Weekly waste collections to resume mid-August 

Weekly waste collections in Basingstoke and Deane are set to resume from Monday 17 August as staffing for the bin collection service stabilises during the pandemic.

The council and its waste and recycling contractor Serco have reviewed staffing and are happy the weekly service can be resumed as lockdown measures continue to relax. The day residents’ bins are collected will not change.

New subscriptions to the popular garden waste service will also be available from Monday 3 August but residents are being advised it may take over a month for bins or bags to be delivered and collections to start.

The council and Serco will continue to review the staffing of all waste and recycling services and will take measures to protect the core services during the COVID-19 crisis if required.

Reinstating the weekly waste collection and opening new garden waste subscriptions means all of the council’s waste and recycling services will be back online by mid-August. The council first made the difficult decision to stop garden waste and bulky waste collections in March and temporarily move to a fortnightly waste collection late April. 

For more information and frequently asked questions visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/covid-19-bins-and-recycling 

Leisure facilities set to reopen this weekend

Facilities at Basingstoke Aquadrome and Tadley Swimming Pool and Gym will reopen this Saturday (25 July), following further easing of lockdown restrictions. 

Officers have been supporting Serco, which runs the two facilities, to understand the measures that need to be in place to safely reopen. 

At the Aquadrome, the gym, studio for classes and the 25-metre pool will reopen on a reduced capacity. The lagoon and health suite will remain closed. 

The gym and pool facilities will also reopen at Tadley Swimming Pool and Gym. Due to the size of the studio, no fitness classes will be running at the facility. 

At both facilities, swimming lessons will resume from Saturday 1 August. 

All activities at both facilities will need to be pre-booked to allow Serco to monitor and maintain social distancing and customers will be encouraged by make card payments where possible. 

The reopening of these facilities follows the earlier reinstatement of activities at Basingstoke Golf Centre, which is also operated by Serco. The pitch and putt, adventure golf and driving range facilities are available but the clubhouse and toilets remain closed. 

Traveller encampment at Tadley Swimming Pool<

Officers were made aware of an unauthorised traveller encampment in the car park at Tadley Swimming Pool and Gym yesterday. This site is not covered by the traveller injunction granted to the council which prevents unauthorised encampments being set up. 

We are working closely with Serco and the police and after discussions with the group, they have been asked to leave the site by 6pm today, ready for when the site reopens this Saturday. 

Shoppers must wear face coverings from Friday

Shoppers across the borough are being reminded to wear face coverings from Friday (24 July) when visiting the town centre. 

Officers have been helping retailers to safely reopen by ensuring they have the appropriate measures in place, as well as working with Basingstoke Together BID, Festival Place and The Malls to ensure Basingstoke town centre is a safe and pleasant experience for shoppers.

A number of measures have been put in place, including walking on the left hand side of walkways, an increased cleaning schedule of public areas, hand sanitising units and extensive signage reminding shoppers what they need to do.

On 14 July, the government announced that face coverings would be compulsory in all shops and supermarkets, in line with public transport, from this Friday (24 July).

This new measure will help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 from droplets from coughs and sneezes when visiting smaller areas where social distancing may be more difficult, alongside other measures such as regularly washing your hands.

The government’s guidance on face coverings can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own

Update on work of community safety patrol officers last week

Last week our community safety patrol officers dealt with 65 incidents, with incidents including welfare checks for shielded residents, littering and inconsiderate behaviour.

The team is continuing to carry out increased patrols in the town centre and open spaces across the borough following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. As part of this, the team has seen an increase in the amount of litter and has been proactively engaging with the public while on patrols, particularly in open spaces, to remind them to put their litter in the bins provided. CSPOs also continue to work closely with the Operations team to report and monitor locations of overflowing bins.

The CSPOs continued to prioritise patrols in areas where antisocial behaviour has been reported. As well as offering reassurance to residents, the team dealt with incidents where antisocial behaviour was taking place and engaged with groups who were gathering, encouraging them to return home.

As mentioned in last week’s update, the team will be carrying out high visibility patrols to reassure communities, monitor antisocial behaviour and encourage residents to be considerate to each other during the summer holidays. The aims of the Safer Summer campaign are:

• A focus on increasing evidence-led patrols in the areas where antisocial behaviour is most likely to take place during the summer months to deter and intervene with incidents of antisocial behaviour and provide a visible and reassuring presence to support a feeling of safety for residents and visitors in the borough. This also includes a focus on the Basingstoke town centre area and parks and open spaces across the borough.
  
  
• Identifying individuals engaging in antisocial behaviour or behaviours which impact negatively on the local community and use relevant interventions to support them in preventing such behaviours occurring in the future.
  
  
• A focus on raising awareness of antisocial behaviour and safe play with targeted messaging.
  
  
• Working with partners as part of a collaborative approach to address summer antisocial behaviour concerns. 

Three transformed play areas reopen for fun and games 

Three play areas in Brookvale and Kings Furlong have reopened after major improvements to the facilities.  

Primary school aged children will be able to enjoy exciting new equipment thanks to £236,000 of funding to transform three play areas for the benefit the community.   

The council has carried out improvement work at the play areas in Cordale Road, Culver Road and Goodman Close with money allocated from the council’s Local Infrastructure Fund. Each site includes new equipment for swinging, sliding, rocking, spinning and balancing, as well as explorative play.   

The application for funding was proposed on behalf of the local community by Cllr Michael Westbrook, ward councillor for Brookvale and Kings Furlong.   

Visitors to these and all of the council’s 150 play areas and parish and town council play areas are asked to follow Government guidance to help reduce the risk of spreading the virus when using the equipment. This includes:

• giving other people space, in line with the current social distancing guidance
• washing hands before and after visiting
• using hand sanitiser gel or wipes to clean hands
• putting tissues or rubbish in the bins provided. 

No food or drink should be consumed in the play areas and people are asked not to use the facilities at busy times to help keep themselves and others safe.  

For more information and to find your nearest play area visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/playareas

Useful links

• Latest Basingstoke and Deane Council information
• Local Government Association
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• Public Health England
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