Official opening of 'The Shallows'

On a very sunny Wednesday 22^nd April at 3.00 pm, a group of Parish Councillors and other local people came together at 'The Shallows' in Boldre to witness Mr Christopher Graham, Boldre's very active centenarian, cut a ribbon on the footbridge to celebrate the completion of the work to refurbish the footbridge and removal of the tree which had been blocking the river.
The Chairman of the Parish Council, Ian Wild said a few words about 'The Shallows' and the work involved and then invited Mr Graham to cut the ribbon. Mr Graham made a short speech, cut the ribbon and drove across the bridge in his buggy.

'The Shallows' had been in public use as a ford since before the compilation of the 1841 Tithe Map right up to the early 1960's. The footbridge was first erected in the early part of the 20^th century and remains in use by pedestrians and cyclists to this day.

Over the years the area became overgrown, the bridge railings needed attention and about three years ago a willow toppled into the river, impeding the flow and thereby speeding up erosion. The Parish Council decided that action was needed so about two years ago it arranged the clearance of the undergrowth by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and Hampshire Highways then agreed to renew and repaint the railings. Finally permission was obtained from Longdown Estates, Natural England and the Environment Agency to remove the tree from the river and reinstate the bank. This work was carried out in the autumn of 2008 by Farwells with Boldre Parish Council bearing the cost. However, Hampshire Highways subsequently funded half of this cost by a giving the Council a grant. In addition a local resident also contributed £100.00.

After a delay, the railing work was completed on Friday 17^th April ready for the 'reopening' by Christopher Graham

Ground clearance at Pilley Recreation Ground by Hampshire Probation Service

Council recently arranged with the Hampshire Probation Area for workers from the Community Payback scheme to clear overgrowth and earth on the recreation ground.

This has been carried out over the past few months with removal of general rubbish, huge amounts of overgrown bushes/grass being cut down and a large pile of earth being reduced. So much undergrowth was removed that two old grass rollers were unearthed from the depths!

The workers and supervisors have all worked extremely hard and enjoyed working in the peaceful surroundings of our parish. The team may return later in the year to tackle more brambles.

This project has allowed the Council to have this work done for minimal cost (small donation towards maintenance costs of tools owned by the probation service only). This would otherwise have cost the Council a large amount of money had a contractor been employed.