Lengthsman Programme

The name Lengthsman dates back to the 1800's, referring to workers who were responsible for keeping a particular length of road neat and tidy.  Years ago many Parishes had their own Lengthsman and, in fact, West Meon had one back in the 1960's who looked after the A32 down as far as the Parish boundary with Warnford.

Nowadays it is not feasible for Parishes to have their own Lengthsman but the work still needs doing.  Hampshire County Council now fund a scheme under which Parishes join together and share the services of Lengthsmen.  West Meon is part of this scheme.  There is no cost to the Parish and we get the services of a Lengthsman for 5 or 6 days a year.  If we had to pay for this, it would cost well over £1,000 per annum. 

There are certain things the Lengthsman is not permitted to do, such as work to roads or work on the verges of the A32 but that still leaves much that can be done.

If you have any suggestions of works the Lengthsman could do, please use the contact form on this website.

Although 'Lengthsman' may seem an old fashioned term, the scheme is very helpful and as West Meon is lucky to have this, we need to make sure that we make the best use of it.