Local Government | Bishopstoke Parish Council

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.

BISHOPSTOKE PARISH COUNCIL MISSION STATEMENT

At the recent meeting of the Council, Bishopstoke Councillors agreed their Mission Statement and Aims for the remainder of this council session.

Mission Statement - To be the voice of the people of Bishopstoke to enhance our village as a great place to live, work and visit.

Aim 1 - To improve, and protect, our environment for residents and wildlife.

Aim 2 - To promote better health & well-being outcomes for all.

Aim 3 - To strengthen a sense of place.

Aim 4 - To encourage residents to become more involved in the life of the village.

The decisions the Council takes over the next 2-3 years will be guided by this Statement and these Aims.

ONLINE APPLICATIONS FOR ALLOTMENTS AND TRAVEL TOKENS

As part of our efforts to improve the service we provide to the residents of Bishopstoke it is now possible to apply for either allotments or travel tokens online.

To apply for an allotment, please click here.

To apply for travel tokens, please click here.

BISHOPSTOKE PARISH COUNCIL AUDIT

The Parish Council's accounts have now been returned by the external auditor and we are pleased to report that the Council has again obtained a clean audit with no issues raised. The notice and the complete audit forms are available on the Audit page of the website.

COMMUNITY "HEDGE" FUND

Community groups from across Hampshire are being invited to apply for grants of up to £750 to assist with the planting or restoration, by laying or gapping up, of hedges in areas accessible to the public.

Hedges are a beautiful feature of the countryside, green spaces, and gardens making a valuable contribution to reversing the effects of climate change, and in providing shelter, homes, safe travel and food to all kinds of wildlife. In recognition of the value they offer, the Hampshire based countryside charity CPRE has launched a community ‘Hedge’ Fund.

The aim is to reach across Hampshire increasing the length of hedgerows in the UK by 40% by 2050. Since 1945, we have lost half our hedgerows, intensifying nature’s decline and hindering the fight against climate change. Projects to be undertaken will include restoring and planting.

If you think your local public areas or community groups would benefit, visit www.cprehampshire.org.uk or email the CPRE Hampshire Hedgerow Co-ordinator at ellie.banks@cprehampshire.org.uk

PHOTO SEARCH

Bishopstoke Parish Council is looking for photographs of the scenery around Bishopstoke. This could include landscapes, parks, iconic buildings, river settings or anything else beautiful within Bishopstoke.

The photos would potentially be used on our Facebook or website, or in Council newsletters and leaflets, and would be credited to the person who took them.

If you are interested in letting us use your photos please contact the Clerk, David Wheal, by emailing clerk@bishopstokepc.org.

SEPTEMBER PRESS RELEASE

Bishopstoke News: Carnival scheduled for September 2023

After the cancellation of this year’s Bishopstoke Carnival following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Council has scheduled next year’s Carnival for Sunday September 17th. The 2023 Carnival will take place in Glebe Meadow, Church Road. In addition, the Council will be holding a Sports Day on Saturday June 3rd at Blackberry Drive.

The 2022 Carnival was cancelled at short notice as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Many children across Bishopstoke had been working hard on their river floats in school and pre-school so the Carnival team went to visit Stoke Park Junior School and Robin’s Nest pre-school. The children explained how they had come up with the ideas for their floats and how they had been made.

Parish Clerk David Wheal said recently “If anyone else made a float for Carnival this year please send a photograph to the Carnival team at the Parish Office. We will still be holding the competition and prizes will be awarded to the best floats. More details about both 2023 events will soon become available on the Parish Council website www.bishopstokepc.org.”

Bishopstoke Champion Award

The Parish Council Is launching a Bishopstoke Champion Award. The Council is looking for a person, or a group of people, deserving the title of Bishopstoke Champion. That could be a person who has championed a worthy cause, someone who has worked hard to make life easy for an individual who finds the going tough, or maybe a group who have done their best to make Bishopstoke a better place to live and work. Keep an eye on the Parish Council website and noticeboards for more information and a nomination form.

A local Nature reserve?

Bishopstoke Parish Council has agreed to support the Bishopstoke, Fair Oak & Horton Heath Local Area Committee proposal for the land recently acquired by the Borough Council in the south of Bishopstoke to be used to create a nature reserve. The Council agreed that having such a peaceful, beautiful and environmentally friendly place on our doorstep would be a wonderful thing for Bishopstoke and its residents.

Play area village trail success

The play area village trail was launched this year and was enjoyed by many families. Each play area had a small plaque installed with a creature on it and booklets were handed out at Stoke Park Junior School as well as being available to download. Children filled up their booklets with a pencil rubbing of each plaque and every completed booklet was eligible to enter the prize draw for a family ticket to Intech – the Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium. The plaques will all go into hibernation for winter but will reappear in the spring for another trail to follow.

Other Bishopstoke news

Allotments… The council has rationalised and rewritten its allotment tenancy agreements, replacing the five different versions currently being used by a single agreement document. And after several years of rent freezes the Council has been forced to raise the fees from £8 per rod to £9 per rod.

Parish Council audit… Once again Bishopstoke Parish Council has had its finances approved by the external auditor – PKF Littlejohn. No issues were raised during the audit and the Council received a clean bill of health.

Next meeting (open to Bishopstoke residents)… The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Tuesday 8th November at 7.30pm. For details of where the meeting will take place and any other information please visit the Parish website.

For further information, please contact the Parish Clerk: David Wheal

by email: clerk@bishopstokepc.org

or visit the Parish website at: www.bishopstokepc.org

PARISH COUNCIL VACANCIES

Itchen Ward Vacancy

The period for nomination for the vacancy in the Whalesmead Ward has now closed. The Borough Council Statement of Persons Nominated can be viewed by clicking here.

As only one person was nominated the Borough have also provided a Notice of Uncontested Election which can be viewed by clicking here.