Combined March 26 jw v2 - Flipbook - Page 31
Opinion Hayling Herald
Hayling Island Residents’
Association
By Anne Skennerton,
chair of Hayling Island
Residents’ Association (HIRA)
YOU have a chance for more exploration of what a parish or local
Hayling council could mean for us
by voting for a parish council: use
either online havant.gov.uk/cgr or
a paper copy available at Hayling
Community Centre, Station Road
and Hayling Library.
The deadline is March 23rd. A
second consultation to consider
what our local council’s priorities
should be and how much we are
prepared to pay can only follow a
successful first consultation.
Without a parish’s locally elected
councillors, Hayling is entirely dependent on the one or two councillors representing us at the new huge
single unitary authority replacing
Havant and Hampshire councils in
2028.
Regeneration in the borough is, at
time of writing, up for discussion.
What would Hayling residents want
to see? The following are some of
the many suggestions recently sent
to HIRA.
Unlike a borough wide council’s
regeneration remit, a local Hayling
council could focus its attention on
our local issues.
Two themes stand out. Residents
want our Island’s natural habitat to
be protected. Suggestions include
providing prominent notices and
limiting access for wildlife feeding
and nesting sites whether on land
such as behind St Mary’s Church or
on the beach.
Notices for south-west beach
nesting are not apparent from the
seaward side so dogs may not be
kept under control nearby.
It’s strongly felt that building must
be prevented on land supporting
our rapidly decreasing wildlife.
Residents also want to restore
Hayling’s attractiveness for visitors.
They’re keen to see run-down
sites such as the Royal Shades and
Beachlands areas improved to make
this central area attractive to visitors.
Hayling’s pot-holed roads and
badly maintained car parks are cited
as deterrents for visitors and residents wanting to enjoy the Island’s
amenities.
West Beach’s vanishing car parking and beach huts exemplify what
many view as failure to support the
Island’s iconic water sports role.
There continues to be dissatisfaction with West Beach and Eastoke
coastal management as their residents and visitors are adversely
affected by erosion or shingle shuffle
respectively.
Real time electronic signage for
our southern beaches’ sea quality
would support water sports. Restoration of the neighbouring skate
park seats and renewed permanent refreshment and seating near
Chichester Road car park are valuable amenities.
More ‘tea shops needing to open
after 4pm’ suggests that there is little
encouraging visitors and residents
to linger throughout the year.
The proposed Hayling-wide Heritage Centre at Eastoke could prove
to be a significant visitor’s destination, providing local business
revenue whilst preserving artefacts
for viewing on the Island.
Recent parking charges have upset
many. More scrutiny of existing
Hayling sites’ users should have
been made. It’s felt that new charges
adversely and unfairly affect residential users.
Havant’s council-run Hayling
Community Centre car park’s poor
condition puts users’ cars at risk and
venue users often struggle to find
parking spaces.
Suggestions include monitoring
sites where practicable and providing residents with discounted rates.
The lack of money is always cited
as the reason for so much of Hayling’s neglect.
It cannot be ignored however that
during past years of relative prosperity neither mainland councils
nor even Islanders recognised the
need to protect Hayling’s future.
With a cash shortage, Hayling’s
revenue potential to the borough
as a holiday resort, however much
reduced, has become far more valuable to Havant.
Perversely, the very source of that
revenue, our coastal waters erosion,
is now putting property at risk.
We cannot keep building homes
on Hayling but shore-facing
home-owners must be made aware
of any action they need to take for
their – and the Island’s – long-term
future.
Visit haylingresidentsassociation.
co.uk or email hello@haylingresidentsassociation.co.uk
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