HAMPSHIRE County Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport, Councillor Rob Humby has agreed to extend the successful parish lengthsman scheme.
The council currently provides funding for parish and town councils to employ a local ‘lengthsman’ who takes on maintenance tasks such as cutting back hedges, cleaning signs and clearing ditches.
The scheme has grown, in just a few years, from covering a handful of parishes, to encompassing more than half the county.
Taking the decision to allocate extra funding, Councillor Humby explained: “We’re really pleased to be able to introduce our Town and Parish Councils to an effective, community-based solution to local, immediate maintenance jobs, and support them to take it up. I am pleased to announce that the County Council is making further opportunities available for 2016/17, for new parishes to engage with the scheme this financial year.”
The term ‘lengthsman’ dates back to the 1800s, referring to workers who were responsible for keeping a particular length of road neat and tidy.
The modern role of Parish Lengthsman was reintroduced by Hampshire County Council in 2010. The County Council has generally allocated £1,000 per year to all participating town and parish councils in order to employ a lengthsman.