There’s something fishy going on in Test Valley as one hundred trout have left their watery habitats behind and are hiding in a variety of locations around Romsey and Andover town centres.
And they need your help to return them to their homes at The Lights in Andover and the Former Magistrates’ Court in Romsey!
Anyone who happens to find one of the lost trout should read the small label attached for instructions about what to do. Everyone who returns a trout will win a prize and be entered into a competition to win tickets to see a show at The Lights. So residents and shoppers are encouraged to keep an eye out for any scaly escapees!
Once the trout has been returned safely to its pond, residents will be asked to complete a short questionnaire which will help steer the focus of the next Test Valley Borough Council corporate plan. The current plan is set to end next year and the authority is keen to find out what the community would like the council’s priorities to be over the next four years from 2015.
Councillor Ian Carr, leader of Test Valley Borough Council, said: “Consultations to inform the development of the corporate plan have been, and will continue to be, led by councillors out and about at local events across the borough this summer. However, our councillors will not be able to speak with everyone in Test Valley, so to encourage more members of the public to participate in the consultation we have launched a social media campaign on Twitter and Facebook.”
“As part of the campaign, a number of laminated cartoon trout will be hung around the town centres and parks in Andover and Romsey. The trout will be tied to a label explaining that people who find them should take them to either The Lights in Andover or the Former Magistrates’ Court in Romsey to fill out a consultation questionnaire and receive a prize. We conducted a similar activity at the Romsey Future event in June this year and it proved to be a great success. Feedback from the public will be used alongside other evidence as the foundation for the new corporate priorities.”
Approximately 50 trout have been placed around each town. The locations of the trout have been noted so they can be picked up if they have not been handed in after two weeks.