Team Kingsclere, Tadley and Baughurst

05/09/2026

🚨 NO PLAN FOR THE HOMES = NO PLAN FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE

This is what Basingstoke & Deane’s Local Plan failure looks like in the real world.

The Lib Dem/BDI administration abandoned its Local Plan process. We now face huge Government-imposed housing numbers but no settled plan showing where those homes will go.

And that doesn’t just affect planning applications.

It affects schools. GP surgeries. Roads. Public transport. Water. Utilities.

Those challenges are real.

But here’s the question:

❓ How can Hampshire officers confidently decide the future about any school places across the borough in 5, 10 or 15 years when Basingstoke & Deane cannot yet say where thousands of future homes will be built?

That’s why Conservatives are demanding that HCC officers scenario-plan the impact of all future housebuilding scenarios.

Because imagine closing a secondary school today…

…then discovering a few years later that thousands of new homes mean we need those school places after all.

That would be unforgivable.

This is why Lib Dem’s abandoning the Local Plan has consequences far beyond the planning department.

🏠 NO PLAN FOR THE HOMES.
🏫 NO CERTAINTY FOR SCHOOL PLACES.
🩺 NO CERTAINTY FOR HEALTHCARE.
🚗 NO CERTAINTY FOR ROADS.

A Local Plan isn’t just about houses.

It’s about having a plan for the communities and infrastructure that go with them.

And right now, under the Lib Dem/BDI administration, Basingstoke & Deane doesn’t have that certainty.

04/09/2026

🚨 THE CLERE SCHOOL — WE NEED ANSWERS BEFORE ANY DECISION IS MADE

A consultation has been launched on the potential closure of The Clere School from August 2027.

Importantly, this consultation has been launched by Hampshire County Council following a formal request from The Clere School’s own governing body to consider closure.

That is a significant fact — and we need to understand why the governors concluded that asking the County Council to consider closing the school was necessary.

The figures are clearly concerning. The school has capacity for 725 pupils but currently has just 382 on roll, and only 35 new Year 7 pupils were expected this year.

But closing a secondary school is an enormous and effectively irreversible decision.

We remember the consequences of the closure of Fort Hill. We cannot afford to get another decision about Basingstoke & Deane’s secondary education provision wrong.

Before any decision is made, we need answers.

🔹 What led the governors to formally request consideration of closure?

🔹 What alternatives did the governors and County Council explore first?

🔹 What do the detailed 5 and 10-year pupil forecasts actually show?

🔹 How much of the fall in numbers is genuine demographic decline — and how much is because families are choosing schools in West Berkshire and Wiltshire?

🔹 Could confidence in the school and pupil numbers be rebuilt?

🔹 What academy options have been explored since the Government required the school to convert?

🔹 Has future housing growth across Basingstoke & Deane been properly factored into forecasts?

🔹 What would closure mean for journey times, school transport and places at The Hurst and other schools?

The fact that the governing body itself has requested this process means there are clearly very serious issues that need to be understood.

So we won’t pretend there is an easy answer.

But neither should anyone assume that closure is inevitable.

This must be a genuine consultation — not simply a process towards a decision that has already been made.

We will be looking carefully at the evidence and listening to parents, pupils, staff, governors and the wider community before reaching our conclusions.

WE NEED ANSWERS BEFORE ANY DECISION IS MADE.

12/07/2026

3.30am. One of Tadley’s most iconic trees gone.

If the oak tree was genuinely unsafe, residents deserve to know why.

But why was it felled under the cover of darkness?

This is another example of the Liberal Democrat / BDI -led Basingstoke & Deane council getting the communication badly wrong. A tree that residents fought to save in 2020 disappeared before most people were even awake.

Transparency matters. If there was no alternative, publish the evidence. If overnight working was essential, explain why.

Residents deserve openness—not waking up to find a treasured landmark has gone.

06/05/2026

06/05/2026

This projection for Tadley & Baughurst shows just how finely balanced this election is. What is clear is that only the local Conservative candidate can beat Reform UK, whose candidate lives at the other end of the county in Havant.

Just 8.3% separates the candidates — still a competitive margin.
That means this will come down to a small number of votes.

It’s a straight fight here. Other parties are not in a position to win — but they can split the vote.

If you are concerned about Reform taking this seat, the only effective way to stop that is to vote for Maria Higson.

In a contest this close, every single vote matters. Sitting it out or voting elsewhere could decide the result.

If you want strong, capable local representation for Tadley & Baughurst, please back Maria Higson tomorrow.

Honesty. Competence. Experience for Hampshire.

(Information from: https://www.pollcheck.co.uk)

06/05/2026

05/05/2026

With elections just 2 days away, it's time to make your choice. Who will run Hampshire County Council:
👍a Conservative team delivering 93% good or outstanding schools, outstanding Children's Services, and a costed plan for potholes,
👎or the chaos of Nigel Farage's Reform?

Don't put Farage in charge.

02/05/2026

The experience that Councillors like Tom Thacker bring is invaluable to protecting our countryside. Please, don't let Reform wreck it.

30/04/2026

Outstanding Children's Services in Hampshire.

Don't put Farage in charge.