Dear Grayshott residents,

Here is my newsletter for week commencing 6th. June, just about on time I'm pleased to say!! The next newsletter is scheduled for week beginning Monday, 11th. July.

Barry Penny

Barry Penny served this village with total commitment as a Parish Councillor, Chairman of the Parish Council, District Councillor, Leader of the District Council and in numerous other campaigning situations. I was proud to consider him as a friend and the village owes a huge debt of gratitude to the man described by Rt. Hon. James Arbuthnot M.P. as "Mr. Grayshott".

Barry was cremated at Guildford Crematorium on Friday 6th. May and I was privileged to speak at the service. In some respects the measure of this man was that there was standing room only in the substantial crematorium chapel, such was the desire of over a hundred of his friends to say goodbye one more time.

He was a real gentleman and a huge loss to his family and the village. But his memories live forever.

High Hedges

At the beginning of June, new legislation came into effect to deal with high hedges that constitute a nuisance. The press coverage of this legislation has been terribly misleading. East Hampshire District Council will be administering the legislation within its boundaries, so that includes Grayshott. As a result, if you are concerned about the applicability of this legislation to you in any way, I suggest you get in touch with me first to avoid wasting time, money or emotion!

Just a few simple points for now, some of which may surprise you;

1. The legislation states specifically that there is no presumption that any tree or hedge will be pruned.

2. Using the Act by making a complaint to the local authority, (in this case EHDC), is to be regarded as a last resort. Local authorities are likely to be unsympathetic to a complaint unless some form of mediation has been attempted with honest intent on both sides, (i.e. more than just a couple of stroppy letters!).

3. The person making a complaint must show that they are suffering harm. It is not sufficient to observe that a tree or hedge is over 2m high.

4. The owner of the hedge or tree may claim mitigation, such as overlook, loss of privacy, etc.

5. Very few trees and hedges are expected to be cut to 2m, in fact the legislation states that this would have an undesirable effect on the landscape. It is expected that if a nuisance is established, solutions will be mostly partial pruning to a level acceptable to both parties.

6. Above all, if you think you have grounds for complaint, FIRST talk to your neighbour and try and resolve it. If that fails, SECOND ask someone to mediate between you and if you don't know anyone I or EHDC can advise on professionals who will help.

Only if these measures fail should you take it to the local authority.

I am already aware of one sad situation where a group of neighbours have "ganged up" on a very elderly widower and whilst her trees are high, I feel that to counter one piece of anti social behaviour with another is not the intent of the Act, nor good neighbourliness.

Police

On Saturday 21st. May I organised a "meet and greet" morning in the village to introduce our new Police Community Support Officer, PCSO Jim Leggatt. This was overwhelmingly successful, despite rain, with well over 100 visitors, sometimes having to form a patient queue to meet him!

Jim has been making his presence felt already by maintaining a visible presence in the village and surrounding areas. If you see him, please feel free to go up to him, say hello and raise any concerns you have.

Jim is fully uniformed, can issue fixed penalty notices, move on vehicle obstructions in certain cases, can detain for up to 30 minutes and above all, has a Police radio connected directly to the Police control centre. His main role is to ensure a visible Police presence, move on unruly groups and keep order. His role is not to get involved in serious crime. There are discussions about equipping PCSOs with handcuffs.

Young People in Grayshott

We are lucky to have some great young people in the village and some dedicated organisers of youth activity. I attended the AGM of the Scout Group and I was impressed to see that membership is high at all levels, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts. These organisations teach good social values and it is an excellent way to bring up children with a sense of responsibility and respect, whilst having fun.

However, they need adults to volunteer to help run them. No volunteers, no activities! If you are a parent, or a grandparent or other relative of a young person in Grayshott, or just willing to give a small amount of time, please give serious thought to helping out as a volunteer. If you are interested, just drop me an email in the first instance and I'll put you in touch with the right people.


Finally.......

At the start of the council year I was reappointed Cabinet member for Finance after a gap of three years while I ran companies, fought the European election and got involved in other time consuming activities! I still run companies but I now have a little time to get back into the job of helping to run EHDC as well. There is no reason to assume this will detract from my time commitment to the village. As long as Grayshott retains its traditional spirit of friendliness and inclusiveness and shows the fabulous qualities that Barry used to demonstrate daily, then I'll be a servant to Grayshott for as long as I'm wanted.

As usual, if you have comments, agree or disagree with me, please contact me on 01428-609858 or on Fcowper@aol.com

Best wishes,

Cllr. Ferris Cowper
EHDC Councillor for the ward of Grayshott
and Cabinet member for Finance