Following my re-election as Hampshire County Councillor for Totton South & Marchwood, I’m really pleased to have been appointed onto the New Forest National Park Authority.

I’m joining as a new member at a difficult time. There have been very well documented problems with various protest groups actively opposing the authority. Some local politicians still campaign for abolition of the organisation.

At my very first meeting, the official business was preceded by a dramatic announcement, the resignation of the current Chief Executive. There was a lot of media interest.

I’m personally very positive about the National Park Authority. It is here to stay. I would like to think that I can play a small role in promoting the NPA, as well as making a significant contribution to the operation.

The New Forest is a fantastic place. I feel incredibly lucky to live so near to the national park and I have spent much of my spare time enjoying it. It is full of surprises, so incredibly varied. Words can’t do the place justice. You have to stay here to understand. After about 50 years, you might be considered a bit of a local.

I spotted this sign at the entrance to the graveyard at Copythorne Church. “Beware of Adders”. Fail to heed the warnings and this could be your resting place!

The plans of developers, Linden Homes, to develop housing on green areas in Totton might yet be scuppered by ancient grazing rights.

The highly controversial plans to build on sites off Ringwood Road and Testwood Lane (the home of AFC Totton) were thrown out by locally elected councillors, but then later allowed on appeal, heard by a government appointed inspector.

However, Town, District & County Councillor, David Harrison has been working to establish the status of the land. Working with local residents, he has uncovered evidence that the land the developers want to build housing upon should be treated as “common” land, meaning that there are ancient grazing rights attached to them.

Councillor Harrison is asking his colleagues on Totton & Eling Town Council to support efforts to get the status of the land confirmed.

He says “Since publicising this issue, a number of locals have contacted me, recalling how the land was once used to graze horses. These rights have never been extinguished. I’m now asking that the Town Council to get matters confirmed under the 1965 Commons Registration Act”.

Any further Totton residents who can also provide witness evidence to support such moves are asked to contact Councillor David Harrison on telephone number 02380 864500.

Cllr. Harrison wants Highway bosses to halt all resurfacing work on pavements in his Totton & Marchwood division.

Residents on the Rushington Manor Estate have been bitterly complaining about the quality of work undertaken to pavements in the area. In roads such as Rushington Avenue and Kinross Road, re-surfacing work was carried out earlier in the year in an effort to extend the life of the pavements, not due for replacement for some while.

Unfortunately, the quality of the work provoked a storm of protest because of large quantities of loose grit that had not bonded properly to tar. Tar and grit has been picked up on shoes and walked into carpets and car mats. It’s then almost impossible to remove.

In the more recent warmer weather, pockets of sticky tar have become exposed, usually by car tyres mounting pavements to access driveways, repeating the same problems experienced earlier in the year.

Councillor Harrison says “I have had a lot of complaints about this issue. Residents are very angry. I haven’t spoken to anyone who thinks it was money well spent. I attended a residents meeting last night and learned that a petition is being put together, expressing unhappiness with the work. County Officers must have spent a lot of time dealing with complaints and trying to rectify all the problems. I will take a lot of convincing this is an effective way of using taxpayer’s money”.

Cllr. Harrison has asked Highway bosses to review the contract, to examine the costs, the quality of the workmanship, the level of complaints and whether it would be better to use the money to carry out replacement works as had been done in Rushington Lane and Bartley Avenue.

Councillor David Harrison has been an early morning breakfast guest at the Brimar Bed & Breakfast establishment, High Street, Totton.
The campaigning councillor had accepted an invitation from the owner, Mr Roy Neet, to enjoy some coffee and toast, (for which he paid), whilst sitting at a window seat. Mr Neet was very keen that Cllr. Harrison witness, at first-hand, the problem of vehicles regularly breaking the 30 miles an hour speed limit driving along the busy High Street.

Councillor Harrison had previously arranged for a Speed Indicator Device to be installed in the High Street a few weeks earlier. This had also shown some vehicles travelling in excess of the speed limit.

Mr Neet feels that traffic calming measures should be employed at this location as it is “An accident waiting to happen”. The B & B is located very close to the road and pavements are quite narrow. Cllr Harrison was also able to speak to Harry, the newsagent located opposite the property. Harry also expressed concerns about speeding traffic.

