July
July starts with a showstopping performance by Nile Rodgers and Chic at Broadlands Estate, with thousands of spectators travelling to Romsey to see the first date of the act’s 2023 UK and European tour. Rodgers delighted fans with memorable hits such as Le Freak, Everybody Dance and Good Times.
South Western Railway (SWR) reveals plans to close Romsey’s railway ticket office due to decreasing passenger numbers. Under the plans, SWR will only staff Romsey Station from 6am until 10am Tuesday to Friday, and from 9am until 1pm on Saturdays.
Claire Mann, managing director, South Western Railway, says: "Our station colleagues play a vital role in delivering a positive customer experience. This proposal recognises their talent and dedication by opening up opportunities for career progression and comprehensive re-skilling.”
Festival season is in full swing with more than 250 events being held across the town as part of the 13th Romsey Festival.
Highlights include the annual Beggars Fair. Headliners The Soulcatchers draw a large crowd to the main stage at The Cornmarket for a toe-tapping performance featuring a selection of Motown and Soul from the nine-strong Southampton band.
A dozen teams take on the organised chaos that is the bed race, from Del Boy, Rodney and Uncle Albert to teams of paramedics and rugby players.
Carnival chairman John Ray says: “The bed race has really come alive. We brought it back after four or five years and it has become one of our best events. It always gets a brilliant response.”
The former World of Water site, in Greatbridge Road, goes up in flames, sending up large clouds of smoke. Eight fire engines, with an aerial platform and water carriers, arrive to extinguish the fire, remaining at the scene for more than five hours.
August
Romsey Town Council joins residents in opposing plans for new retirement apartments in Broadwater Road. Churchill Retirement Living's plans include 47 apartments at the former Edwina Mountbatten House care home.
Cllr Ian Culley says: “The proposal would ruin the gateway to Romsey. It looks like plonking Trump Towers in the middle of a historic town. It's too high and it's overbearing. It's also out of character for the street scene."
Romsey Carnival cancels a 60th-anniversary celebration of the Romsey Old Cadets due to major health problems. Residents rally around the carnival committee, commenting their well wishes.
Secretary of Romsey Old Cadets, Martin Wood says: “It’s completely understandable and we remain very honoured to even be considered for such an event. A lot of people have been commenting on how much they were looking forward to it but everybody is understanding.”
John Ray, Mayor of Romsey and Romsey Carnival chair, writes: “I would like to thank everyone who sent me cards and messages of support after my recent heart attack.
“Due to my illness and two other senior members of my carnival committee not being well, it was with regret we had to cancel our Party in the Park.
“It was a very difficult decision because as a committee we never cancel. Rain or shine, we always turn up.”
Two Romsey businesses make their mark on the national stage. Woman’s lifestyle publisher, Muddy Stilettos, crowns 108 The Bakery, in Latimer Walk, as the best local food and drink producer and Lemon and Jinja, at Belbins Business Park, as best sustainable business in the UK.
Sophie Roe, Lemon and Jinja manager, says: “We are so excited and absolutely thrilled to have won this award - it's an absolute credit to the hard work we all put in.”
September
Romsey Food Fair is back with a bang, with 25 per cent more stalls than last year. The town centre is packed with stalls stretching from Market Place down to the Cornmarket and The Hundred and into Latimer Street.
Regular Romsey market trader The Biltong Lady, is delighted to be a part of the day. Owner, Amanda Harrington, says: “I had such a successful day that I had to cancel my normal spot at Romsey Tuesday market as I was unable to replenish my stock. I even joked on my Facebook site saying ‘Romsey, you ate all the Biltong’. It was fantastic to see Romsey so busy on such a beautiful day and supporting local traders.”
Romsey Open Gate Stroke Club urgently calls for more volunteers to be able to survive past its 50th anniversary next year.
Rita Simmons, from Chandler’s Ford, started volunteering back in 2002 and has been taking her husband since he had a stroke in 2017. She says: “The club is very important to our members. A lot of them don’t go out and it’s their only outing for the week. We’d be really, really sad if it did come to a close.”
A plea for more volunteers in the Advertiser sees 10 new recruits step forward to secure the club’s future.
Temperatures soar for the Romsey Show, causing the dog show to be cancelled. Thousands of visitors brave the heat to enjoy traditional agricultural shows and new attractions such as the Tigers Motorcycle Display Team with some of the youngest and most daring riders in the country and action stunt team Extreme Bike Battle.
Controversial plans to move Crosfield Hall to the Romsey Rapids site progress. Cllr Nick Adams-King presents the proposed development of the area around the hall, the bus station and Aldi.
