OCTOBER

TWO new wards for the town are closer to becoming a reality after an independent commission’s published its final recommendations this week.
Andover Romans, covering the new Augusta Park estate, and Andover Downlands, spanning the Picket Twenty development, feature in the Local Government Boundary Commission’s report for a new-look Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC). As a result of the proposed changes, the number of councillors in the Andover area would rise from 15 to 17 – although TVBC says each member will represent a higher number of residents than before. This is because the overall number of councillors across Test Valley could drop from 48 to 43 under the plans, while the number of wards would be reduced overall from 24 to 20.

THE granddaughter of two former Andover residents who now live in Dominica has launched an urgent plea to rescue them from the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Tina and Joe Henry lived in Andover for around 40 years before moving back to the small Caribbean island in 1996. Since the category five hurricane obliterated the island on 18 September, the couple, both 82, have been left in the middle of a disaster zone. Their back porch has disappeared, their roof destroyed, and with the government expecting no electricity, and limited food and water for the next six months, granddaughter Terri Henry is appealing to old friends of Tina and Joe to raise £3,000.

When the British citizens were bringing up their four sons in Andover, Joe was a bus driver while Tina made furniture in Enham, and organised trips to watch Arsenal play football. The couple’s Dominican house, which Tina named The Arsenal Lodge, has now been seen by surveyors who said if the hurricane lasted a further five minutes, their roof would have been completely blown off.

THE Lights was “packed full of amazing people” to celebrate the winners of the Pride of Andover awards. The event, now in its 11th year, saw 180 friends, family and nominees turn up in their glad rags to enjoy the evening appreciating Andover locals making a difference to the town. The Breeze radio presenter Steve Priestley hosted the night while “Andover royalty” was in the house as Katie Piper presented the awards. Mrs Piper marked a change from long-time presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, and is a former Pride of Andover winner for courage back in 2010.

The soon-to-be mother of two said: “I was born here, I went to school here and anyone that knows my story knows I came back to Andover to live with my family and recovered here.”

While Andover’s army cadet force took control of the buffet and a caricature artist worked the room, guests waited for the announcement of the winners.
The winner and those highly commended were:
- Graeme Davis - Winner, Citizenship award, sponsored by Andover Vision and Spirit of Andover overall winner, sponsored by David Mellor Family Jewellers.
- Anne Goodier - Highly Commended, Citizenship award.
- Carol Robinson – Highly Commended, Citizenship award.
- Ethan Bartley - Winner, Young Person award, sponsored by Aspire Defence.
- Robyn Brown - Winner, Sports award, sponsored by Places for People.
- Jason Holmes – Highly Commended, Sports award.
- Robert Bartholomew - Winner, Inspiring Others award, sponsored by The Breeze.
- Karen Tinder – Highly Commended, Inspiring Others award.
- Renie Scott - Winner, Services award, sponsored by New Street Dental Care.
- Breatheasy – Highly Commended, Services award.
- Hazel Kirby - Winner, Heart of Gold award, sponsored by Simplyhealth.
- Emma Smith – Highly Commended, Heart of Gold award.
- Alex Leigh - Winner, Sue Sheppard award, sponsored by The Commercial Centre.
- Teresa Macleod - Winner, Mayor’s award.

NOVEMBER


A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build more than 500 homes on a site has been given the green light by councillors. Test Valley Borough Council’s (TVBC) Northern Area Planning Committee discussed Persimmon’s revised application to build 520 homes on land east of the current Picket Twenty site on Thursday last week. As previously reported, one of the most contentious issues in the plan included the number of new houses proposed. It is, in the words of a council officers’ report, ‘nearly double’ that outlined in the Test Valley Borough Revised Local Plan (RPL) which proposed around 300 homes. However, councillors on the committee voted to approve the proposal.
The decision has ‘appalled’ some residents with Andover Down Resident’s Action Group member, Jim Thompson, saying the outcome was ‘predictable.’

The retired 73-year-old said: “Nothing we were saying was going to make a difference.

“A lot of time and effort has gone into clearly thinking about the objections and we may as well have stayed in bed.

CUTS totalling tens of millions of pounds have been passed by the county council in a “dark day for Hampshire” with pensioners and tip users potentially facing further charges to save vital services. Councillors on Hampshire County Council (HCC) passed sweeping budget cuts on Thursday last week, as the authority battles to make savings of £140 million by April 2019. But it also revealed new charges could be introduced in a bid to save frontline services across Hampshire, including a £1 levy for using household waste recycling centres run by the authority. Members of the ruling Tory group said the pay-as-you-go scheme was the only alternative to closing up to half the tips in a bid to save £1.2 million.

