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The latest Petersfield news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.

Top story King's Pond Costs: £860,000 to Dredge or £2.2m for a River Dredging King's Pond would cost £859,716 and running the River Wey through it £2.24m, Alton Town Council's papers show. The survey is open until 4 January. · 4 min read

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Archaeology Iron Age Wells Dug Up on Hampshire's New Water Pipeline Five oak-lined wells, one built between 719 and 396 BC, were found on Southern Water's Otterbourne to Southampton pipe route. Updated November 2026. · 4 min read Business White Hart Holybourne Operator Goes Into Liquidation Swann Hospitality, the company running The White Hart in Holybourne, entered creditors' voluntary liquidation on 30 October. The pub's website still takes Christmas bookings. · 2 min read East Hampshire District Council East Hampshire Leader Asks Minister Again: Could the Council Stay? The minister's 4 November reply gave no date for a final decision on Hampshire. East Hampshire's leader has written again, asking if keeping today's councils is an option. · 2 min read Parking Free Parking Until 1pm in Petersfield on Remembrance Sunday Council car parks in Petersfield and Alton are free until 1pm on Remembrance Sunday, 8 November, and you need not pay on RingGo. Updated November 2026. · 3 min read Bins East Hampshire Food Waste Lorries Switch to Vegetable Oil All seven lorries collecting Petersfield and Alton's food waste are trialling hydrotreated vegetable oil instead of diesel. Checked November 2026. · 2 min read Bins East Hampshire Bin Calendars Cut From 20 to 10: Same Days East Hampshire's bin calendars have gone from 20 to 10, so your number may change. Our checks show the same days and weeks. Find your new number and next bin. · 4 min read Food hygiene Hawkley Inn Rated 1 in East Hants Food Hygiene Checks The Hawkley Inn was rated 1 on 2 October. Ten of 17 new East Hampshire ratings were 5s, including Carlo in Petersfield, and three town venues got a 4. · 4 min read Schools Horndean Infant School Gets Three 'Strong' Ofsted Grades Horndean Infant School hit a strong standard for behaviour, inclusion and wellbeing in its new Ofsted report card. Wootey Junior in Alton met every standard. · 4 min read East Hampshire District Council East Hampshire Council Merger Pushed Back to April 2029 Any new Hampshire councils now start on 1 April 2029, a year late. East Hampshire's leader wants ministers to decide by March 2027, before local elections. · 4 min read Alton Goldfinch Books, Alton, Asks Town to Help Buy a Building Goldfinch Books in Alton needs at least £250,000 in community shares by 31 December to buy and fit out a bigger High Street home. Shares start at £100. · 5 min read Liss Rake's Fire-Hit Copper Beeches Site Approved for 27 Homes 27 homes approved at the former Copper Beeches care homes on London Road, Rake, with fire-hit Heathmount rebuilt as flats. No affordable homes on site. · 4 min read Alton Alton Post Office in Westbrook Walk to close Alton's town centre Post Office inside TG Jones in Westbrook Walk will close, with no date yet. Neither named alternative offers passports or vehicle tax. · 2 min read Alton King's Pond, Alton: Dredge It or Let the Wey Run Through Alton Town Council wants views on two futures for King's Pond: dredge it, or run the River Wey through a smaller pond. Survey 2 November to 4 January. · 5 min read House prices East Hampshire House Prices Fall Fastest in Hampshire The average East Hampshire home is £440,599, down £7,402 in a year. That 1.7% fall is the steepest of Hampshire's 11 districts. Flats fell 4.2%. · 4 min read Jobs East Hampshire Claimant Count Up 95 to 1,640 in September East Hampshire's claimant count rose 6.1% in September, the steepest rise of Hampshire's 13 council areas. Petersfield's four wards went from 180 to 200. · 4 min read Alton M&S Alton Simply Food to Close in January 2027 M&S Alton's Simply Food store on the High Street closes in January 2027. No last trading day yet; what the council and MP said, and is Petersfield affected? · 3 min read Liphook Liphook and Passfield Play Areas Get £174,894 Upgrade £174,894 has rebuilt the play areas at Admers Crescent, Liphook, and The Lyndons, Passfield, most of it paid by housebuilders. What each site now has. · 3 min read Petersfield Bill Hopkins Turns 100 at Petersfield's Downs House Bill Hopkins, a wartime evacuee who founded a London ad agency and drew South Harting parish magazine covers, turned 100 at Downs House on 16 October. · 3 min read Planning East Hampshire Local Plan: New Plan Not Adopted Until 2029 East Hampshire's new Local Plan would not be adopted until 31 October 2029, with the first consultation from 