Council News

The outdoor tennis courts at Stratton Park in Basingstoke, the athletics track at Down Grange Sports Complex in Basingstoke and council multi-use games areas and some ball parks in the borough will reopen tomorrow (Thursday 14/5) for people to use for exercise, as long as they follow social distancing guidance.

The outdoor tennis courts at Totally Tennis in War Memorial Park, Basingstoke, will also reopen tomorrow (Thursday 14/5) and these courts can be booked on the Totally Tennis website. The rest of the Totally Tennis indoor facilities will remain closed, this includes changing facilities and toilets. 

The outdoor nine hole par-three golf course at Basingstoke Golf Centre, owned by the council and managed by Serco, will reopen on Saturday morning (16 May) with online booking and social distancing measures in place to ensure safety. The adventure golf and the driving range will remain closed as will the club house, changing facilities and toilets.

For more information about the measures in place at Totally Tennis visit www.totallytennis.co.uk/covid-19

For more information about the Golf Centre visit www.basingstokeleisure.com/basingstoke_golf

For more information about the council’s outdoor sports facilities visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk

In line with the government’s revised legislation, the council will be holding its Annual Meeting online at 1930 on Monday 18 May We’ll be using Microsoft Teams: just click on this link to join. See the detailed instructions for full information.

Download the agenda and supporting papers here.

As it can be difficult to organise online meetings for lots of people, it would help to know how many members of the public might be joining. If you intend to join, please could you email the Clerk beforehand?

These will take place as normal on the bank holiday in line with BDBC’s temporary fortnightly waste collection schedule introduced from Monday 20 April.

The local NHS has coped with the additional pressures to date and is well-placed to meet any future peaks in demand. This includes more intensive care capacity, more hospital beds and ensuring patients know they can access the right staff and services when they need them.

The NHS is encouraging residents to contact their local GP practice if they need to, anyone needing urgent medical advice should continue to use the NHS 111 online service and if someone has a serious or life-threatening emergency, they should call 999.

Hampshire County Council has said that preparations are underway to safely reopen household waste recycling centres in the week commencing 11 May.  This date is subject to further guidance expected from the government this week on travel to a household waste recycling centre during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

At its online meeting on Monday night the Parish Council gave £500 to Citizens Advice. Here’s why it’s needed:

“Citizens Advice Basingstoke and Tadley are continuing to provide essential services during the COVID-19 outbreak, using emails and web chat instead of face-to-face meetings to support residents while protecting its volunteers and the public. Their staff are available to support residents with issues, COVID-19 and non COVID-19 related, such as benefits, housing, debt, employment and consumer rights.

“The majority of enquiries Citizens Advice has received during the ongoing pandemic have focused on initial claims for Universal Credit and questions about furlough, such as how pay and benefits may be affected. If you receive any queries on these topics, please signpost your residents to Citizens Advice Basingstoke through:

– the general advice line – call 0300 3309 064

– the Universal Credit claims advice line – call 0800 328 5644 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm)

– email –

– online web chat – visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/web-chat-service/

For more information, visit www.basingstokeandtadleycab.org.uk/citizens-advice-basingstoke“

Approved minutes of the March council meeting are now available

In line with the government’s revised legislation, the council will be holding its April meeting online at 1930 on Monday 27 April. We’ll be using Microsoft Teams: just click on this link to join. See the detailed instructions for full information.

Download the agenda and supporting papers here.

As this is the first online meeting and we’re not sure how easy it will be to manage, it would help to know how many members of the public might be joining. If you intend to join, please could you email me beforehand?

SWR will reduce the number of services it will be running from Monday 23 March, following the Government’s announcement urging people to avoid all but essential travel in order to help limit the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus.

The spread of the COVID-19 means like at most other organisations, more of our staff are having to follow advice to stay at home unwell and self-isolate for up to 14 days.

By reducing the number of trains running, we can focus on ensuring a reliable timetable for passengers who still have to travel, especially healthcare professionals, police and fire service workers.

We are asking all passengers to follow the Government’s advice to avoid all but essential travel.  But those passengers who do have to use our services should check before they travel.

Our colleagues on the front line are working very hard to ensure that those who need to travel get to where they need to be, when they need to be there, and the rest of the business is focusing on supporting them.  

For more information about what else we’re doing to help stop the spread of coronavirus, please visit: www.southwesternrailway.com/coronavirus

Thank you in advance for your support during these very difficult times.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Hopwood
Managing Director
South Western Railway