Stakeholder Meeting
11 February 2020
At our first Andover Vision stakeholder meeting of the year, Cllr Phil North reflected on how the vision has, and continues to, make a difference. Many of our big community events, such as the Cycling Festival, A-fest and Four Fun Fridays, have been led by a wide range of partners and have become annual events. Our partners have worked hard to deliver exciting projects; the Roots and Shoots International Peace Day Procession, the Andover Space programme, the Refill project, arches installation, just to name a few. A brand new leisure centre for the town was opened and the redevelopment of Town Mills is now underway!
We had updates from a number of our stakeholders:
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David Dixon, from Chapel Arts Studios, spoke about the progress of the Andover Space Programme and the aspirations of the new Artist in Residence. For more information visit: http://www.chapelartsstudios.co.uk/ or email david@chapelartsstudios.co.uk
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Clare Davies informed the group about how and why she started her new project called You’re Cooking and that they plan on holding interactive cooking stalls in Andover. For more information visit yourecooking.wixsite.com/home
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Katherine Bird informed the group that A-Fest 2020 will be held on Sunday 3rd May, 11-3 in Andover High Street. For more information contact chattogether@outlook.com
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Marie Ponting updated the group about Andover Rocks 2020. It will be a 3 day event 3-5 May at variety of indoor and outdoor venues across Andover. For more information visit the Andover Rocks Facebook page.
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Jill Hannington informed the group that they are planning a Healthy Living day to be held in spring. For more information contact jill.hannington@btinternet.com
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Louisa Rice spoke about the upcoming plans for VE day on 8th May. For more information contact lrice@testvalley.gov.uk
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Mike Purnell informed the group about the P20 recycling event that is being held on 21 March 10-3. If you would like to get involved or would like more information mike145@hotmail.co.uk
Bank from the Brink: Graeme Davis from TARCA ran a workshop about how they are identifying endangered species, such as the Barberry Carpet Moth, and what their plans are for reviving the colonies. He explained how growing certain plants can increase the number of these species. Stakeholders were given the opportunity to grow these seeds in the community whilst it is being identified where to plant them in the countryside. If you took a packet of seeds please do let us know how your plant is growing! For more information email gremlin_graeme@hotmail.com
Andover BID: Steve Godwin, Andover BID manager, updated the group about the projects they are working on. They are establishing a Pubwatch/Shopwatch scheme by using two-way radios to help deliver information, free wifi to encourage people to the town centre and an ‘indies group’ to support independent businesses. Andover BID would like to provide a support network for all local businesses, be as environmentally friendly and support town centre events. For more information contact steve@andoverbid.org.uk
Local Social Action in Practice: Lesley Shenton (Unity) and Liz Murray (Valley Leisure) discussed the ‘ripple effect’ of social prescribing. Unity provides a social prescription service for patients by addressing barriers and enabling people to access various forms of community activity. They highlighted that social prescribing may also help wider health determinants because the patient can feel happier, more confident and physically healthier after taking part in community activities. For more information contact lmurray@valleyleisure.com
