Bere Regis Parish Council

January 2010 Meeting

Where has your Dog “Bin”

To encourage responsible dog owners and walkers to clean up after their four pawed pets, the Parish Council is arranging to install four new Dog Waste Bins in and around the Village. These will be in Shitterton close to the path to Black Hill, in Butt Lane just up from West Street, in the Souls Moor Open Space south of the Bere Stream and Boardwalk, and on Rye Hill near the Bere Regis School. This should give us good coverage near some popular and well used walks. Although we know it is common sense and decency, which the vast majority of dog owners already practice in a responsible fashion, you are asked to ensure that these facilities are always used so that popular walks and public areas remain hazard free for the benefit of us all.

Grit Bins

We are considering installing new Grit Bins, at Snow Hill, at Shitterton and one near the cemetery. Although this is unlikely to be of benefit this winter it should help to keep pavements and thoroughfares open if we have another very cold snap in future years. If you have any thoughts or comments on this, or ideas as to where precisely we should or should not locate these bins please do contact Ian Ventham the Chairman.

North Street

We are pleased to see that, following our suggestion, tree trunks have been placed at the North end of North Street to stop traffic from using that as a rat run out of the village.

C6/Rye Hill

We were joined at our meeting by an ex parish councillor John Pitts who was concerned about the state of the hedgerows and verges up Rye Hill and out of the village on the C6. In particular these have been badly churned up of late, and in some areas the landowners have not properly cut them back to ensure clear and therefore safe visibility. Although this is technically Dorset County Council’s responsibility we are going to write to the landowners in the first instance to see whether we can push the process along.

Bere Regis Wildlife Watch

The Parish Council are delighted to support an initiative by a group of willing volunteers who are organising a clean and clear up of the riverside walk. This will be on Saturday 20th February at 10.00am. Meet by the new bridge opposite the end of Manor Barn Road. If you are able bring loppers and small saws as well as a good pair of gardening gloves that would be much appreciated.

First School and Ragamuffins Pre-school

And finally, the Parish Council were delighted to have heard that both our First School and Ragamuffins Pre-school have earned Good Reports from Ofsted. Congratulations to all the staff and volunteers who have made these results possible.

Monthly Surgery

A Parish Councillor will be joining Peter Wharf our District Councillor at the regular surgery he holds at Turberville Court on the first Saturday of each month from 09.30 to 10.00 am. We have decided to combine and hold a joint surgery as many of the issues raised cut across Parish, District and County responsibilities and it makes sense for us to work together to address any issues that arise.

Peter Wharf
Parish Councillor

February 2010 Meeting

Your Parish Council met for its monthly meeting on Thursday 11th February, Our next meeting is on Thursday 11th March at the Drax Hall starting at 7.00 pm; as always the public are most welcome and there is an item on the agenda at the very start called “period for public participation” where we would like to hear from you on any points you would like to raise.

Where has your Dog “Bin”

Following comments from two residents, the Dog Bin due to be placed at the end of Butt Lane will now be located at the west end of Back Lane, a popular route for dog walkers. The Parish Council welcomes input on matters affecting our village and is pleased to respond accordingly. All dog owners are again urged to use these facilities, once installed, to ensure hazards and problems to other villagers are prevented. In particular we would urge people not to dump dog poo that is bagged up into plastic bags into the hedges; in this form they are unsightly and take very many years to biodegrade and this is what the dog bins are for! Thank you all for your forbearance and help on this.

Letter from our MP

Our MP, Annette Brooke, has written to the Parish Council expressing concern regarding road safety in West Street. A constituent has written to her requesting that parking be banned on the southern side of West Street and a pedestrian crossing be installed, as the speed and volume of traffic are a major concern. The Parish Council has replied that, working with DCC, the Council had nine speed humps installed which the Parish Council feel are doing a good job in keeping the speed down to a safe level. As regarding parking the Council have always felt, and continue to do so, that double parking creates a funnel which reduces speed still further and discourages West Street as a "rat run."

Schools

There will be a consultation from Dorset County Council about the Purbeck Schools Review shortly. The proposal is that Bere Regis School children will go to Lytchett Minster School at age 11. It will still be possible for children to go to, for example The Purbeck School, but this would be “parental choice” and the cost of travelling would be the parents’ responsibility.

