Issue - meetings

To receive such announcements as the Chairman may wish to make to the Council.

The Chairman opened her announcements by highlighting a number of awards and accolades the County Council had received:

·         The Arts Council had recently announced their future National Portfolio and funding for the County Council area which had increased significantly, with £2million per year coming into Hampshire annually for the next three years.  Of particular note is the County Council’s partners, the Hampshire Cultural Trust, who had been awarded £500,000 per year.  In addition, many organisations had been awarded funding to work in Arts Council priority places such as Rushmoor, Gosport and the New Forest.

·         Planning, design, and construction of Romsey town’s central space in Market Place by the County Council had been recognised as Solent’s best new public space.  The scheme won both the Judge’s Award and People’s Choice Award in the Partnership for South Hampshire’s Solent Quality of Place Awards – the first time in the Awards’ 10-year history that a scheme has achieved winning two accolades.  The County Council’s design team worked with Test Valley Borough Council in close consultation with the Romsey Steering Board (whose members were senior representatives from the County Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Romsey Town Council, as well as local community interest groups).

·         An innovative joint project between the County Council and Milestone Infrastructure and OCL  that recycles large quantities of old road material for re-use across Hampshire’s road network resulting in significant carbon savings and reduced reliance on external supply chains had won the Environmental Sustainability Award, the Special Merit award and were Highly Commended in the category for Partnership Working at the National UK Highway Awards.

The Chairman also reported on several events she had pleasure in attending on behalf of the County Council:

·           25 and 40-year long service celebrations

·           Law Sunday Service (9 October)

·           Official opening of Sparsholt College’s Animal Health and Welfare Research Centre by HRH The Princess Royal (1 Nov)

·           Staff Remembrance Service (11 Nov)