7 December. Petersfield is not covered. · 6 min read Alton Noah Wolfe, 17, of Holybourne: Youngest British KZ2 Champion Holybourne's Noah Wolfe won the WERA Tools British KZ2 title at Silverstone on 10 October, a month after turning 17, the youngest driver ever to take it. · 3 min read Trains Petersfield Trains: Buses to Portsmouth 26 to 30 October No trains run between Petersfield and Portsmouth Harbour from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October while Havant is re-signalled. Buses also replace trains north to Guildford on Sunday 25 October. · 7 min read Queen Elizabeth Country Park Queen Elizabeth Country Park Opens Woodland Play Area at 50 A natural woodland play area with burrow tunnels, balance beams, a slide, swings and a nature kitchen has opened at Queen Elizabeth Country Park to mark 50 years since the park opened in 1976. · 4 min read Planning Petersfield Planning: 9 Homes at The Courtyard, Heath Road Nine homes and two shops at The Courtyard on Heath Road, one more than the 2023 permission, with the council's ecologist asking for new bat surveys. Plus every National Park application in East Hampshire this week. · 7 min read Business New Petersfield Companies: 11 Registered Since 24 September Eleven companies registered with a Petersfield address between 24 September and 10 October, from two house builders to two software firms and a workspace landlord. Plus six new five-star hygiene ratings. · 4 min read Alton Alton's Wey Valley Radio Opens New Studio, Wants Volunteers Wey Valley Radio now broadcasts from the Alton Assembly Rooms and reaches almost 67,000 people on DAB+. It wants presenters, newsreaders and engineers. · 4 min read Liphook Liphook Is Joint Hampshire Village of the Year 2026 Bramshott and Liphook shares Hampshire Village of the Year 2026 with Yateley, with Hook runner-up. What the judges picked out, and the full HALC results. · 4 min read Bordon Bordon Sheep Attack: Police Ask Who Owns These Two Dogs Five sheep were put down after two dogs attacked a flock off Hartley Lane, Bordon, on 28 September. Police have released a CCTV image of the dogs. Call 101. · 3 min read Alton Treloar's Memorial Unveiled in Alton for 122 Infected Boys A bronze memorial at Treloar's in Holybourne honours 122 boys with haemophilia given infected blood at the school. The Inquiry says around 30 survive. · 4 min read Whitehill & Bordon Lindford Sensory Park and Weyford Playground Get £50,000 Two £25,000 council grants will fund an inclusive sensory park in Lindford and a new playground at Weyford primary in Bordon. £13,835 is left in the pot. · 5 min read Business Pub With No Name Firm in Liquidation: Liquidators Named The company running the White Horse at Priors Dean went into creditors' voluntary liquidation on 5 October. Who the liquidators are and how creditors claim. · 5 min read Health Bordon Health Hub: Council Sets 24 December Deadline EHDC will review its near £1m for the Whitehill & Bordon Health Hub unless the NHS proves the funding by 24 December. If not, it wants Chase Hospital kept. · 3 min read Food hygiene East Hampshire Food Hygiene: 47 New 5s, One Petersfield 1 47 of 55 East Hampshire food inspections since 11 August earned a 5, including M&S and Aldi in Petersfield. One Dragon Street restaurant was rated 1. · 5 min read Business New Petersfield Companies: 12 Registered, Records to Fishing Twelve new companies registered in Petersfield and Whitehill from 21 August to 23 September, from a fishing shop to a meat retailer. Plus two insolvency notices · 3 min read Petersfield Petersfield Road Humps: Object to Pulens Lane by 9 October Four raised tables are proposed for Pulens Lane and Heath Road East, and objections close on 9 October. The £1.4m safety scheme starts this autumn. · 9 min read East Meon East Meon Cinema Turns 20: What's Up Doc, Saturday Twenty years after The Constant Gardener, East Meon's village cinema marks its anniversary on Saturday 26 September, with a programme now twice the size. · 5 min read Bins East Hampshire Food Waste Collections Are Now Weekly Food waste is collected weekly, and your day is on MyEHDC rather than the printed bin calendar, with what to do if your caddy was missed. Checked October 2026. · 15 min read House prices East Hampshire House Prices: Flats Worth Less Than 2021 The average East Hampshire flat is £198,995, £1,893 below July 2021. Detached homes gained £67,371 over the same five years. District average down 1.2%. · 4 min read Jobs East Hampshire Claimant Count: Ward Rates Run 1.2% to 3.9% Alton Westbrooke has the district's highest claimant rate at 3.9%, Clanfield and Bentworth the lowest at 1.2%. Petersfield's four wards sit at or below 2.1%. · 5 min read East Hampshire District Council East Hampshire Council Merger: £295,000 Bill to Government