Any problems or comments on this proposal, please contact our County Councillor whose email address is a.brenton@dorsetcc.gov.uk.

Purbeck Housing Trust

Paul Derrien, the Housing manager of PHT will be coming to the next meeting of the Parish Council. If you have any questions about any of their properties or the surrounding grounds to their properties please do come along and ask Paul directly.

Housing in Bere Regis

The Parish Council will be discussing “Housing in Bere Regis over the next 20 years” with Steve Dring – the Planning Policy Manager at Purbeck District Council - at our next meeting in March. As a Parish Council we will then review what options are open to us and which one we think would be best for Bere Regis. We would then hold an open consultation Meeting on Thursday April 9th (in place of our normal Parish Council Meeting for the Month) at 7.00 pm in the Drax Hall where we hope as many members of the public as possible would be able to come along and give us your views so that we can review our proposals in the light of this. I would emphasise that there will be further opportunities for people to comment after this but that this will direct the next stage of the consultation process which will result in a pamphlet being issued to every household in Purbeck with the views of the various town and parish councils. Please put April 9th in your diary

Monthly Surgery

Peter Wharf
Parish Councillor

March 2010 Meeting

Your Parish Council met for its Annual meeting on Thursday 11th March. Our next meeting is on Thursday 8th April at the Drax Hall starting at 7.00 pm. This will be a public meeting on one particular topic – the Future Housing Developments that we would like to see in Bere Regis. Do come to hear what is being proposed, and, as this is your village, have your say everybody is most welcome. For this month, following the Annual Parish meeting, we have included the Chairman’s Annual Report in full as it represents the Parish Council’s report on their activities for the last year to every resident of Bere Regis

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING

Chairman’s Report

Introduction

A very warm welcome to everyone here.

Between us we represent most of the village organisations and residents.

Last year, when I took over the chair of the Parish Council from Jim Parsons, I said that I thought the role of the council was to try to meet the wishes of the people who live here, and that my guess was that most people have quite modest aspirations, to live in a community which is peaceful, clean and tidy, safe and secure, with a good school, and a wealth of clubs and organisations to enjoy. I believe, too, that most people would welcome some modest housing developments, particularly more affordable housing, so that sons and daughters can continue to live here, provided that any development does not overwhelm the village, nor lead to a loss of sense of belonging. I believe that during this past year this council has contributed successfully to that unassuming vision.

Of course, that rather modest vision was also at the heart of the Parish Plan, so ably developed by Jon Cleave and his team in 2006, and so well implemented by my predecessor Jim Parsons.

Now, let us turn to what we’ve been up to this past year. I’m afraid that, this evening, you are going to get a report from just me, as we have a couple of quite weighty matters to go on to in our normal meeting after this annual meeting.

Achievements this year on our own account

I’m sure most of you are well aware that our village precept is very small, amounting to about £24000 pa, that is about £15 per head of population, so there is a severe limit on what we are able to do ourselves, but there have been three things that we have done this year, that I think are worthy of note:
• Village Tidy. Masterminded in October by Martin Howard, a small but enthusiastic band of volunteers, including members of Bere Regis Scout group, turned out to clear leaves and debris from gutters, and litter from the stream. This was a very successful event, which left the village looking noticeably tidier
• The Cemetery. Tim Maunder keeps a close eye on the monuments and on the grass-cutting contract to ensure the cemetery remains a peaceful and well-kept place of rest.
• Development. We want to be masters of our own destiny, so rather than waiting to see what others would like to inflict on us; this council has opened very fruitful discussions with a number of the developers who would like to build here, over the next few years. Hopefully, this could lead not just to appropriate levels of new housing, but also to the development of much needed new facilities.

Achievements in conjunction with others

More often than not, to get things done, we have to work with other levels of local government, or with other organisations which have resources and expertise we can tap into. Our major partners are Purbeck District Council, with whom we have an effective and fruitful relationship; Dorset County Council, which we often find to be inefficient and unprofessional; The Police, with whom we work well; Purbeck Housing Trust, which promises much and seems to deliver little; Graingers, the developer which owns land to the south of the village, with whom we are slowly developing a good working relationship; and the various arms of the Drax Estate which sometimes gives the impression that it is not very interested in working with the village. Nonetheless, over the past year we have worked with these bodies in a number of ways:

