ST Mary Bourne residents came together at the weekend to have their say on the future of the area.

There was also the chance to give the parish a timely spring clean with the help of Basing-stoke and Deane Borough Coun-cil's 'green' bear, General Waste.

The parish plan open day, organised by Michael Widn, allowed villagers from St Mary Bourne, Stoke, Binley, Link and the Wykes to cast their eye over maps, photographs and statistics about parish life and add their comments to the plans.

The draft parish plan is divided into four sections: landscape, environment and open spaces; utilities, roads, transport and communications; social, leisure and education; and retail, commercial and agricultural.

North West Hants MP Sir George Young dropped in to support the initiative.

He said: "This is a model of how villages in Hampshire should involve their residents in planning their future.

"The range of interest encompassed in this display shows their interest in its future development, and it will help the planners come up with policies that the village has influenced."

The village spring clean, co-ordinated by Lorraine Cousins, resulted in the collection of several hubcaps and a dozen plastic bags of litter.

Refreshments were provided during the day and in the afternoon younger visitors enjoyed a performance by professional magician Jack Stephen.

A total of £266.80 was raised towards St Mary Bourne's new recreation area fund by the sale of footpath maps, mugs and other mementoes.