The Candover Valley is a unique rural community in mid-Hampshire, centred around a group of five villages and four hamlets situated between Basingstoke and Winchester.
The aim of this site is to provide information to both locals and visitors about the events, amenities, and local services which are available in the Valley. It is in the early stages of development, and dependent on its users to provide information to go on it, and feedback and suggestions for improvement.
September meeting
The Candover Valley Gardening Cub is resuming its monthly talks on Thursday 16, September, for the first time since early 2020. The meeting is being held in Preston Candover Village Hall, starting at 7:30pm. The speaker is Marina Christopher, a trained botanist who runs a Nursery in Medstead, grows plants for the Chelsea Flower Show and is a gardening writer. Ms Christopher illustrates her talk using plant materials rather than a computer presentation. Her subject this time will be ‘Late Summer Flowers and Extending the Season’. She will also have plants and sundries for sale.
The club’s programme for the rest of current year is available here -CVGC Programme 2021-22
Services in Valley churches are now back to the normal rota. Please see here for details of services in Valley churches for August and September.
Basingstoke planners have decided not to ask for an environmental impact statement to accompany the planning application that Preston Farms are expected to make next month to site a giant solar farm on land north-west of Preston Candover, owned by Lord and Lady Sainsbury, and close to the end of Church Lane. It is proposing to make an application in September to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for permission to cover 116 acres of farmland with solar panels. The decision is contrary to the advice of the Council’s own landscape team.
The site is within the Candovers Parish Council area but the main impact of the development, if approved, will be in Preston Candover. See more details here.
In the two weeks since the lifting of all restrictions in England the new delta variant has confounded the experts who predicted a rapid rise in new infections. The new delta variant hit its peak in Hampshire on 21 July – two days after all restrictions were lifted – and new infections have been declining steadily since from a rate of 438 per 100k on 19 July to 239 yesterday.
See more here.
Plans to site a giant solar farm on land north west of Preston Candover, close to the end of Church Lane, are revealed in an application from Preston Farms to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council for advice on screening the site. The proposed site for the 28 megawatt solar panels comprises three fields within gently sloping open countryside, close to several footpaths. The area is said to “possess a distinctive quality with a quiet rural character that is sensitive to change,” and it is believed that “the cumulative effects on landscape character that could result from the development are potentially significant.”
See more details here.
With weeks of different levels of lockdown during the past year of the coronavirus pandemic many people and families have been looking for ways of getting out of the house and seeking some form of recreation. Families living in the Candover Valley are fortunate in having a wide network of footpaths and bridleways where it is possible to take short, or longer walks, through beautiful countryside, even in winter and in relative safety, largely away from the rural roads which are narrow, without pavements, and also, mostly with a 60mph speed limit!
Read more here.
There are three parish councils serving the residents of the Candover Valley. At the northern end of the valley it is Preston Candover and Nutley Parish Council which covers Axford as well as Nutley and Preston Candover. At the southern end of the valley Northington Parish Council serves the residents of Northington, Swarraton and Totford, and in the middle it is the Candovers Council looking after people in Brown and Chilton Candover.
Information about the respective councils and their activities can be found on their own websites:
More information about the role and duties of parish councils in general can be found here.
Activities, events and places in the Candover Valley and surrounding area.
There are many organisations active in the Candover Valley and the surrounding area, and a wide range of places to visit, and activities to enjoy, in addition to many public footpaths giving you access to the countryside and its teeming wildlife. See more information here.
The Candover Valley Community Store has been operating throughout the Covid-19 lockdown periods and has enjoyed nearly two years of successful trading since opening in June 2019. It provides valley residents with much needed food and household services, and has been a ‘life-saver’ for many people during the past difficult year of the coronavirus pandemic. Grateful thanks are due to the staff and volunteers who have kept the store open during this terrible time. Further information and more details of the services it provides are available here.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, has now received further funding from the national lottery to continue its study programme into the wild life of Hampshire’s chalk streams. Among others, the programme involves the study of habitats and wildlife in the Candover stream. Read more about it here, and the latest update report here from Maggie Shelton, the community catchments officer.
The Purefoy Arms, the 18th century pub and restaurant in Preston Candover, is continuing its success under the direction of award-winning chef Gordon Stott, the licensee. It has recently been awarded two rosettes by the AA in recognition of the outstanding quality and variety of its food. It is one of only three pubs in this part of Hampshire to have gained this award. More information is available here.
Oak Hill Lane, the BOAT (byway open to all traffic) which runs from the Preston end of Bradley Lane (Red Lane) alongside fields to Southwood Farm Lane, is just one of several public footpaths and tracks running through the Candover Valley. It was resurfaced by Hampshire County Council in early 2015. More information about footpaths around Preston Candover can be found here.
Many years ago a former clerk to the Preston Candover and Nutley Parish Council compiled a series of seven circular walks using footpaths in the parish and with links on local roads. Details of the walks can be found here.
Potholes can be a serious road hazard and the state of some roads around the Valley is bad. We need everyone to report the problems. The process is easy, and you can also keep a check on progress on the problems which have already been reported .Please report on potholes here
Organising an event in the area? Starting a new club or society? If you are, we’d like to hear from you. Please contact our editors about a free listing for your event or group on this site.
