Buckland Newton

Parish Council

This is the website of Buckland Newton

Parish Council.

There is also a Buckland Newton

Community Website, where you will find

general information about the Village, its

community and activities around the

village.  Please visit the Community website

if you are looking for information that is

not specific to the business and activities of

the Buckland Newton Parish Council. 

Your Parish Councillors are: Nicki Barker (Chair), John

Baker, Jane Collins (co-Vice Chair),  Andy Foot, Roy

Godwin, Mark Needham (co-Vice Chair), Chris Osmond

(Recreation Officer), Sam Sowerby, Lin Townsend.

Your Flood Warden is Doug Morse (tel: 01300 345707) or

e-mail floodwarden@sky.com

Rights of Way Liaison Officer is Stephen White

Parish Clerk: Sarah Mitchell, 01258 817288 or e-mail Your District Councillors are Brian Haynes (Piddle Valley Ward - 6 Orchard Close, Sydling St Nicholas, Dorchester DT2 9PF tel: 01300 341277)  and Pauline Batstone  (Lydden Vale Ward - tel: 01258 472583).

 

Temporary Closure of Bookham Lane 18th April

Bookham Lane will be closed for urgent BT work.  Click here for details.

What is a Parish Council?

Confusion often arises because of the use of the word 'Parish' which most people would

connect with the Church. "Parish" is an old English word that means a local territory or

catchment area. A parish had two principal functions: firstly to act as a civil unit which

was responsible for the collection of taxes and tithes, the dispensing of justice and the

raising of armies; secondly it was an ecclesiastical institution served by a local church

or chapel, with a priest or similar clergyman tending to the spiritual needs of local

people.  By the late 19th Century, the two functions of civil and ecclesiastical parish

were formally split in law. The civil parish went on to develop into what we call the

parish or town council today (PC). The ecclesiastical parish or Parochial Church

Council (PCC) is now an entirely separate body. A Parish Council is now a statutory

local authority set up under the Local Government Act 1972. It is a corporate body with

a legal existence of its own quite separate from that of its members. Councillors are

elected every four years and a Clerk is employed to organise meetings, carry out the

council's decisions and give advice on any legal issues or new legislation. The Clerk is

the only paid person to administer and serve a council and is often the Responsible

Financial Officer too, but does not vote or make decisions for the council.

Parish and Town Councils in England are the first tier of local government.  They have

extensive powers ranging from the power to deal with 'offensive ditches', to acquire land

and my personal favourite 'to accept gifts'!! The list is too extensive (3 pages) to publish

here, if you wish, you can check out www.nalc.gov.uk for more information.

Parish Council Meeting Dates

Meetings are held in the Parish Rooms at 7.30 pm every second Tuesday of each

month.  Please note that while the Parish Room is being refurbished, Parish Council

Meetings will be held in the Village Hall and on the Wednesday following the second

Tuesday of the month.  If there are any changes, a note will be posted on the Parish

Room door.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 15th May at 7.30 pm, in the Village Hall

Room.  The Agenda and associated Schedule for the April meeting can be viewed here.

At Parish Council meetings, we include a 'Democratic Half Hour' to allow members of

the Parish to make representations at the meeting. This will be added to the Agenda,

before the main body of the meeting takes place, allowing Parishioners to leave if they

wish. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, or would prefer to write or

e-mail your concerns or potential resolutions, please can you advise the Chair or Parish

Clerk at least five days before the meeting, if possible.

Further meeting dates for 2019: Wednesday 15th May Tuesday  11th June Tuesday 9th July

General Parish and District Council Notices and News

The Dorset Best Village Competition 2019

This is a competition sponsored by Magna Housing.  If anyone is interested in picking this up and running with it, a summary of the Aims of the Competition, Entry Form and Judging Sheet can be downloaded here.

Dorset Town and Parish Newsletter

There is a new Newsletter published by the Shaping Dorset Council programme.

Standing as a local councillor for the new Dorset Council in

2019

The new Dorset Council will be holding its elections in May 2019.  Information for anyone interested in standing for election can be found on the dorsetforyou website at www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/become-a-local-councillor ; the web pages give an overview of: •         the role of the councillor •         standing for a political party or as an independent •         the support that is available to candidates and councillors •         how to stand for nomination •         where to find additional information

Parish Council Elections - Notice of Uncontested Election

The Parish Council Elections were uncontested.  Click here for the official notice.

Dorset Community Catalyst Project

An exciting two-year pilot project is getting underway in Dorset, launching a brand-new way of meeting health and social care need in hard-to-reach areas of the county.  Click here for more details.

