COUNCILLORS celebrated the 25th anniversary of Lindford Parish Council at a dinner last Thursday . Several former councillors were there, including George Wilson, the first chairman of Lindford Parish Council. Current parish council chairman Chairman Ian Skelton-Smith said: "The council had a very enjoyable evening at the sports pavilion and is grateful to Lindford Sports Association which provided the venue without charge. "Mr Wilson produced a very attractive commemorative bookmark, and gave one to everyone present, with spare copies for the parish council." The first meeting of the council was held in the Working Men's Club on April 19, 1982 at 7pm and was followed by the first annual parish meeting at 8pm where 80 residents attended. The anniversary actually falls on April 1 and during the opening ceremony 25 years ago a tree was planted but died soon after. Fortunately, the quick death of this tree wasn't mirrored by the parish council. In 1979 East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) sent a questionnaire to all houses in Lindford to see if the residents wanted to become a parish and the result was a 66 per cent return with 89 per cent in favour. These figures were presented to the Boundaries Commission for its approval which was given in time. The parish council was told that they could consist of seven councillors, with six members of the Residents' Committee at the time who were prepared to serve along with two other candidates. As a result one of these other candidates was not elected. The seven elected candidates all accepted the result, and Lindford Parish was formed. In a short while it was obvious to the councillors that they had volunteered for an almost full-time job and was necessary for them to attend meetings to find out how everything worked. An application was made to allow the appointment of a further two members and after a while permission was granted. There are currently still nine hardworking members. David Perry is the only current councillor who has been a member of the council since the beginning. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month in the Methodist Church Hall at 8pm where time is set aside for the public to ask questions. Commenting on the anniversary, Lindford's county councillor Adam Carew said: "Congratulations to Lindford parish on its silver jubilee and to all the parish councillors who have worked so hard for the local community over the years. "I have known the area since I was a boy as my uncle used to live in a house on the Liphook Road. "Lindford is a very friendly place and it always a great pleasure working with the parish council on local concerns. "With Whitehill-Bordon likely to double in size in the next few years it is vital that Lindford keeps its independent identity and village way of life."