• Planning and Housing – led by Laurie Fairhurst, the Planning Working Party has liaised with PDC, scrutinising all planning applications, and continuing to work on the future use of play park area, as a possible site for affordable housing. We have also had valuable discussions with several of the developers who would like to build here.
• Environment – With help from PDC, our Environmental sub-committee, led formerly by John Pitts and latterly by Martin Howard, finally achieved the long-awaited tidy up of the car park and the recycling bins, and successfully organised the Village Tidy. Although it sometimes felt it was despite DCC, rather than with them, we finally got the Pedestrian Crossing installed at the school, the new village signs put up and yellow lines put in at the Shell Garage and in West St and Old Barn Rd. Support has been given to the Wildlife Watch Group, and to the embryonic Allotment Management Committee.
• Young People -- Robin Pitcher and Jayne George have made some slow progress towards creating a Young Peoples Forum. Support has been given to Ragamuffins, and we have consulted with our school on its future needs.
• Police and Security -- Keith Nurrish has participated in PACT, and in moves to revive Neighbourhood Watch in the village.
• Village Organisations -- Christopher Maunder has continued to liaise with many of the Village Organisations. As a Council we recognised the excellent OFSTED reports that were earned by the School and by Ragamuffins, and we nominated Alison Bennett as Bere Regis’s Volunteer of the Year.
• Purbeck District Council -- We have been kept well in touch by our District Councillor, Peter Wharf. We acknowledge the help given with Village Tidy, close liaison over Planning, and the development of the Purbeck Core Strategy, and on various other issues including trying to sort out who owns what of our amenity areas in the village
• Purbeck Housing Trust -- We have to draw attention to the slow response to maintenance issues within the PHT estate areas.
• Dorset CC -- We receive very good support from our county councillor, Alex Brenton, and on traffic matters we have joined forces with other PCs to lobby DCC with some success. Generally, though the service from DCC is very disappointing.

The Future

• We look forward to participating in the consultation on the Purbeck Core Strategy to ensure we get what we want in and for our village from developers
• We are keen to develop the Lengthsman Scheme, and are looking at how it works elsewhere
• We are very keen to establish a Youth Forum
• We would like to know if there would be interest in an annual Village Forum event, to bring together into informal workshop sessions all those who have an interest in the future of our community
• We would like set up the Post Office window as a shop front for all events and organisations in the village.
• We want to move ahead to create new play parks and set in train the building of affordable housing on the present play park site

Conclusion

I’d like to thank most warmly Councillor Malcolm Munro, who will be standing down shortly, as he and his wife move to Wool. He has been a stalwart of the council for many years, and his knowledge of environmental matters has been a great resource to us all.

Our thanks are due to all who contribute actively to the life of the village, particularly to that minority of people who are ‘doers’, who run things and work hard on behalf of others; to the volunteers who give so much time and effort to our organisations; to the carers of the sick and elderly; to all parents who look after and help their children to become good citizens; to the responsible pet owners who think about the impact their pets have on others. We are all fortunate to live in a community with soul, in a beautiful part of the country, and we are glad to play our part in maintaining this community.

Ian Ventham
Chairman – Bere Regis Parish Council

The Windfarm application

Many of you will be aware that an application has been lodged with Purbeck District Council for the installation of a four turbine wind farm at East Stoke. This was discussed at some length by the Parish Council who voted 6 to 2 with one abstention to oppose the application on the grounds of the close proximity to Buddens scout camp and the adverse environmental impact caused by visual intrusion, noise and potential harm to wildlife and habitat. It was felt that these outweighed the undoubted benefits of sustainable energy generation. We are informed by our District Councillor that this is likely to come before a special Planning Board in Wareham some time in May.

Housing in Bere Regis

Steve Dring – the Planning Policy Manager at Purbeck District Council -- gave an informative and interesting presentation on housing within Bere Regis. As a Parish Council we have agreed in principle to some modest proposals for houses within Bere Regis over the next 20 years. We reviewed the options open to us and we will be discussing these in detail at our next meeting on Thursday April 9th which will be an open consultation meeting where we hope as many members of the public as possible would be able to come along and give us your views so that we can review the proposals in the light of this. I would emphasise that there will be further opportunities for people to comment after this later on in the year but that this will direct the next stage of the consultation process which will result in a pamphlet being issued to every household in Purbeck with the views of the various town and parish councils. Please put April 9th in your diary

Monthly Surgery

A Parish Councillor will be joining Peter Wharf our District Councillor at the regular surgery he holds at Turberville Court on the first Saturday of each month from 09.30 to 10.00 am. We now hold a joint surgery as many of the issues raised cut across Parish, District and County responsibilities and it makes sense for us to work together to address any issues that arise.