Latest news on the Parish Room and playing field improvement

Thanks to everyone’s massive efforts in September, we have now signed the contract for an EU grant and can go ahead with converting the Parish Room into a slightly larger sports pavilion with a veranda, new loo and storage. Weather permitting, work will start in mid-March and be completed in time for use by the Fete at the end of August. At the same time, when the weather is good for groundworks, a half kilometre running track will be created around the perimeter of the playing field to use for walking, running, cycling or simply to cross the field or access the new pavilion. The new entrance to the pavilion will be from the playing field side rather than the busy B3143 road. The EU grant is £55,418 and comes under the auspices of the LEADER Rural Development Programme for England. It represents 80% of the total cost. The outstanding 20% (ca £15,000), has come thanks to the generosity of our own local village charities and organization: the United Charities of Buckland Newton, Buckland Newton Community Property Trust (Lydden Meadow) the 2018 Village Fete Committee, Sir William Aykroyd’s ringfenced fund held by the Parish Council, alongside a contribution form WDDC’s S106 Award funding. The short time scale we had to put together the grant application, with Brexit looming was seriously fraught and it was only thanks to the village pulling together so actively that we made the deadline. By the time we passed the pre-application stage, we had just 4 weeks to gather all the material needed for what turned out to be a pretty complicated application. We needed letters of support from parishioners and organizations in the village, submit and get rapid approval of planning permission, create detailed design specifications for the building and track, find 6 contractors with local connections who were willing and able to bid on these specifications at very short notice, and finally find the essential 20% support funding alongside a commercial lender for a short term bridging loan. We need the latter as the grant is not paid until 6 weeks after project completion. As we had estimated the total cost of the project at around £70,000 in our pre- application stage, our hearts were in our mouths when we opened the sealed bids on the 10th September. You can see why if you look at the minutes of that meeting on the Parish Council website. The trackway quotes came in fairly close to budget, but the building conversion varied wildly from ca £155,000 to ca £48,000. Based on these quotes the Parish Council is awarding the contracts to the lowest bidder N & J Baker Ltd for the Parish Room conversion and BN Hire Ltd for the trackway.

Healthy Homes Dorset

Do you struggle to keep your home warm or worry how you will afford your energy bills this winter? Contact Healthy Homes Dorset for free, impartial advice about keeping your home warm, using your heating system, understanding your energy bills and making energy saving improvements – if you’re eligible for loft or cavity wall insulation it will be free! We will also register you for power cut support, a handy service to be on if you experience a power cut in your area.  Our advice can be given through home visits as well as over the phone.  Fire safety alarm and appliance checks can also be organised in partnership with Fire and Rescue for eligible residents.  If you, or someone you know, would benefit from speaking to a trained energy advisor, then get in touch. Call 0300 003 7023 email help@healthyhomesdorset.org.uk  Web www.healthyhomesdorset.org.uk Healthy Homes Dorset is a service provided by Dorset County Council, funded by Public Health Dorset and managed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy in partnership with Evolve Home Energy Solutions.

Dorset Police ask "could your enquiry be answered by NED?"

Do you have issues with parking? Noisy neighbours? Concerned with an animal’s

welfare? Not sure who to contact… Then AskNED – the non-emergency directory. 

Dorset Police has launched a new online knowledgebase designed to help the public

find answers to common enquiries and guide them to the right agencies.  Click here for

more details.

Smart Meter Rollout

The Government is rolling out smart meters into all homes and businesses before 2020.

However, research shows that a huge percentage of the population are still not aware

of the options available. All local councils should have the up to date, correct

information on their websites to ensure we are fully prepared as a nation for this switch.

Provided below are links to full guides domestic and non-domestic smart meters

handed to us by the Government.

Non-domestic Users:  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236488/N on_Domestic_Leaflet_v_02.pdf  Domestic Users:  https://selectra.co.uk/guides/smart-meters The government has issued some further information on Smart Meter rollout: UK Smart meter guide: https://selectra.co.uk/guides/smart-meters Smart meter implementation program:  https://selectra.co.uk/energy/guides/smart-meters

Attention “Dog Walkers” who use the footpath through Lydden

Meadow

Please remember these grounds are private and should be treated as you would your

own private garden. Please be fair and thoughtful to the residents.  Make sure you

stick to the public footpath which runs along the gravel drive through the entrance,

behind the houses and past the meadow to the field gate.  Most importantly, please

keep your dogs on a lead throughout the grounds and if they get caught short, make

sure you pick up any foul material and take it home for disposal.  The overwhelming

accumulation of dog dirt from dogs being walked through the grounds is not just highly

unpleasant for the residents, but a real health hazard to the several young children who

live in Lydden Meadow and love to play in the grounds…… even in winter!  The bridge

across the river is a private, not a public footpath. Although access to all villagers was

freely given in the past, from henceforth the gate will be locked to reduce dog fouling. 

Please do not throw dog mess in the hedges or river. It should be put in appropriate

bins or taken home and put in normal household waste bins.

Junk Mail

This can be a real nuisance. It only adds to the volume of recycling and at the end of

the day our Council Tax to dispose of it. So unless you enjoy browsing through free

mail, it IS easy to cut down on 90% of it by removing your name from direct mail lists.

The best way to do this is: Write with your name and address to Mail Preference

Service, Freepost 29 (LON20771), London W1E OZT (you can pick up a form for this at

the District Council's Office in High West St in Dorchester). Or phone the Mail

Preference Service on 0845 703 4599 or go to their website on www.mcsonline.org.uk 

or e-mail 

Village Allotments

If you are interested in becoming a plot-holder please contact a member of the Parish

Council.