Reopening and celebrations: five big news stories to happen in May

As the effects of lockdown has been felt, with the number of deaths and new cases steadily reducing, the Prime Minister has gradually relaxed restrictions.

At the start of the month, we were told it would be okay to sit in a park and a limit on outdoor exercise was removed. Now, as we prepare to go into June, people will be able to meet in groups of six from Monday.

On top of this, garden centres, household waste recycling centres, golf courses, outdoor tennis courts and more were reopened as the month progressed.

And the weather has been set fair too, with warm temperatures lasting much of the month, and one firefighter saying it's been one of the driest Spring's on record.

So here are five of the biggest news stories from May in Basingstoke:

1. Peeping Tom arrested after returning to house for the third time

This story started back in April - a nail technician from Cranbourne was left afraid after a man was reportedly seen snooping outside a couple's home in the early hours of the morning.

Rachel Coopland said it first happened in February, before he returned six weeks later.

And despite footage from a doorbell camera showing the man peering in the windows whilst Rachel was watching television in her dressing gown, police said that there was nothing they can do because no crime was committed.

Soon after the Gazette ran the story at the end of April, the man returned again.

But this time, a 39-year-old man was arrested "on suspicion of stalking following a series of suspicious incidents".

You can read the full story here.

2. Traffic chaos after tips reopen

On May 11, after criticism from some that they were ignoring government advice, Hampshire County Council reopened Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) across the county.

And on that Monday morning, thousands of people turned up to the Wade Road site to dispose of garden waste and much more that had been building up for seven weeks.

Queues were all the way back to Daneshill roundabout and beyond, with some cars even waiting as far back as the A33/A339 junction on Faraday road.

It prompted councillors to call it a "perfect storm" and say that HCC should have organised it better.

It came after bin collections had been severely reduced across the borough - grey bin collections were reduced to fortnightly, and bulky and garden waste were temporarily suspended to protect staff during the coronavirus outbreak.

The queues continued almost every day since, with HCC at first saying that they would be forced to close them again if traffic didn't ease, before finally bowing to pressure and agreeing to introduce a booking system from mid-June.

And today, May 31, the Gazette revealed data that shows, for the first time, how fly-tipping has doubled in some parts of North Hampshire over the seven weeks that tips were closed.

You can read the full story here.

3. Carer opens up on heartbreaking experience of caring for residents during Covid-19

Earlier this month, a Basingstoke carer opened up about the heartbreaking experiences of looking after residents with dementia during Covid-19.

Residents at care homes may have not been able to see their families for months, and Kath Stevens, who works at Sycamore Cottage, told the Gazette that they were forgetting their family.

“Within five minutes, they forget who their family are," she said.

"It is heartbreaking. Most of them are suffering from late stages of dementia, and one is bed ridden. I feel for the families when residents do not recognise who they are.

"Residents recognise us more than family and we try and help to jog their memories. We show them pictures of grandsons and attempt to keep those precious memories alive.

“We are like their surrogate family. We take residents down to the back door and they talk to their family through the glass. We carry on as if there is no coronavirus and try to make it as normal as possible."

You can read the full story here.

4. VE Day celebrations across the borough

Whilst celebrations for the 75th anniversary of VE Day were not quite what was planned at the start of the year, residents across North Hampshire came out in force and maintained that social distancing to celebrate in the best way possible.

From the minute's silence at 11am to the nationwide singalong at 9pm, and from the Queen's speech to the thousands of driveway parties, our live blog ran throughout the day, showcasing some of the best ways households were celebrating amid the self-isolation.

As well as this, we did our own singalong with Steve Conway to celebrate the end of war in Europe, which you can watch back here.

5. Basingstoke council object to Camrose link road

It's been another busy month in the Camrose saga.

At the start of the month, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council objected to the Hampshire County Council plans for a road to be built through the Camrose site.

They agreed with the Sport England assessment that there wasn't a suitable alternative for the historic ground.

This delighted many football fans in the town, who saw it as a chance that they might be able to see their team playing there once more.

And then, just a week later, Sport England said that Basron would need to pay more than £600,000 to accommodate for the loss of the facility. The club said that this didn't even take into account the cost of a new stadium, and therefore should be higher.

A week later, and the club's former owner, Rafi Razzak, who owns the freehold to the Camrose, said that the turf he dug up from the pitch in January would be used to be a memorial to the stadium, and Lord Camrose, when Basingstoke Town Football Club move to Winklebury later this year.

But there's more. Towards the end of this month, Hampshire County Council released the latest documents for the Brighton Hill roundabout improvement scheme, which included the link road despite the objections.

And finally, the club wrote to three senior councillors to ask them to ensure there is a proper replacement for the Camrose, and follow a two-stadium approach.