Herald - Issue 391

Page 48 • The HERALD • 25th June 2020 v SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES v 0800 028 7878 • 07866 041192 FAWLEY GARAGE SERVICE - PARTS - M.O.T.’S ALL MAKES OF VEHICLE SERVICED AND REPAIRED • D iagnostic F ault F inding • T yres - F itting & B alancing • L aser T racking FAWLEY 8089 1057 THE VILLAGE, CALSHOT ROAD, FAWLEY Send your local news to The Editor, The Herald, 2 High Street, Hythe SO45 6AH or email editor@herald-publishing.co.uk Cutting a Careful Balance to Support Hampshire’s Wildlife Hampshire Highway teams have brought forward the annual maintenance programmes for verge and grass cutting this year to help protect wildlife. Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, said: “We are committed to the careful management of Hampshire’s verges to ensure not only the safety of all those who use the roads but also that any disturbance to flora and wildlife is kept to an absolute minimum. Following discussions with the conservation charity, Plantlife, on the optimum time for carrying out verge maintenance to promote wildflowers, we brought forward our programme of works to early spring, though the coronavirus lockdown has disrupted the start of the programme this year, and some work may take place into the early summer. However generally, only critical safety work will be done on the verges during June and July, for example at junctions or other areas where visibility might be compromised – to allow wildflowers and other plants to flourish and seed.” Work will begin again in some areas in late September so that species have had time to ower and set seed for next year. Work on most of the rural road verges consists of a one metre wide cut but at junctions, bends and in front of tra c signs, the grass is normally cut back further to ensure good visibility for road users. In addition, the remaining areas of verge are cut once every two years in rotation to prevent them from becoming overgrown. For more information about Hampshire County Council’s verge and grass cutting regimes please visit the following web pages: www.hants.gov.uk/transport/ roadmaintenance/grasscutting and www.hants.gov . uk/landplanningandenvironment/environment/ biodiversity/informationcentre/roadverges Bus Passes Revert Back to 9.30am Start Time Concessionary travel times for older and disabled people to travel free on Hampshire’s buses reverted to the normal 9.30am start from Monday 15th June, helping to manage demand on public transport with new social distancing measures in place. Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at Hampshire County Council said: “As the country eases out of travel restrictions set in March to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, we can expect busy travel times to start to get back to more traditional peak periods. With capacity on public transport limited due to social distancing requirements, it seems the right time to revert to the usual operating hours for bus passes, helping to ensure space on buses earlier in the mornings for those going to work. I’d like to thank Hampshire’s bus operators for making the changes needed so quickly in March which allowed older people to travel for free when they could access supermarkets at quieter times, keeping themselves as safe as possible from the spread of COVID-19.” Older Persons Concessionary Bus Passes are available for people who have reached State Pension age. e older person’s bus pass entitles people to free travel on bus services throughout England from 9.30am to 11pm Monday to Friday and all day at weekends and on public holidays. Further information is available at: www.hants.gov.uk/ transport/publictransport/buspasses/olderpersonsbuspass