News: Infrastructure presentation

After a period of distraction caused by the proposed 75-home development, Chilbolton Parish Council’s Community Development Committee returned to issues at the forefront of many residents’ concerns - Village infrastructure.

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Welcoming some 20 members of the public, Cllr David Hall, Chair of the Parish Council, said that this was to be an “information meeting”.

Heating and power

Opening the presentations, Duncan Revolta, who was a candidate in last year’s CPC by-election said that the heating and power team had visited Broughton where a number of ambitious schemes were being considered. These included a £6 million plan for solar power and wind turbines.

Interestingly, he observed that Chilbolton Observatory might possibly object to a wind turbine, if they felt it obstructed the view to the south west.

Aside from high-tech schemes, there are also simpler measures such as using infrared monitors to identify heat leakage in individual homes. These can be mitigated by better sealing on windows and doors, and improved loft insulation.

The next steps for the power and heating team would be to provide workshops for Villagers who are interested in energy efficiency. There would also be the opportunity to consider solar panels and heat pumps.

Alisdair Campbell, who leads the heating and power group took over, describing the power network within Chilbolton. He explained that there three main supplies to the Village, from Barton Stacey, Houghton and Middle Wallop.

Within the Village there are ten substations. He said that they can’t yet tell which are within their capacity or above it. What they did know was that, due to changes in household requirements, they expected demand to double from existing residents, even before any new homes are considered.

He went on to outline the potential for non-residential solar panels within Chilbolton:

  • The Observatory already has 34 panels and is planning to put in another 100. These would not be able to share their power with the Village, but would relieve the Observatory’s usage of the Village network
  • On the Village Hall, 45 panels could be installed
  • Also being investigated is the old rubbish tip on West Down, 1.2 hectares (3 acres). It is not yet certain that panels could be located there, but Hampshire County Council has described it as “an interesting idea”

Future Energy Landscape Workshop

Mr Campbell said that they would be running a Community energy workshop at the Village Hall on 26 Feb 2026 at 7pm. It would be run by Energise South Downs, a non-profit co-operative, whose vision is to “lead the transition from fossil fuels to community owned renewable energy”, and to empower communities “with innovative, locally-driven solutions that reduce carbon footprints and enhance energy resilience.”

He said “If you want your view heard, it’s important that you come along”. Posters will be appearing in the Village shortly, offering the chance to register for the event. He added that tea and cake would be served at the meeting.

Presenters and residents discussed solutions that might emerge. These included:

  • A list of trusted tradespeople for energy efficiency installations
  • Public funding for individual households
  • Batteries located at substations, to ensure continuity of supply
  • Household solar panels and batteries
  • A sharing of individual residents’ stories and experiences which could be compiled into a knowledge resource for the Village
  • A focus group for residents who suffer intermittent power

Cllr David Hall said that he had been discussing these issues with Botley Community Land Trust. There, every house they built was effectively its own power station using solar energy. “Why wouldn’t you do this?”, he asked.

Alisdair Campbell said that power supply to the Village wouldn’t be increasing in the short to medium term, therefore “we have to help ourselves.”

Water

Peter Collis, who was recently elected as Vice Chair of CDC in addition to his role as Secretary, gave some details of water usage in Chilbolton. Over the period of a decade, daily usage has been between 130 and 150 cubic metres per day. This has more recently been on a downward trend, although it wasn’t clear what was driving this.

Southern Water’s plans to improve their supply network are planned over two decades from 2030 onwards, with no short-term relief in sight. As with issues over power supply, he said that this puts the emphasis on what residents can do to help themselves.

He pointed out that rainwater harvesting of so-called “grey water” could reduce personal fresh water usage by 70%, from 130 litres per day to just 40 litres per day.

Sewage

Mr Collis explained that the Sewage Treatment Works on West Down was currently operating at capacity. Its limit is 294 cubic metres per day.

A significant part of the problem is groundwater infiltration of sewerage through worn pitch fibre pipes. This infiltration can be mitigated by using sealant, called Tubo Gel, to line sewerage. So far only the short distance from Manor Farm to the Church has received this treatment. It was supposed to be extended to the rest of the Village, but this hasn’t yet been done.

Cllr Hall said “Maybe we should talk to Southern Water about Tubo Gel for Village Street. We should take that on.”

Alisdair Campbell said that 40% of sewage was from Wherwell. Cllr Hall said that in his six years as a Parish Councillor, there had not been any discussion on this issue with Wherwell. He said “I will approach my counterpart there.”

Cllr Hall noted that more data was needed to work out what is coming into the sewerage, from where and how to tackle it.

Pan-Parish Pollution Forum

Peter Collis announced that Chilbolton Parish Council had joined the Pan-Parish Pollution Forum, a grouping of local villages along the River Test.

Part of their work involves measuring water quality in the river. River keepers are using 14 “sondes”, which are water quality measuring devices. They have been positioned using the expert knowledge of the keepers.

The data collected belongs to Forum members, not Southern Water.

Flood Advisory Group

Terry Gilmour gave a potted history of CPC’s Flood Advisory Group, which was established in 2002 following serious flooding in Hampshire the previous year.

He pointed out that “only one property in the Village has ever been flooded.”

Every month he takes a measurement of groundwater levels via a drain at the West Down car park near the Mayfly. He lowers a device into the drain, which beeps when it makes contact with the water, giving a reading of water levels.

He noted that although we’ve had a lot of rain between December and January, there hasn’t been flooding at the pumping station on Village Street. He has followed up with Southern Water, asking what they have done to achieve this. He will report back once he has the details.

Broadband

Peter Collis said that the telephone service delivered over copper cables is scheduled to stop in 2027. Telephone services currently served by copper would have to transfer to broadband.

Members of the public expressed the view that not all copper-based telephone services would be cut off that early.

Summary

Closing the meeting, Cllr David Hall said “CDC is focussed as much on infrastructure as on housing. We will involve people in the Village who want to be involved. We want your input and volunteers for the groups.”

He added “we will move this forward, together, in the direction we want.”