Village Voice February/March 2014 | Page 17

JACKIE’S COUNTY COLUMN Alresford following the route of the old railway lines. We officially gave the route a name: The Watercress Way, in January. As we wish each other a Healthy and Prosperous 2014, we must ask ourselves what is our entitlement to a healthy life - and how do our public services help us to achieve it? I meet so many people who are having hip and knee replacements! I asked Mary Edwards, the Chief Executive of the Hampshire Hospitals Trust how we all managed before they were commonplace? She explained that it is purely a symptom of our ageing population: many people are having replacements much later in life now. You can read more of my conversation with Mary Edwards on my website www.jackieporter.co.uk Housing is often a financial worry for the whole family. There are affordable Council-owned homes being built in Micheldever and Itchen Abbas, and by the time you read this, some residents may be moved in already. Barton Farm development includes affordable housing, and work starts this autumn. The responsibility to make provision for the housing needed by its local community falls to the local authority - and here’s where you come in! The Local Plan Part 2 asks us all to consider how we can fit all this into the landscape. This includes not just housing but also employment, recreation and other uses too. Many of you have visited exhibitions or taken part in community planning exercises. If you haven’t but would like to know more, please contact me by phone or email for your local point of contact. Consultation on the draft document will take place from April. The Friends of the Line Group have registered their aspiration for a long distance path from Sutton Scotney, through Kings Worthy to If you travel by public transport, or would like to but don’t know where to start, you can use ‘My Journey’ to help you plan your route. Go to www.myjourneyhampshire.com or follow it on twitter @MyJourneyHants. Unfortunately Hampshire doesn’t provide a telephone number for this service. The Leng ѡ͵