There will be a first meeting of the community working group at 7pm on Thursday 21st October in the Denis Smith room at Bentley Memorial Hall.
Both Bentley and Binsted Parish Councils have agreed to collaborate with a community-run working group to prepare a response to Network Rail plans to close the crossings at Bentley Station.
If you’re unable to attend but would like to be invited to future meetings, please email bensmith@fastmail.co.uk.
This summary has moved to a dedicated website.
National Rail have confirmed proposals to close the level crossings at Alice Holt and Buckthorne Oak, replacing them with a new footbridge and lifts. Public footpaths would be diverted accordingly.
Details have been provided to local residents in the form of a letter and through presentations to Binsted and Bentley Parish Councils. There’s now a dedicated page holding the latest information and details of a public consultation meeting on 22nd September.
Citizens Advice have launched a new online tool to offer advice if you think someone is trying to scam you or if you’ve been the victim of a scam. It also lists a number of types of new scams linked to Coronavirus and provides links to phone numbers or online chat if you need help in-person.
You can access the tool on the Citizens Advice website. They are also working with social media platforms to have it shown when people search for help.
Network Rail are currently undertaking a large programme of level crossing closures and it is very likely the 2 crossings from Station Rd into Alice Holt forest will be included. Surveyors have visited the site recently and data loggers were installed for some time (to record usage). These crossings are already considered higher-risk by the rail authorities and a local man was killed by a train at the station crossing in 2016.
Closing these crossings would require the closure or re-routing of the existing public rights of way and this process normally includes consultation with interested local groups. At present the Parish Council is in contact with Network Rail to gather more information, with the expectation that a public meeting will be held to provide more information as / when any formal proposals are shared.
Network Rail have published more information about the general programme of closures here.
Any updates will be shared here as available and notified via the WhatsApp group.
Action Fraud are warning of an increase in scam emails relating to Covid-19, resulting in losses of £5.3m as scammers impersonate banks and government organisations such as HMRC and DVLA.
Continue reading “Warning from Action Fraud about scam emails”The tables below capture the views collected before establishing the group.
51 surveys were distributed and 35 (69%) responses were received. 100% of respondents agreed a community group should be established and 83% supported creating a Neighbourhood Watch group.
| “I would sign-up to…” | (%) |
|---|---|
| Sign-up to receive / share news | 89% |
| Respond to questions / surveys about local issues | 89% |
| Volunteer to help organise the group | 86% |
| Sign-up to receive crime prevention advice | 71% |
| Volunteer to help organise the group | 37% |
| “I prefer to communicate by…” | (%) |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp group | 63% |
| 60% | |
| Website | 49% |
| Text message | 40% |
| Nextdoor group | 31% |
| Facebook group | 23% |
| Paper newsletter | 23% |
| Phone call / in-person | 14% |
| “My priorities are…” | (%) |
|---|---|
| Traffic speed / speed limit | 40% |
| Footpaths / pavements (inc. cleanliness / weeds) | 20% |
| Crime prevention | 14% |
| Station lighting / cleanliness / dilapidation | 11% |
| Opp for social interaction | 11% |
| Parking | 9% |
| Supporting neighbours | 9% |
Individual respondents also mentioned: cold callers, dog noise, dog poo, hedges, train noise, burning rubbish, and pumping station / draining / flooding.
Speaking to neighbours about the challenges of 2020, several people commented that it may be useful to establish a group to build community and support each other in the future. We imagined this could involve things such as:
I thought this was an interesting idea (it’s something other local communities have done successfully) and offered to survey opinions from more people. Our aim was to gauge interest and gather suggestions from a wider group to help us understand how to proceed.
We collected views by paper and online survey, between 12th Feb and 25th March 2021 and the responses showed there was majority support for creating a group and investigating the creation of a Neighbourhood Watch group.
Station Road & Wey Bank Community