In an hour, Cllr. Harrison counted a total of 12 vehicles which were travelling well in excess of the speed limit, three of which were travelling at around 50 miles an hour.

Cllr. Harrison says “I had hoped that the recent improvements to Rumbridge Street, including a narrowing of the road and wider pavements would have slowed traffic down in the High Street. Unfortunately, there is still very clearly a problem. I have therefore agreed to ask Highway Engineers to undertake a site visit and consider the best means of tackling the problem”.

Cllr. David Harrison was a guest of Marchwood Junior School this evening at an open-air picnic in the school grounds. The event was organised to celebrate completion of a new facility, a wooden amphitheatre. This will be used to stage a variety of entertainments including musical events, choirs and plays.

The Headmaster, Steve Basset, thanked all who helped finance the cost of the facility. County Councillor David Harrison contributed £2,000 from his community grants budget. He cut the ribbon along with fellow contributor, Cllr Alison Hoare of New Forest District Council.

He said “This is a super initiative that should provide years of joy, not just for school pupils but for the wider community”. He also paid tribute to Mr Basset for his infectious enthusiasm in driving the project to completion.

Local Councillor, David Harrison, is asking Totton residents to be on the look-out for tree eating dogs.

A large number of trees in the Rum Green, Brockenford area of Totton have been badly damaged by dogs. It is feared that the trees will die as bark is stripped off the trunks.

Councillor Harrison says “I have had reports that a young man is exercising his pit bull terriers by encouraging them to attack the tree bark, stripping it off the base of the trees with their teeth. This aggressive behaviour is a thoroughly anti-social act. It’s criminal damage which may well mean the loss of a large number of trees”.

The Totton Councillor has notified the police and is calling upon residents to alert them immediately if they witness further incidents. He adds “I’m really upset that this sort of selfish behaviour goes on. The sooner the offender is caught, the better”.

The Campaign against adding fluoride to tap water has taken a significant step forward. County Councillor David Harrison, Liberal Democrat member for Totton South & Marchwood and Leader of the New Forest District Liberal Democrats joined 30 other members of “Hampshire Against Fluoride” to lobby government in Westminster.

The team first visited Downing Street where petitions were handed over. There were over 15,000 signatures, including hundreds collected by Councillor Harrison in Totton where some 8,000 homes are threatened with having the industrial waste product added to the water supply.

The group then handed over a letter of protest to the Department of Health, before meeting with local MP’s in the Houses of Parliament. Hopes that the scheme may not now go ahead have been raised now that both Labour MP’s representing Southampton have agreed that the Strategic Health Authority should put matters on hold in the face of overwhelming public opposition.

Speaking at Westminster, Cllr Harrison told the MP’s and fellow campaigners “The suggestion that the scheme be put on hold is a very good one. It will enable places like the Sure Start Centres to make an effective difference by educating parents as to the importance of children brushing their teeth, a far more effective method than mass medication by tap water”.

The MP’s have agreed to work together, on a cross-party basis, with a view to stopping fluoride being added to tap water next year. It is widely thought that, if introduced, the scheme will be introduced into other areas in future years.

Cllr. David Harrison has been re-elected as County Councillor for Totton South & Marchwood.

The election count for the New Forest finished at about 3.30am this morning. As luck would have it, the Totton South & Marchwood seat was the last to be announced.

The turn-out was 33%.

The result was :
David Harrison Liberal Democrat 2,641 votes
David Russell Conservative 1,897 votes
Alun Barnett Labour 271 votes

Winning majority : 744 votes (up from 175 votes in 2005)

Other Lib Dem successes in the New Forest were Alan Weeks (Totton North seat), retaining his seat & Brian Dash (Hythe & Dibden).

It now seems clear that the Conservatives will keep control of Hampshire County Council. However, Labour have lost three of the four seats that they did hold, making the Liberal Democrats the only opposition group.

Cllr. David Harrison says “ I’m thrilled to be re-elected with such an increased majority. I have always considered it a very great privilege to serve the area and will continue to work in the best interests of the community”.