Bere Regis Parish Council

At the November meeting the Council received a presentation on Housing entitled ‘The affordable village life programme’. This was given by the Rural Housing Enabler for West Dorset and Purbeck, Mr Andy Lloyd from Dorset Community Action (DCA). He explained the problems that rural communities faced when it comes to housing and how these problems can be overcome. Clearly the cost of housing in the rural areas is such that many people who would wish to live in their ‘home’ village find it necessary to move into the towns. This can be detrimental to the community as it removes young people out of the Village and that has an effect on the schools etc. Mr Lloyd has a plan that could be of help and the Councillors decided that we should make a start on it to firstly find out the size of the problem in Bere Regis. The first steps are consultation including conducting a Parish Housing Needs Survey. To be effective the whole Parish will be covered and of course there will be many folk who will not need to respond. The Council is keen to make this Survey as realistic as possible and will ask Parishioners to ensure that people who have had to move elsewhere but would still desire to live here, be included. Thus for example if a son or daughter are living away, you would be asked to either pass your form to them or to obtain another form to send them. This is the start of a process and no mention of sites or land is involved, it is purely to establish ‘need’. The whole process can take five years but at the end it would be hoped that our rural housing needs are satisfied and protected. We will try to get the survey underway in the New Year.

The Council has decided to move into the brave new world. Last year the Clerk was ‘armed’ with a computer complete with e-mail and this is used by all Councillors to receive correspondence and to make comments etc. It has now been decided to create - if that is the right word - a Web site. This should enable those increasing numbers of people to refer to matters concerning Bere Regis which up to now they have been unable to do. Many communities do have these sites and we have been most fortunate to have received an offer to set it up and manage it for three months. After that we will be looking for somebody to update it regularly.

The Council discussed at length the Community Warden Scheme. The funding for the present scheme is coming to an end and the pro’s and con’s of the scheme were talked of. A new scheme which should be an improvement is on offer. This scheme is more closely aligned to the Police and is available for similar hours but until later at night. The ‘Wardens Plus’ will have power to confiscate alcohol in designated areas or from young people, to confiscate tobacco from young people, to remove abandoned vehicles, to obtain the details of people acting in an anti-social manner and to service fixed penalty notices for cycling on pavements and other anti-social behaviour. The Council decided to support the new scheme which, if accepted throughout Purbeck, will come into force after April 2004.

The Cemetery Committee were complimented on the improved state of the Cemetery and it is hoped that we have now got on top of the problems that have been experienced in the past. The Committee does ask though that dead flowers etc be placed in any one of the four bins or at the top left hand corner
of the cemetery, with the grass cuttings. It makes for an untidy appearance for old flowers to be left around the edges of the ground.

The Council is obtaining the Christmas trees as in past years. These will be distributed at about the same time as this journal is published so December should start with displays of colour in our Streets. The Council is grateful to those Parishioners who display trees for everyone to enjoy as they go about their business.

The Chairman and Councillors wish you all a very happy Christmas and we look forward to seeing you at our meetings. The next meeting is on Thursday 11th December at 7.00pm in the Drax Hall. CM

December 2003 Meeting

At the December meeting we welcomed Mr J Parsons of White Lovington to the Council as our eleventh Councillor. He brings a wide experience of Parish Council work plus considerable knowledge of this area.

In the past few years during January/February we have had visits from the District Council who were seeking opinions about the Council Tax and how we as a Parish would like either reduced or improved services. The meetings were directed at Parishioners but attendance was extremely poor. Thus this year the District Council has commissioned a lobby company to undertake the task for them in the form of a questionnaire. The chosen company is Simalto and presumably they will be sending out the questionnaires to a sample of addresses in the hope of achieving a better response than the Council. If you receive a questionnaire do please try to make use of it on behalf all Council Tax payers. The County, who account for 90% of the Council Tax, are apparently undertaking a consultation approach to obtain opinions. Again if you hear of the location of a meeting, try to get to it to have your say in this tax.

The Council is concerned about the parking of vehicles around the West Street entrance to Snowhill whereby the lane is partially blocked. The last thing that the Council wishes to see are yellow lines, and there will be no need for them providing drivers park with care and consideration for others.

Concerning crime, the Chairman attended the meeting of the North Purbeck Task Group, which used to be the Crime Prevention Panel. The Group includes the Police, Community Wardens, Council Officers and Councillors from the various Parishes in the District. We were advised that as of November crime had reduced in this area by 18%. However for an incident to be considered as a crime it needs to be reported to the Police, as clearly unless there is a record there is nothing to measure and thus compare one period with another. We also learned of the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) and the Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABC) that are being introduced in this area. An ABC is an agreement to behave more reasonably after having been caught behaving badly. Breeches of the ABC and disorderly conduct can lead to the issue of a ASBO. This would restrict the person from particular areas and from associating with particular individuals. Details of the person would be circulated in the community so that shops etc can display them. ASBO’s are operative for two years and any breech will result in a custodial sentence. Where these Orders have been used and a few have been issued in the Purbeck area, they have been shown to be successful.

The new Parish Web-site is being visited more and it should get busier as it becomes better known. There are some interesting pictures of both new & old Bere Regis on it. There is also an Events calendar and it is to be hoped that as a result we may avoid clashes in dates between organisations. The web-site address is www.bereregis.org Parishioners are also reminded that despite the TV advertisements Broadband for the Bere Regis area is a long way off as we require a minimum of 350 interested subscribers. It is therefore important that if you are interested that you register with BT. To register click here

The Council was very pleased to hear complimentary remarks about the Christmas trees and they thank all of the businesses and houses who contributed to cheering up the village at Christmastide.