Peter Wharf
Parish Councillor

April 2010 Meeting

Your Parish Council met for its monthly meeting on Thursday 8th April. This meeting was devoted to the very important topic of future housing development in Bere Regis. We were delighted with the good attendance at the meeting which included 24 members of the public, two people representing the land owners – The Drax Estate and Grainger PLC, 7 Parish councillors, representatives of a number of the village organisations and your District and County Councillors.

The Purbeck Strategy

The meeting was chaired by Ian Ventham who invited Steve Dring, Planning Policy Manager from Purbeck District Council, to give a presentation outlining the Purbeck Core Strategy and the consultation process plus the findings of this consultation to date. Mr Dring ended by outlining the possible development areas in Bere Regis which could accommodate the 50 or so houses (a mixture of market and affordable rented properties) which have been proposed for Bere Regis as part of the 2400 houses for the District as a whole over the next 20 years.

The Parish Council’s View

Ian Ventham, on behalf of the Parish Council, then gave a presentation with more detail about the potential development sites and the Parish Council’s view as to the suitability or otherwise of each of these. He then went on to outline the potential benefits the village would like to see as a result of any development. These benefits include a new Primary School, more secure sports and recreation facilities, open play areas and a number of other facilities including a new allotment site. He then outlined the two options that the Parish Council most favours:

• Option 1: A new Primary School on the very central site to the west of Egdon Close and south of Souls’ Moor, with a single housing development between Rye Hill Close and Green Close, incorporating the present school site. This option would be dependent on Dorset County Council being able to fund the new school and on appropriate traffic measures being implemented on Rye Hill.

• Option 2: Should option 1 fail we would favour improving and enlarging the school on its present site, with housing development on two sites, one near the present school and the other on the old allotment site north of the west end of West Street. This option would also require appropriate traffic measures on Rye Hill and the development of an alternative access to the proposed site avoiding Butt Lane

The Land Owners’ Views

The chairman then gave both landowners an opportunity to talk about their intentions. Both clearly expressed their desire and willingness to work closely with the village through the Parish Council to meet village aspirations whilst also meeting their commercial needs. The representative of Grainger acknowledged that an earlier proposal of theirs some years ago to develop south of the village had been ill thought out.

Discussion

The discussion was then opened up to all the Parishioners and a large number of very constructive points were raised, including:

• Concerns over transport infrastructure and the lack of investment in major roads and public transport around Bere Regis.
• Concerns that if the 50 houses were built too quickly that more housing would then be demanded soon after.
• The question was raised as to whether “infilling” could replace the need for a 50 house development. It was pointed out that in the past few years we have used up most of the obvious potential areas for infilling.
• Concern was expressed as to the number and nature of affordable houses to be provided. It was pointed put that the type of affordable housing to be provided would depend on a housing needs survey and could include a range of properties from one bedroom flats or bungalows to large family homes. This detail would be determined later on in the process.
• A number of people expressed their support, in principle, for the proposals as, without development, the village would have difficulty in thriving.
• It was pointed out that previous developments had been thought controversial at the time, but were now well integrated into the village and we would hope to achieve a similar outcome with these proposals.

The Chairman closed the meeting and reminded everybody that this was merely the start of a consultation process and there would be many opportunities later on this year to respond to more detailed proposals which should be delivered to every household during June and July.

Monthly Surgery

A Parish Councillor will be joining Peter Wharf, our District Councillor, at the regular surgery he holds at Turberville Court on the first Saturday of each month from 09.30 to 10.00 am. We have decided to combine and hold a joint surgery as many of the issues raised cut across Parish, District and County responsibilities and it makes sense for us to work together to address any issues that arise.

Our next meeting is on Thursday 13th May at the Drax Hall starting at 7.00 pm.