The council spent £295,000 on the reorganisation ministers scrapped on 7 September and has written to ask for it back. A new Local Plan needs 30 months. · 5 min read Environment Turtle Doves Back at Selborne: 30 Released, 100 More in 2027 Thirty turtle doves were released near Selborne in spring, and one has already laid eggs. About 100 more are being reared for a release in spring 2027. · 7 min read East Hampshire District Council East Hampshire Council Merger Withdrawn by Government Ministers have withdrawn the plan to abolish East Hampshire District Council in 2028. May 2027 polls revert to existing wards. The leader wants compensation. · 7 min read Petersfield Veterans Festival Returns to Petersfield on 19 September The East Hampshire Veterans Festival is back at Petersfield Festival Hall on Saturday 19 September, 10am to 3pm. Free drop-in for forces families, no booking. · 3 min read Community FitStory Foundation: £2,500 for 20 boys, Waterlooville mats A Petersfield father has raised £150 of £2,500 to put 20 boys on jiu-jitsu mats in Waterlooville. The appeal closes 16 October and nothing is running yet. · 6 min read Petersfield Heath Petersfield Heath £150k plan: 116 replies, no big changes The Heath consultation results are in: 81% back a new hard surface, 95% back tree planting. The council says its £150,000 plan needs no major changes. · 6 min read East Hampshire District Council Alton bowls club solar panels: £4,500 grant, 8,700kWh Alton Social Bowling Club's panels should make 8,700kWh a year. Seven clubs in the district have taken £61,099 from the fund, which reopened until 5 October. · 5 min read Food hygiene East Hampshire Food Hygiene: 8 One-Star, All on Management Eight East Hampshire venues hold a food hygiene rating of 1. All eight were marked down on managing food safety, not on handling food. The district has no zeros. · 7 min read Empshott Empshott Grange SEN School: Appeal Lost, New Plan Backed An inspector refused the 40-pupil SEN school at Empshott on highway safety grounds. The national park has already resolved to approve a revised scheme for the same house. · 7 min read Petersfield Petersfield in Bloom 2026: Every Winner in All 11 Classes Two Marden Way gardens took the Environmental Award, Annie Jones and Coates & Grute took gold, and Petersfield Infant School placed in three categories. · 3 min read Petersfield Petersfield Car Park Repairs Reach Festival Hall Thursday Resurfacing hits Festival Hall on 27 August, Swan Street on 1 September and Central from 3 September. That covers 787 of the 844 council spaces in Petersfield. · 4 min read Petersfield Petersfield Repair Café: £10,000 Grant, 150 Items Fixed More than 200 people have brought 150 broken things to the Avenue Pavilion. The next session is Saturday, and the council fund behind it reopens on 4 September. · 4 min read House prices East Hampshire House Prices: June Revised Down £901 June's district average now reads £445,491 after a Land Registry revision, a £4,659 rise on May. How East Hampshire compared with Winchester and Havant. · 8 min read Jobs East Hampshire Claimant Count: Over-50s Up 19.5% in a Year Claims rose to 1,580 in July, and 75 of the 90 extra claimants were aged 50 or over. That is the steepest rise of Hampshire's 13 council areas, ONS figures show. · 7 min read Business East Hampshire Business Rates: Council Asks for 35% Pub Cut Cllr Richard Millard has written to John Healey asking him to pull 20% rates relief forward to 2026-27. It would cover 155 pubs and bars across the district. · 4 min read Whitehill & Bordon Bordon Sainsbury's Opening Date: Spring 2027, 5 New Shops Cladding is on and brickwork has started. The scheme adds five shop units, 4,000 sq ft of offices and a multi-storey car park, and the banking hub has one. · 4 min read Environment Butser Hill: £160,000 to restore 48 hectares for butterflies A three-year, £160,000 project will restore 48 hectares of chalk grassland on Butser Hill, three miles south of Petersfield, for the Chalk Hill Blue and the scarce Duke of Burgundy. What is being done and who is paying. · 5 min read Petersfield Heath Petersfield Heath café and play area: £150,000 fix planned The town council has extended its consultation to Sunday 23 August on a £150,000 plan to resurface the pond path and re-grass the worn ground by the café. · 5 min read Business Premier-Lettings of Petersfield wound up by the court The High Street lettings firm was wound up by the court and joint liquidators appointed on 14 July. What tenants, landlords and creditors should do next. · 3 min read Business Hampshire Garden Structures in liquidation owing £30,304 The Alton joinery firm went into creditors' voluntary liquidation on 20 July with £3.89 in the bank and £30,304 owed, £22,729 of it to HMRC. · 3 min read