Spring 2026
OARA AGM – Monday 30th March
When: Monday 30th March from 7 to 8.30pm with refreshments from 6:30pm
Where: Avenue St Andrew’s Church Concourse.
In Part One we will be reporting on the year gone by, looking at priorities for the year ahead and electing committee and officers.
Committee matters: Our long-serving Chair, John Hayward, has decided to stand down from the role for family reasons but is ready to stay on as a committee member. Ally Hayes and Barbro Fitzjohn, also long-serving and committed committee members, have indicated they feel it is time to step down too, whilst remaining active members and supporters. We will be seeking nominations for the committee and officer roles, so please do have a think. Could you bring some fresh energy and ideas to the committee? Do contact us for a chat if you are at all interested. We’d love to hear from you.
In Part Two we are pleased to welcome as our guest speaker Gagandeep Bedi, the new Associate Director of Corporate Engagement at the University of Southampton, whose role covers liaison with the local community and organisations such as ours.
We will be sending an agenda, the Annual Report and more details nearer the date - but please do make a note and come along and support your local Residents’ Association.
More Bevois Mount History and Heritage
The popular talks at Portswood Library are starting again in March. Godfrey Collier is talking about Rebuilding the Town: Southampton after the Blitz on March 11th and our own Ally Hayes will be telling all about Gatti's Restaurant – the Titanic's "Ritz" - on April 8th.
Watch out for a very special event on Saturday 6 June - the Southampton Heritage Network Heritage Fair – with Bevois Mount History. This promises to be a special gathering and sharing of fascinating local history.
Find more details about local events on our Events page.
Taking a Stand on Mess
Since Christmas we have lodged a number of reports of houses with appalling bin-related mess left outside their houses. We have contacted agents where boards are displayed, as in the photo, and got a result. But you do wonder how anyone would want to be associated with or live in such a property. Our HMO Warden has been really pro- active in chasing up landlords of offending houses, including several in Alma Rd and Gordon Avenue - with pretty prompt action in several cases. We have also reported multiple fly-tipping incidents - with very speedy responses from the Council team.
PACT - Police & Community Together
OARA again hosted the Bevois PACT - Police and Community Together – meeting, this time on 29th January. Local Police and Councillors attended. Issues raised included: ineffective 20mph signs, unsafe cycling, the impact of Public Space Protection Orders, student safety including house burglaries, police action regarding illegally -trading shops, possible raising of the cost of residents’ parking permits. Full minutes are attached to this mailing and will appear on the OARA Website. Thank you to everyone who came along and shared their views and concerns.
The next local PACT Meeting will be on Thursday May 14th
Food Waste Collections Go Live on 9th March
It is good to see that the Council are on track to introduce food waste collections by the 31st March national deadline, in line with the government’s “Simpler Recycling” legislation. This is a positive move but not without potential issues for areas such as ours, with a high number of HMOs and temporary tenants. We wrote to the Council, before the roll-out and delivery of brown food caddies, asking what consideration had been given to such neighbourhoods, with questions, for example, about: houses which already have a poor history of waste management; the number of caddies delivered per house ( noticeably at multi-flatlet houses since delivery commenced); what guidance had been given to landlords; storage of caddies on the street. Weekly collection begins in our area on Monday 9th March and we will monitor the situation closely.
University Science and Engineering Day - Saturday March 14th
We have received the warm invite below to this splendid annual event on our doorstep - which offers a wealth of exciting events and activities for children of all ages, young people and their adults! Click on the link in the invite to find out more.
Dear Colleagues and Community Members,
I hope this email finds you all well. I wanted to share an upcoming free event at the
University. Our annual Science and Engineering Day is being held on Saturday
14th March 2026 on the Highfield Campus and Boldrewood Innovation Campus.
I would be grateful if you could please share amongst your communities and encourage
everyone to come down!
Kind regards, Gagandeep (Paddy) Bedi,
Associate Director of Corporate Engagement, University of Southampton.
Carry on Cleaning
We have carried on with our monthly litter picks when we can, wet weather permitting. The next one would be due on Sunday 5th April - which is Easter Sunday - so watch out for an alternative date. Spring is in the air and a bit of spring-cleaning too.
And finally - have you renewed your membership?
Thank you to those of who have made the £5.00 annual membership contribution - including some generous donations. If you haven’t yet and can afford it, we would really appreciate it. You can do this by:
- Making a bank transfer of £5 to the OARA account. Please give your name as reference.
- Setting up an annual standing order to OARA
- Bringing it along to the AGM on 30th March
- Or email us at members@outeravenueresidents.co.uk and we can arrange to collect from you
OARA Bank Details
Barclays Bank
Business Account
Sort code 20 79 25
Account number 5300459
Thank you for all your continuing support - it really does make a difference.