Peter Wharf
Parish Councillor

May 2010 Meeting

Public Participation

Andy Kent and Roger Duncanson gave an excellent presentation, and showed
the plans, for the proposed development of the Sports Club facilities. Andy
outlined some of the successes the Club is presently enjoying, and then went onto outline the phased plan the club was trying to put into place. Plans, which are all dependent on raising considerable sums of money, include re-roofing the building which is presently used by the British Legion, developing new changing facilities and eventually putting in a multi purpose, hard surface pitch called a MUGA, to enable the club to offer improved facilities for a wider range of sporting activities and to relieve the pressure on the grass field, particularly during wet periods.

The council was happy to give its support to these plans, provided that the
outcome benefited the largest possible number of parishioners.

Elections

Jim Parsons, our chairman for the past three years, and a council member for six, announced that he was standing down, not just as Chairman, but also from the council. He outlined some of the achievements of the council against the agreed actions in the Parish Plan, and was pleased to report that, during his chairmanship, more than 30 items could be ticked off as being completed or well under way. Jim was congratulated and thanked for his leadership, not just by theCouncil, but also by Jane Woodward on behalf of those parishioners who regularly attend our meetings.

Ian Ventham was elected as Chairman, and Laurie Fairhurst as Vice Chairman. On taking the chair, Ian Ventham said that he wished to continue the efforts to achieve what was agreed in the Parish Plan. He said he felt that most of our residents share quite modest aspirations. They want to live in a place which is safe, clean, and has a strong community spirit. To that end, Ian, with the council, would like to set as his priorities:
• Strengthening the links between the village organisations and the council
• Presenting our village better through good signage, less litter and a tidied
up village car park
• Trying to provide improved facilities for our young people, particularly the
teenagers
• Enabling some modest housing development to include a proportion of
affordable homes.

Sustainable Communities Local Spending Reports

The council felt that this consultation document, which had been issued by the Department of for Communities and Local Government, did little but add to the already heavy burden of bureaucracy in local government. The council therefore refused to endorse it, as had been requested.

Village environment

Dog poo bins had been requested for Snow Hill, Shitterton, and Chalk Pit Close. We are going to get some prices for additional bins before taking this further. Dog owners are reminded that they are responsible for picking up and binning dog waste. Please do not throw plastic bags of dog poo in the hedges! It was noted that that a number of street signs are either broken or unreadable. Purbeck District will be asked to clean or replace such signs. Dorset County Council will be reminded again of the need to cut back foliage that obscures traffic signs.

Surgery

Don’t forget! The joint surgery for District Council, Parish Council and PACT panel will be on Saturday 6th June at 0930am at Turberville Court.

Ian Ventham, Chairman

June 2010 Meeting

Given the absence of the Chairman on vacation, the Vice Chairman led a full meeting with a varied and wide ranging Agenda. The Parish Clerk was still progressing positively from his recent illness and we wish him and his family well.

There was a higher than usual attendance from the public with several questions being raised on matters including village street signs, safety concerns about the C6 road south of Rye Hill, local boundary and maintenance issues with Purbeck Housing Trust and footpath queries and pedestrian safety near Turbeville Road. We are grateful for this input and will try and respond positively and offer help where outside bodies are responsible.

New Councillor

Local resident Len Alderman was co opted to the Council to fill the remaining
vacancy and was welcomed by the Vice Chairman. Len brings with him valuable knowledge and experience on Traffic , Roads and Transportation matters and will front a team seeking to improve these vital services in our area.

Planning Consultation 'Where shall we build in Bere Regis 2012-2026'

By now you should all have received your consultation document from PurbeckDistrict Council. We would encourage your involvement in seeking to achieve what you want for the future The brochure is easy to understand and complete and already some of you will have attended the Road show held in the Drax Hall on 28th June where Purbeck officers were on hand to offer guidance. Let`s hear what you have to say, it`s your Village!!

Traffic Safety particularly C6 route from the Village to Wool through Rye Hill

Following concerns expressed about reckless driving in residential areas in our area, we propose to make representation to Dorset County Council about possible safety measures including double white lines to slow traffic down. If you have experienced any dangerous or unsettling incidents from traffic where you felt your safety was threatened, please let us know. Any thoughts on what might reduce the risks to you and your families including changes to road signs, traffic calming and extending reduced speed restrictions, will be welcomed.

