by Ray George
The North Southampton Community Forum had their AGM on 17th October. The meeting was quite informative.
PCSO Scott Walker said there were a lot of garage and shed break-ins in the Bassett Area, mainly evenings. The thieves were particularly interested in high value cycles. Police Community Support Officers were now not being replaced at all. The change since 2007 had been enormous.
Stephen Harrison, the Council’s Development Manager said there were 3 planning enforcement officers. They tried to find a satisfactory solution and needed to decide if the development was harmful. They had been following the Council’s Planning Enforcement Policy since 2014.
He said that currently the Council is employing a conservation officer Alison Davidson for one day a week. They wish to engage a full time conservation officer, but the advertisement produced no suitable candidates. The post is being readvertised and it is unlikely that anyone will be in post until April.
Roger Brown gave a progress report on the Common Forum. It is all on their website:southamptoncommonforum.org/strategicplan.html
We learnt that at last, the University is working on schemes for replacing the South Stoneham tower.