A majority of 49 councillors voted for the recommended proposals in last Thursday’s full council meeting, while 20 councillors voted against and two abstained. Faced with strong criticism of the administration’s proposal to axe funding for subsidised bus services and other transport links, the Conservatives also outlined plans to make pensioners pay 50p every time they use their bus pass and £10 each time a permit is issued or renewed. Council leader Roy Perry said the authority had to achieve a balanced budget by saving £140 million but was exploring ways of meeting its target by raising extra income.

A 95-YEAR-OLD Second World War veteran was finally able to wear his Burma Campaign medals for the first time on Remembrance Sunday. Albert Brackstone, who only received his medals a couple of months ago, wore his brand-new Burma Star, Defence Medal and War Medal to remembrance commemorations in Tangley. The former airborne gunner was also given a new red beret for the occasion as well as help with polishing his shoes.

On his first Remembrance Sunday wearing his medals, the former bombardier said: “It’s a bit strange. On Sunday I got a little bit emotional at times but I enjoyed it very much.

“I was quite surprised to see the number of people there. It was nice, everybody was very nice.

“It still comes back, what happened out there, brought back a lot of memories.

“It wasn’t very nice to be in India but we survived it.”

Two years ago, his friend and carer, Karen Blakeman, asked where his medals were and Mr Brackstone said he did not have any. He said there was no mention of which medals he was entitled to when he was demobilised. Karen, a former army sergeant, contacted local SSAFA member, Lieutenant Colonel Derek Armitage, after getting advice from another of Albert’s carers, Tammy McFadyen. After proving his involvement in the campaign the national military charity arranged for his medals to be issued, which Karen had mounted and ready to wear for Sunday.

A FORMER Test Valley mayor has received her MBE for her 50 years of service to Andover’s community, describing the day she was presented with the honour as “one of the best days of her life”. Marion Kerley, a founding member of the town’s Age Concern branch, went to London on Thursday last week to shake hands with Prince Charles and claim her honour. The former Marks and Spencer manager and her family also spent their afternoon enjoying tea with North West Hampshire MP Kit Malthouse and his predecessor Lord George Young in the House of Lords.

Mrs Kerley said: “I shook hands with a prince and a lord that day I was honoured, it was a wonderful experience. When people asked me who I would like to give the award I said Charles and I got my man!”

The millennium year mayor was recognised for a total of around 19,000 hours of volunteer work undertaken in Andover over the past five decades. Mrs Kerley helped establish Age Concern, now Age UK, in Andover with then fellow councillor Don Bentall. As a trustee at Age UK Mid Hampshire, Mrs Kerley continues to work with the group and is currently organising for donations for a Whitchurch pop-up shop in January.

DECEMBER

TWO brothers who revitalised an Andover-based company have been awarded their MBEs by the Prince of Wales. Brian and Alan Stannah MBEs spoke of their delight at being called up together to receive the honour from Prince Charles during a Buckingham Palace investiture ceremony, capping a year which has seen Stannah celebrate its 150th anniversary. Brian Stannah, 82, and his younger sibling Alan, 78, helped transform the fortunes of the family-run company, started by their great-grandfather Joseph Stannah in 1867, by revitalising it in the 1960s.The following decade they masterminded Stannah’s best known product, the stairlift, which they worked tirelessly to produce and launch, and which made the company a household name.

A DEVELOPMENT with social housing described as like a ‘ghetto’ has been shot down by council planning chiefs, citing more than a dozen reasons for the refusal. Foreman Homes had planned to build 91 homes in Picket Piece, on grazing land opposite Walworth Road, complete with a village green and a community orchard. However, Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) has turned down the application for a range of reasons, including the quality of the development, parking and future provision. In September Andover Town Council’s (ATC) planning committee objected to the  application with one councillor saying the social housing layout was a ‘ghetto’ with a large cluster of the 26 homes being put together by the railway line.

BOROUGH residents face waits for as long as six years to get a social housing property suitable for their needs, figures have shown. High and medium priority social housing applicants in Test Valley on average waited between one and six years to secure a property which met their needs in the 2016/17 financial year. Average waiting times for applicants in the high and medium bands, Hampshire Home Choice (HHC), varied from one year and three months to as much as six years and one month.