on the Hampshire County Council website at:
https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/tcfbishopstokeroadimprovements
Alternatively, you can see the overview of the scheme by clicking here, the location plan for the scheme by clicking here, and the preliminary design drawings by clicking here.
You can also take part in the survey by either Googling "Bishopstoke Bus Improvement Scheme" and following the links, or by clicking here.
FOOTPATH 780 (from the Toby Carvery to West Horton Farm)
Hampshire County Council has announced the temporary closure of footpath 780, which runs from the Toby Carvery down to West Horton Farm. The closure extends from Tuesday 12th October to Monday 4th April 2022 to allow for repair works on the boardwalk. To see the full extent of the footpath and the closure click here, or alternatively click to enlarge the image.
TREE WORK AT OLD ST MARY'S
On the night of 18th November, SSE are carrying out works to cut back branches at Old St Mary's that are encroaching on the power lines.
We are told that this work can only take place overnight because of the traffic problems that the necessary road closure would cause during the day.
We would like to apologise on behalf of SSE for any inconvenience caused while these works take place.