Herald - Issue 387

Page 64 • The HERALD • 2nd April 2020 v SPEAK TO THE EXPERTS FOR THE BEST ADVICE v Professional Will Writing & Inheritance Tax Services • Comprehensive Will Writing • Home Visits • Will Amendments and Reviews • Estate & Inheritance Tax Planning • Long Term Care Advice • Hospital & Care Home Visits • Lasting Power of Attorney We provide a friendly, approachable and discrete service and are on hand to meet your needs. Contact us now to see how we can assist you Tel: (023) 8087 9243 Email: info@heritagewillwriting.co.uk www.heritagewillwriting.co.uk Building Plans & Estimating Building Plans for Planning & Building Regulation approval Builders Estimating Service Free initial meeting and estimate CAD drawings produced on latest software Please call Bob on 07795 692060 Email abbott.bob@sky.com Xero Certified Advisors We can help with all Accountancy, Taxation and Payroll Matters for Sole Traders, Partnerships and Companies For a free initial meeting please call Tel: (023) 8084 4242 The Old School House, Claypits Lane, Dibden, Southampton SO45 5TN Email: dibden@numericaccounting.co.uk (FORMERLY STEPHENSON SHEPPARD & CO) YATES & CO Chartered Accountants Specialists in providing accounting and taxation advice to small businesses and individuals Contact: Colin Yates A.C.A. Telephone: (023) 8086 1550 E-mail: enquiries@yatesco.co.uk Personal and Friendly Service ASK A PROFESSIONAL Adam Johnson - Chartered Financial Planner of the Year 2019 Adam Johnson, Founder and Managing Director of New Forest Wealth Management in Romsey, has been named the 2019 Chartered Financial Planner of the Year by St. James’s Place Wealth Management at the National Chartered Symposium in London on 30th January 2020. Adam was one of 5 nalists to be shortlisted for this prestigious award. Commenting on the accolade, Adam said: “I am absolutely delighted. It’s a great honour to be recognised as the Chartered Financial Planner of the Year for the quality of my advice and breadth of knowledge. It’s a fabulous reward for the many years of experience in practice and the thousands of hours of study. I’d like to thank my team and, of course, my clients, without whom none of this would be possible.” Edward Grant, divisional director responsible for professional development at St. James’s Place, commented: “This is an incredible achievement for Adam and is a real testament to the quality of his work and the service he provides to clients. We’re committed to the ongoing development of all our Partners and strive to build a thriving community of Chartered advisers to serve the industry. Adam sets a great example to others who are looking to grow their levels of knowledge, skill and capability.” Adam has over 18 years in the nancial services industry, achieving the status of Chartered Financial Planner in 2018 and Fellow of the Personal Finance Society in 2020. He is also a member of the Society for Later Life Advisers (SOLLA). He founded New Forest Wealth Management in 2006. Based in Ower, Romsey, the practice provides high quality wealth management advice to private clients, business owners and trustees. Adam leads a team of 12 which includes 5 specialist advisors. St. James’s Place is a FTSE 100 company with £114 billion of client funds under management. is award recognises an individual who has raised professional standards and demonstrated a commitment to their profession and to their clients within their area of expertise. Adam Johnson receiving his award David Harrison, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on New Forest District Council called for far-reaching proposals to help tackle the climate crisis in his green budget speech delivered recently. In proposing a ra of costed measures promoting green initiatives locally, he said: “The Liberal Democrats need to ensure that care of our environment is the top priority when it comes to policy decisions. The New Forest District Council seems to be unwilling to show long term leadership of green issues. He lamented huge central government cuts, in which, after ten years of austerity, there is now almost no wriggle room at all for exercising much choice about the level of services the Council provides. We are now nominally short by £6m after ten long years of austerity. That is what we have lost locally, and where we might have been with a simple retail price index addition to our budget over those ten years.” Unfortunately, that has has meant that these days, you don’t even get any realistic choice about levels of council tax. A Board member on the National Park Authority and Hampshire Council Council upon which he sits as a local Councillor for Totton; both have passed climate change emergency motions, whilst the District Council has sat on its hands. He added: “This doesn’t just send out the wrong message to our residents but leaves the Council in the position of fiddling while Australia burns and our towns and villages flood. We really need to up our game with recycling, reducing plastic use and collecting food waste.” He proposed that climate change is considered as the priority on everything that the Council now does, in all areas of operation, whether it is planning, waste collection, housing etc. He also demanded that as a major piece of work, the Council pursues how people get around in the District. He said: “We should be actively lobbying for the restoration of the passenger service along the Waterside railway line. We should be doing very much more to protect rural bus services; promoting safe cycle routes and considering the needs of our town and village centres when it comes to traffic management and ease of movement for pedestrians and people with mobility challenges.” Additionally, the Liberal Democrats proposed that the Council drops the proposed privatisation of management of the ve local leisure centres. He said: “This hare- brained project has taken over two years and we are still spending resources and energy on the idea. We know that it is unpopular with the public and service users and has damaged staff morale. It’s a distraction. It’s not even guaranteed to save much money. Our own staff are capable of delivering efficiency savings, let’s show confidence in them.” In addressing local people’s housing needs, the Lib Dems have a simple position, he said: “We have had a twenty year period, with Conservatives in charge of the Council, when we have seen very few new homes provided, half our Council housing stock sold off under the “right to buy” scheme, house prices spiralling and now out of reach of most young people who have increasingly been forced to go and live elsewhere, or stay with parents, sometimes into middle age. Start holding our MP’s to account. Invite them to our meetings, if need be. Explain what they need to do and require them to act and report back.” e Liberal Democrats also proposed the foundation of a local Green Forum. Cllr David Harrison explained: “Why not get the Managers of all our local supermarkets in to see us, to talk about reducing plastic, or re-cycling more generally? We would definitely benefit from better relations with groups such as the Zero Carbon Alliance, Friends of the Earth, New Forest Transition, when it comes to reducing the carbon footprint and addressing some of the serious air quality issues we have.” Concluding, Cllr Harrison said: “For the very direct benefit of young people who find it hard to meet the cost of bus travel and also for green reasons, (we want to encourage much greater use of public transport), we also propose the allocation of £40,000 towards a discount bus pass scheme for young people.” LIB DEM COUNCILLORS PROPOSE GREEN BUDGET