JULY 2007                                                                                                           

Welcome to the latest edition of Parish Connect, your monthly newsletter from Winchester City Council. We have updated the style to make it more reader friendly and we hope that you find it useful.

We are also in the process of updating our contact details for local publications and would love to hear from the editors of parish magazines or newsletters, with publication dates, deadlines, the number of issues produced, and the kind of news your readers would be most interested in.

Thank you
Alice Ainsworth and Eleanor Hodge
Corporate Communications

What’s On In Your District....
It is now easier than ever to find out about the many fun and exciting events taking place in Winchester and the surrounding towns and villages.
Winchester City Council’s popular listings publication What’s On has been transformed into a new pull-out section of the Council’s residents' magazine Perspectives.
To read the latest What's On click here.
You can also keep up to date with event information and submit your own at www.winchester.gov.uk/events.

Parish Archaeologies
Have you ever wondered how old your parish is? The Portable Antiquities Scheme database could help give you an idea.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) has been recording archaeological finds discovered by members of the public since the late 1990s. You can search the database to see what people have found in your neck of the woods, from flint tools to medieval artefacts.
To date, the scheme has recorded more than 275,000 archaeological finds from England and Wales, including over 9,000 from Hampshire. Most recent records come with full descriptions and images of the objects. To find out more click here.

Itchen Valley Churches Trail
A new leaflet has been produced by Winchester City Council's Museums Service and the South Downs Sustainable Development Fund.
It aims to encourage residents and visitors to get out and about in the glorious countyside of the Itchen Valley.
It is similar in nature to the exisiting Meon Valley Churches Trail and is available at the Tourist Information Centre in Winchester Guildhall.
To find out more and to see the full Meon Valley Trail online click here.

Climate Change Plan
Winchester City Council is asking for input into its Action Plan for tackling climate change.
We want to know what your parish is doing to tackle CO2 emissions and help make the district - and world - more sustainable.
The consultation is out until August 31 and we would love to hear from as many of you as possible.
Click here to read the document and give us your feedback.
To find out more about climate change and sustainablity, calculate your carbon footprint and read about simple ways to reduce it click here.

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Better support for Parish Plans
An improved service is now on offer to parishes in the Winchester District that want to undertake a parish plan. To date there are four local parishes with a completed plan and another nine at varying stages of developing one.
Staff at Winchester City Council and Community Action Hampshire are on hand to support people in developing and implementing their parish plan and would love to hear from you. Resources available include a good practice toolkit and local guidance document and help is available with producing a questionnaire, gathering information about your parish, developing a website and more.
For more information click here or contact Community Planning Manager, Steve Lincoln, on 01962 848110 or  slincoln@winchester.gov.uk.