WALBERTON ACTION GROUP
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ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2008
Presented at the AGM on 18th November in the Village Hall
We are so lucky to live in the communities of Walberton, Binsted and Fontwell – despite living in the busy southeast of England, we have somehow retained a village atmosphere and can enjoy a good quality of life. However, we cannot be complacent – this year has seen major threats to our security and local environment : notably the threatened down-grading of St Richards Hospital and the proposed Ford EcoTown. WAG has been active in opposing these and other threats, although as yet we do not know how successfully.
As chairman, I would like to thank all members of the committee for their efforts during the year and the following is a very brief overview of what WAG has been doing:
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Ford EcoTown – Peter Hatley has led the way in making it known through petitions, demonstrations and posters that we fully support CAFÉ; however, the battle is not yet won!
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Parish Landscape Project – trees and new hedgerows have thrived and WAG has carried out some necessary maintenance and pruning.
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WAG Website – John Bushrod has largely overhauled the whole site and brought it up to date; there is a great deal of information there now and there are over 500 hts per month.
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Bird Survey of the parish – a great success with the co-operation of some 20 landowners and an amazing 40 volunteers doing the survey. Our friend David Hart, local RSPB chairman, has kindly analysed the results and will be presenting the findings to our AGM.
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Flint Walls – Newton and Wendy Coen have done a brilliant job in recording all flint walls in the parish visible from the public highway, together with a description of their condition. We hope it will be an aid to accessing funding to restore those walls most at risk. It is also a valuable addition to the village archive and will be the focus of a joint meeting are to hold with Walberton History Group on 22nd April 2009.
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Consultations – our Secretary Emma Tristram has led the way in responding to a number of planning applications and similar issues in the past year and has made an important contribution to the continuing enquiry into the proposed South Downs National Park, with the likely result that a good part of Binsted will be included within the boundary.
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Walberton Place Entrance Gates – no actual progress, but we have been heartened by the very positive attitude of the new owners, Southern Cross, who are keen to restore the gates as soon as funding is available.
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Trees – John Heathcote, in his role as Parish Tree Warden, has continued to fight for preservation orders on vulnerable trees at Fontwell and has carried out a planting scheme near the parish allotments.
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Parish Council – we are grateful to the Parish Council for their financial assistance. We avoid duplicating their role on planning issues and hope we provide a complementary route for all members of the community to be able to contribute towards the maintenance of our quality of life, protection of our landscape and facilities to enjoy living here. We are delighted that the Parish Questionnaire has now been analysed and work is soon to start on developing a Village Plan.
Peter Brown,Chairman