Village Forum 18th September Drax Hall

The Parish Council will be hosting a meeting on 18th September with the purpose of creating an open Forum at which any Parishioner can 'air' their thoughts on the Parish. All Village Organisations will be invited to display and advertise themselves as a backdrop to the Meeting. There will be no Agenda for the meeting which will be chaired by the Parish Council and no decisions will be taken then but issues and ideas carried forward to the Councilfor further discussion. This will be a ``listening`` exercise that will enable all Parishioners to become aware of both ideas and problems which do not readily come forward at other events. Please flag it in your diary and come along!!

Public Taxi Scheme from Bere Regis to Wareham

Your Parish Council has been instrumental in setting up this useful facility which starts on 1st July 2010. Full details are below & also appear in the Parish Magazine on page 30. We hope you find it beneficial and use it frequently.

Bere Regis residents have been asking for a public transport service to Wareham for a number of years. Bus services that have been provided have faded away because the numbers wishing to travel haven’t been sufficient to keep them going. Dorset County Council has been experimenting with shared taxi schemes for communities with a low level of demand and this could be applied to a link between Bere Regis and Wareham.

On Mondays to Saturdays (except public holidays) from 1st July 2010 a shared taxi service will run as follows -

Depart Bere Regis at 9.30 am

Depart Wareham at 12.30pm.

The taxi will also take you out to Bere Regis to arrive at 09.30 and return you to Wareham departing Bere Regis at about 12.50

In Summer school holidays there will be an additional taxi departing Wareham at 16.40 to give connections with the service 40 bus from Swanage. The taxi needs to be pre-booked by ringing 0845 241 0117 between 08.40 and 17.20 Monday to Thursday and between 08.40 and 15.00 on Friday at least one hour before the departure time.

Pre booked passengers will be collected from :

Bere Regis Southbrook
Bere Regis Elder Road/Manor Farm Road
Bere Regis Drax Arms Bus stop
Wareham Forest Caravan Park
Birchwood Caravan Park
Silent Woman

And be delivered to Wareham Station Bus stop & Wareham South Bridge

The fare will be £1.50 each way. Purbeck Concessionary fare passes will be accepted but will need to be shown to the driver.

If you wish to make further inquiries about this service please contact Peter Impett at Dorset County Council on 01305 224 535

All Bookings on 0845 2410 117

Bins, Bins, Bins and more Bins

Just a note to say we now have now almost completed the installation of new
Dog, Refuse and Winter Grit bins to improve the environment and help safety. We are looking at improving the notice boards and Village signs and upgrading the benches that are placed around the Village. The new Purbeck stone sign for Shitterton is in place and hopefully you will agree it is striking and an improvement. We will be considering the suitability of similar signs at approaches to the Village in due course

Monthly Surgery

A Parish Councillor will be joining Peter Wharf , our District Councillor, at the regular surgery he holds at Turberville Court on the first Saturday of each month from 09.30 to 10.00 am. We have decided to combine and hold a joint surgery as many of the issues raised cut across Parish, District and County responsibilities and it makes sense for us to work together to address any issues that arise.

Next meeting

Our next meeting is Thursday 8th July in the Drax Hall starting at 7.00pm and you are welcome to attend and raise any issues affecting the Village

Martin Howard, Parish Councillor

July 2010 Meeting

Your Parish Council met for its monthly meeting on Thursday 8th July. Our next meeting is on Thursday 12th August at the Drax Hall starting at 7.00 pm; as always the public are most welcome and there is an item on the agenda at the very start called “period for public participation” where we would like to hear from you on any points you would like to raise.

Village Forum 18th September at the Drax Hall

Another reminder that we will be holding an open forum for all parishioners to attend and we hope that all the organisations and businesses in the village will be invited to talk about what they do. It is intended to run from 10.00 to 1200 with tea and biscuits along the way and all who stay the course will be invited to join the Council for a light lunch by way of a thank you!

To start with we hope that all the village representatives who attend will spend five minutes talking about what they do and what challenges they face. This would then be followed by a question and answers session involving everybody who is there!

Police

At our recent regular meeting with the Police we asked them to concentrate their efforts on three areas over the next few months.
1. Actively monitor excessive speed by the school during school hours
2. A greater police presence over the summer holidays, to respond to any anti social behaviour.
3. A programme to reinvigorate the old neighbourhood watch scheme (now called Homewatch)

Village Tidy 2010

Early warning that we intend to hold another village tidy on Sunday 24th October. Our last one was particularly successful in cleaning up many areas of the village and we involved many of the village clubs and societies which we hope to do again this year as well!