The next meeting of the Council will be held on Thursday 8th January 2004 at 7.00pm in the Drax Hall. CM

January 2004 Meeting

At the January meeting the Council received details of a planning application from the County Council on which they were invited to comment. The application was from BP at Wytch Farm where, due to the decreasing quantities of LPG, they are intending to change the transport methods from rail to road. As the gas is no longer exported from Avonmouth but supplied more locally in Dorset and Wiltshire, it is more viable to deliver it direct from Wytch Farm. We are involved because the chosen route to the A35 from Wytch Farm includes the C6. The authorities recognise the problems by the School and up to the Poole Hill roundabout and have proposed some measures to improve the traffic management. Many of these proposals are included in the School’s own proposals for a safe route so this latest proposal may well be a part means of financing the School scheme, as BP will have to foot the bill for the work.

This is the month when the Council finalises its estimates for the coming year - and hence the Parish element of the Council Tax. The budget was discussed in detail and in the end we arrived at a minimal increase in our expenditure. It is to be hoped that the District and the County might have a similar conclusion.
In the past there has been a team visit by the District Council to explain and seek opinions on the years Council Tax. Sadly the meetings were not very well attended and were then thought to be of no value. This year the County is doing the same exercise but is visiting larger centres. The nearest to us will be at Wareham on Monday 26th January from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at the Purbeck School. If you wish to have a say about the Council Tax - then that is the place to go. Note: I fully realise that the date of this meeting is prior to this journal’s publication date but there will be some people who can pick this up on the Parish Web site. However a poster will be displayed in the notice boards.

The Council has been asked to consider the problems associated with affordable housing and have asked the District Council to bear us in mind. Affordable housing has to be provided with any new development but we have none in the pipeline. However in rural areas it is possible to provide some affordable housing on its own. There are specific ground rules to qualify for this and the Council feels that Bere Regis fits into those rules. However before we can get anywhere it is necessary to conduct a Housing Survey which has been mentioned before in this column. The Council is taking steps to get such a survey conducted and it is hoped that we would be well supported by all Parishioners to show the need for such housing here in Bere Regis.

The County has a scheme in mind for disposal of rubbish at Winfrith. However the District objects to this on the grounds that such a plant should be sited near to where the rubbish is created - in this case West Dorset. One of the obvious problems is transport of the rubbish and it might affect us as the dear old C6 is seen to be on the route - comment by your scribe ‘ for the life of me I cannot see a driver coming from Bridport to Winfrith via Bere Regis’. We await the discussions going on at present.

Where is the Youth Hut? Some money has been provided, planning approval has been obtained and the parties concerned have met to plan the work. The answer is that the team are waiting for improved weather and longer daylight hours. Do not despair it really is on the way.

Another big project on the way is the new Village Hall and after a long delay a planning application is being made for a revised plan that will see the hall built along Elder Road close to the Scout Hut. It is only after we have the planning approval that serious fund raising can commence. CM

February 2004 Meeting

The February meeting this year may well be marked in future years for its importance as the beginning of a look into the future of our village. The Council has a number of essential subjects to consider and so it has been decided to undertake an appraisal and to develop a Village Plan. Such a Plan will look at facilities in the village which will include Housing and Education. Everyone will say that we have gone through all of that before, but it is all change now and Local Structure Plans are to be replaced by Regional Structure Plans. Our task must be to ensure that our ideas for our village of the future are represented.

Parish Councils are very good authorities where footpaths are concerned. They fight to defend the routes, the access and the correctness of that access. With the ‘right to roam’ legislation there are differences of interpretation that are being tested before the Definitive map is finalised. We have one such case that is being reviewed in our Parish. This is Bridleway 27 over Black Hill where the Trail Riders Fellowship is objecting to the erection of a horse stile and motorcycle inhibitor. The fear is that by permitting motor vehicles on the bridleway, the surface will deteriorate.

The meeting opened with a lively Question Period from the Parishioners in attendance. From this discussion it was learned that the work to ‘beautify’ the roundabouts is to be undertaken in the Spring, having been promised for last Autumn. The long completed ‘Conservation Area’ report has still to be published and one Parishioner suggested that the new houses being built in North Street ought not to have been approved until the design had been tested against the Conservation Area Report. Other subjects included the BP transport of LPG, the gate at the end of North Street and Council Tax.

The Council is represented on the North Purbeck Task Group - the latest name for the Crime Prevention Committee - and at their last meeting it was very clear that the emphasis is now on attempting to provide so that crime is prevented. An example of this is our Youth Shelter and indeed the bulk of the
money allocated for this to date has come from Police sources and not the Parish. However it is encumbent on local Councils to make provision so that crime is reduced.

The Council has reported the very poor condition of the directional road signs on the roads and we have now heard that work to improve them is scheduled after April. So with the grassed over roundabouts and fresh signs we will be much smarter.

The Council is concerned about the people using the Cemetery as a meeting place. Evidence of their presence is often left around in the form of bottles etc. It appears that the recently erected shelter is being used for getting together in, whereas it was provided for mourners wishing to sit and have a quite moment of thought. It is good that it is used, but the Council is concerned that it be used for its real purpose. The Council wish to point out that all old flowers and grass should be placed in the composting area provided.

Parishioners are reminded that the Parish Council website is www.bereregis.org and that the next meeting of the Council will be on Thursday 11th March at 7.00pm in the Drax Hall.

March 2004 Meeting

Awaiting the meeting