October
Parents criticise The Romsey School’s new mobile phone policy. Teachers confiscate phones from pupils if seen being used on site and only the parents are allowed to collect them.
One parent says: “They need their phones for online banking, to pay for public transport or food and to keep safe.”
Siblings Nancy, aged eight, and Ted Ashley-Potter, 10, walk 58 miles from Legoland to Southampton Hospital, raising more than £4,500.
Nancy suffers from a rare autoimmune disease called Eosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE). She is determined to support the charities that helped her, splitting the profits between Southampton Hospitals Charity and the Eosinophilic Diseases Charity to help raise awareness of the chronic condition.
Ampfield Church of England School’s future is at risk. The school has fewer than 30 pupils, with only two of them being from village, while the other 24 pupils travel from further afield.
Hampshire County Council launches a consultation to decide whether the primary school, in Knapp Lane, will shut at the end of the academic year. A public meeting hears a final decision will be made by March 14.
Amber Vidler, executive headteacher, says: “The problem with falling numbers is that we have a smaller number of staff here. So all of our children who need that extra help don't always get it. We're down to four members of staff which is really difficult.”
George Dillon’s family launch a community interest company in his name. The 19-year-old, from Ower, a student at Sparsholt College, died in May after he crashed his car into a tree in Lee Lane.
George’s mum Angie Dillon says: “Our son was such a loving young man who would help anyone if he could and so in forming George Dillon Only a Dream Away CIC we are taking strength in the hope we can help others in his honour.”
November
Rail users in Romsey welcome the U-turn on plans to close the station’s ticket office.
Friends Barbara Vickerman and Elizabeth Fisher says: “We are very pleased they are staying. It is good for people who are getting older and for disabled people, and it's great for tourists and people who need help and advice.”
Developer Highwood Group reveals plans for more than 250 houses, office space and warehouses at Hillier Brentry Nursery in Jermyns Lane, near Ampfield. Hundreds attend a public consultation on the proposed development for the outskirts of Romsey.
George Hillier, director of property at Hilliers, says: “This is a hugely important scheme for us because it will help us with plant production in the coming years. One of the strengths of this development is the mix of employment creation and the creation of homes for the community. It's great news that 40 per cent falls into the affordable bracket.
Romsey wakes up bright and early to honour its fallen heroes, with around 100 military personnel joining the parade.
Another developer lodges plans to build hundreds of homes on the outskirts of Romsey. Gladman is proposing 300 homes, open space and a recreational facility at Halterworth Lane.
Romsey MP Caroline Nokes posts on Facebook: “The land in question is outside the current development plan, is designated as countryside and within the local gap between Romsey and North Baddesley.
“I have let Gladman have my views in no uncertain terms. Test Valley currently has adequate housing land supply and has a track record of delivering housing, this is in addition to other proposals and as such would exceed the numbers required.”
The countdown to Christmas begins with the winter carnival and lights switch on. Crowds of people join in the fun dressing up as Father Christmas, elves and even polar bears.
December
More than 12,000 visitors flock to Sir Harold Hillier Gardens to see its second light trail. Millions of LED lights transform the gardens through a series of art installations created by some of Europe's most skilled light and sound artists.
The National Trust is also in the Christmas spirit. Visitors from Dorset at Mottisfont’s ‘A Christmas Journey to the North Pole’ take one look at the queue before deciding to leave, with staff saying there could be up to an hour wait in the rain.
Trevor Bevins, who’s there with his two grandchildren, says: “It was a shame to have to miss out on the planned trip – which might have been avoided by some thought to a timed system for entry where slots could be booked in advance.”
A much-loved lollipop lady, for North Baddesley Infant School, is hit by a Ford transit van. The school crossing patrol lady, known as Gill, attends Southampton General with serious, but not life-threatening injuries.
Residents club together to raise funds for her, as a testament to her commitment to helping children safely cross the busy Rownhams Road for 30 years.
Around 2,000 people sing side by side under the lights of the Christmas tree in Market Place. Romsey Rotary’s annual Christmas Carols evening dates back to 1957 and continues to thrive, raising £3,000 for local charities.
Paultons Park donates £45,000 to support those suffering with life-limiting illnesses. Partner charities the Karen Ingram Foundation, Young Lives vs Cancer, and Southampton Children’s Hospital Charity each receive £15,000 from the theme park.
James Mancey, operations director, says: “Over the past 40 years, we have eagerly supported local causes, and I am incredibly proud that we have been able to donate such significant funds to three brilliant charities in Hampshire this year.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here