Please make an effort to join in this year. It`s not hard work, will be great fun and the more who help will contribute to a cleaner and more attractive Village. More on this next month.

C6/Rye Hill

Following last months meeting where we heard about speeding traffic past Chamberlaynes, we are writing a letter to Dorset County Council to ask them to consider a variety of potential traffic calming measures along this stretch of road.

Village walkabout

We are going to hold a village walkabout at the start of the next Parish Council Meeting following the first item on the agenda – the period for public participation. We hope to be on the move by 0715 pm and our itinerary is roughly as follows. Stanborough Close, Bitchams Mead area, Elder Road then along the Boardwalk, crossing over the bridge through Souls Moor to Egdon Close. Next to Rye Hill by Rye Hill Close and White Lovington returning to Drax Hall for the remainder of the Meeting.

This visit concentrates on the southern end of the Village following last year`s focus on the areas north of West Street. Please come out and talk to us if you see us on the walk and you have any issues you would like to make us aware of.

Building in Bere Regis

109 people attended the open session in the Drax Hall on Monday 28th June which was a very high figure given the size of Bere Regis in comparison with the other road shows. So far there appears to be a clear majority for the Parish Council’s proposals and we will report in more detail when the final figures are in for all of Purbeck.

Monthly Surgery

Peter Wharf
Parish Councillor

August 2010 Meeting

Your Parish Council met for its monthly meeting on Thursday 12th July. We were delighted that 9 parishioners attended the period for public participation. Topics discussed included Wind Farms and Purbeck Housing Trust’s lack of notice and consultation over their decision to demolish the garages at the Western end of Egdon Close. The Council decided to write to ask for a delay whilst the matter is more thoroughly discussed.

Walkabout

With many apologies, I have to report that the planned walkabout did not happen in August, but will take place on Thursday 9th September, when we will be taking a look at Southbrook, Egdon Close, Rye Hill and Green Close.

Lengthsman Scheme

For some time now we have been debating the merits of employing a village ‘Lengthsman’. This is a term that was in use many years ago, and refers to a person who looked after the length of a village. Meeting after meeting we talk at Council Meetings about maintenance problems in the village, and, having no resources of our own, we write, and phone and email Purbeck District Council, or Purbeck Housing Trust or Dorset County Council for things to be done. Sometimes, often after huge delays, things do get done, but often they do not, and we all get very frustrated.

We have taken a decision in principle to take on a self-employed person as a Lengthsman for two days a week, to tackle all the small maintenance tasks that need doing. These will include cleaning and fixing signs, mending notice boards and benches, tidying up the weeds in the gutters, picking up litter from the stream, cleaning up graffiti, keeping drains and culverts running, chopping back overgrown hedges; in short, doing all those things that are essential to keeping the village spick and span, and a good place in which to live. We are still negotiating with the other authorities for them to take some of the cost. Shortly you may see an advertisement for the post.

Wareham Taxi Service

This is just to remind you that the new dial up taxi service is still available, though the take-up so far has been a bit disappointing. We are hoping to arrange some tweaks to the service, but in the meantime, just ring 08452410117 between 0840 and 1720 Monday to Thursday, and between 0840 and 1500 on Friday to book the service.

Parish Forum Saturday 18th September

Please see the separate ad for more information, but would all organisation and business representatives please note the date, as we would welcome and value your participation, to help us review and update the Parish Plan.

Youth Forum 24th September

Rather a lot of Forums (or should that be Fora?) this month, but this one is for the adult leaders of youth groups, schools and activities, to help us develop better plans and ideas for our young people. Invitations will be going out soon, but please note the date in your diaries.

Neighbourhood Watch

Our priority with our PACT partners in October will be to try to revitalise the Neighbourhood Watch scheme in the village.

Village Tidy

Another date for your diary is Sunday October 24th, when we hope to hold another village tidy to pick up litter and tackle some of the weeds around Bere Regis. As before, we hope to make this a fun and convivial event with groups of neighbours tackling their own roads, and then joining together afterwards for soup and roll. Please put the date in the calendar.
Monthly Surgery.

Our next meeting is on Thursday 9th September at the Drax Hall starting at 7.00 pm.

Ian Ventham, Chairman

September 2010 Meeting

Awaiting the Meeting