Ellisfield Broadband Action Group (EBAG) are delighted to report that the target has been reached and the money is now in the bank ready for action!
We would like to thank all donors for getting the monies to us so promptly.
As already reported EBAG will be meeting Hampshire County Council and Openreach on Wednesday 6 June to and progress next steps. We will of course keep you informed.
best wishes
EBAG
Jane Hannah has submitted a new Neighbourhood Watch report. It is here.
Pledges collected now total an impressive £18,925
Thank you, once again to all those who have followed up their pledge so quickly.
A meeting with HCC and OpenReach has been setup for 6 June to go through the details of the project and to discuss the contract with HCC. Reminder: All the relevant information will be communicated BEFORE the contract is signed and BEFORE any monies leave the EBAG account.
It would be good to have collected all pledges by the meeting date so that we can show HCC and OpenReach that we are a serious concern and committed to the project. Cheques are an acceptable method of payment but BACS transfer (using the details sent individually) would be best.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact:
Ali Swanston, Oakhill, Green Lane, telephone 381171,
or
Alix Taylor, Lower Farm, Green Lane, telephone 381992,
Thank you
EBAG
Once again EBAG would like to thank the villagers who have generously pledged – meeting the target required.
Following the EBAG meeting on 16 May – pledges are now being collected towards the target of £22,442.
So far, £14,675 has been collected. Thank you to all those who have followed up their pledge so quickly.
A Treasurers account has been opened for dual signatory. Monies are being collected into this account. If you haven’t already done so please contact Ali and / or Alex for details of the account.
A meeting with HCC and OpenReach has been requested to go through the details of the project and to discuss the contract with HCC. All the relevant information will be communicated BEFORE the contract is signed and BEFORE any monies leave the EBAG account.
We are still a little way away from signing any contract, however HCC and OpenReach have to be satisfied that we can raise the necessary funding and if they are not satisfied then the process cannot continue any further. So we need the monies in the bank to prove our intent even if this means collecting it early.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact:
Ali Swanston, Oakhill, Green Lane, telephone 381171,
or
Alix Taylor, Lower Farm, Green Lane, telephone 381992,
Thank you
EBAG
Tickets £7.50:
Zani Robinson 381320
Joanne Thomas 381300
Cheques Payable to Ellisfield Memorial Hall – Priority for Ellisfield residents
Details of the Audit and Accounts for 2017/2018 etc see: AGAR 2017:18
Public rights to view EPC accounts
Notices pertaining to the exercise of public rights to view Ellisfield Parish Council accounts for the year ending 31stMarch 2018 between 9am and 5pm on working days from 25stJune 2018 to 3rdAugust 2018 are now on the Lower Common parish council notice board. Any person wishing to exercise these rights should please telephone Peter Raine, Joint Clerk, for an appointment on 01256 381221.
The statement of accounts will not be audited on account of that authority’s self-certified status as exempt, unless either a request for an opportunity to question the auditor about the authority’s accounting records under section 26(2) or an objection under section 27(1) of the Act, results in the involvement of the local auditor; and that in either of those circumstances the audit will be limited to that required by section 20 of the Act as modified by the Smaller Authorities Regulations. (See regulation 12 of the Smaller Authorities Regulations for the application of section 20 of the Act in relation to a Category 2 authority with exempt status.).
We have been overwhelmed by the support for a superfast broadband solution for the South of Ellisfield. We have received pledges from the South and some from the North of the village for which we are most grateful.
We are in the process of opening a bank account for monies to be paid into and the bank details will be made available once we have them.
EBAG are meeting on 16 May and will issue an update on next steps after that.
Thank you
EBAG
We current total is now high enough to make the £22,442 achievable… however we are still not there!
Ali Swanston (aaswanston@gmail.com) and Alix Taylor (nfgt@aol.com) will be door knocking around the village this weekend in the hope of raising more pledges. Please do get in touch with either (or both) if you would like to make an offer or to raise your current pledge.
Thank you to all those who have already put their names forward. Your support for our local community is very much appreciated.
Ellisfield Broadband Action Group (EBAG)
Read more detail about pledging your support here: Pledge Communication April 2018 V2
The latest total is in. So far we have been pledged:
A huge thank you to those who have pledged so far this is a tremendous start.
We believe the target of £22,442 is really achievable.
If you haven’t done so yet, please can you make your pledges in confidence to either Ali Swanston or Alix Taylor before 6 May 2018.
More details: Read the Pledge Communication April 2018
Ellisfield Broadband Action Group (EBAG) have today, hand-delivered a new communication to the houses in the South of the village regarding the latest news about internet connectivity. The communication says:
“We have just now received a significantly lower quote from Openreach/Hampshire County Council for a faster broadband solution (Fibre to the Premises – FTTP) to the whole of South of Ellisfield. The quote is for £44,883 which means that we need to raise £22,442 (Hampshire County Council can currently provide 50% of the cost).
EBAG firmly believes that this is a great opportunity for the South! Although the South are having to pay for their broadband it is important to point out that the solution on offer is the ‘latest and greatest’ available. It is superior to the solution in the North and will give us a uniform fast service that is inherently future proofed. FTTP can offer speeds of up to 300mbps!”
However HCC funds are limited and issued on a first come first served basis. Therefore time is of the essence – we need to move quickly. The South raised £11,500 in pledges in 2014, let’s just double that!!
We are now asking residents to make their pledges via:
- Ali Swanston Oakhill, Green Lane, telephone 381171
- Alix Taylor Lower Farm, Green Lane, telephone 381992
Pledges will be taken in confidence. Please could you confirm the date of your pledge, the amount, your name and property name. We will acknowledge your pledges in due course along with a proposed payment date.
******PLEDGES NEED TO BE WITH US BY 6 MAY 2018******
Please ‘dig deep’. There is no minimum or maximum amount to pledge as every household is different. However as this is a community undertaking we would hope that the majority will feel able to contribute something.
If anyone has ideas for community fundraising efforts – perhaps the younger generation might like to get involved – please share them as this scheme has huge benefits for everyone for many years to come.
If you have any questions please contact Alix Taylor (details above) in the first instance.
We will publicise a running total on the Parish Council website and should you wish at any point to increase your pledge please do so!We would be interested to hear if you run a business from your home in the South of Ellisfield as we are investigating the ‘Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme’. Just let Ali or Alix know.
The North of the village did go live with superfast broadband on 10 April 2018. If residents in the North have any questions or require assistance about what to do next please contact Julian Wright, who will be only too happy to help.”
Read the whole communication here: Pledge Communication April 2018