23 June 2013 Proposed Pedestrian Crossing on New Road.
After prolonged negotiations with Dorset County Council, it has been agreed that a central refuge pedestrian crossing between Winnards Close and Mags Barrow will be put into the Local Transport Plan for a funding decision later this year.
The Parish Council has been trying for over a year to get pedestrian crossings on New Road, which is increasingly dangerous to cross on foot as the traffic and its speed increases. We asked for more than one crossing but DCC has said that there are no other suitable places wide enough for the relatively inexpensive central refuge pedestrian crossings.
23 June 2013 Untidy verges spoil Residents efforts
the grass is getting a bit high!
Residents in West Parley are disappointed that reductions in Council budgets for grass verge cutting are spoiling their own efforts to keep the village tidy.
A halving in the number of times the grass is mown has meant that verges have become very overgrown for weeks on end and, despite the very cold Spring, the grass had got to almost 2 feet high in places.
As the grass had got so long contractors had a difficult job cutting what was there and this left a lot of grass on the edge of the road and the quality of the cut was poor.
Parish Council Chairman John Cullen said "We have been asking Residents to keep outside their own house tidy and many have been doing that. Some have become very disheartened when they see such a mess on the main roads in the village. We all recognise the need to cut costs and accept that this means some compromises, but when Dorset prides itself on its appearance as a tourist area, we think these budget cuts have reduced the grass cutting a bit too much. We all know everything grows like mad in May and early June. We need an extra cut in early Summer to keep the place looking good."
Councillor Pat Couper said "We have entered the village for the first time in the South and South East in Bloom competition and are worried that these budget cuts will affect the appearance of the village at judging time. The Contractors usually do an excellent job but in some places it looks like the verges have been grazed by cattle rather than actually cut by a mower".
The West Parley Parish Council is to formally ask for the number of verge cuts next year to be increased.
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4 June 2013 the Big Lunch, another great West Parley day out!
West Parley Parish Council in conjunction with Parley Sports Club and Parley Rotary organised their first big Lunch on the 2nd June 2013. A full entertainment programme was started with the wonderful Parley Promotes talent, there was a fantastic Dog Agility show, lots of Community games and much much more. For a full report and photos of the day please the Big Lunch full report
2 June 2013 Volunteers hard at work
up the workers!
Councillors John Cullen and Pat Couper with a group of resident volunteers who are looking very happy having just completed the task of re-planting the troughs at Parley Cross also the planters at Glenmoor Road and on the island by the Porsche garage, thanks to the people at Porsche for watering those planters. While they were working a number of people came to express appreciation of their efforts.
West Parley now has a willing band of volunteers undertaking various tasks watering the plants, gardening in the park, cutting back the verges and keeping pavements clear, litter picking and delivering newsletters. There are also lighter tasks that need helpers such as the coffee morning and lunch club on Wednesdays so anyone who can spare an hour would be very welcome to join this happy band of people.
Have you been to our coffee morning or lunch club yet? Also the Health Walks all start at 10am on Wednesday mornings at Parley Sports Club, come and join us and meet some new friends.
30 May 2013 West Parley Young Achievers Award (Today's Youth - Tomorrow's Leaders)
West Parley Parish Council has set up an Annual Young Achievers Award for young people aged 12 to 18 active in any of the fields of sport, music, theatre, dance, charity work etc. As has been adopted in other parish councils, West Parley parish council has decided to recognise the achievements and keenness of the youth of West Parley in various activities ranging from football to theatre.
If you have an interest and you think that a £500.00 grant would help you achieve your goal, please fill in the application form here
The successful candidate will receive an award worth up to a total of £500 to be given out over the course of the year. This money would be used to purchase items to enhance the young person's chances of achieving their full potential.
The closing date for applications is 1st September 2013, any application forms arriving after this date will be considered for the 2014 award.
21 May 2013 Heritage Open Day report
The recent Heritage Open Day at Parley Sports Club produced a lot of interesting discussion amongst residents who attended. Old maps, photos and books were on display to show residents the long history of the village and to prompt memories.
Mr and Mrs Kearey with their 5000 year old flint find
Residents brought in some interesting finds from their gardens that an expert Archaeologist helped to identify and explain what they were. The most important item was a late Neolithic 3 inch worked flint found 2 years ago in Birch Ave. This find was in perfect condition and was just as it had been made 5000 year ago. It was explained how the tool had been formed and that it would have been used as a general scraper and to cut animal skin and meat.
Residents offered a huge amount of information on what life was like in the village. Many were born or have lived in West Parley for 60 or more years. One resident brought in details of the 1939 sale of building plots for what was called the Pine Hills Estate, now Chine Walk, Dudsbury Road and part of Glenmoor Road, that was then no more than a dirt track across to Ferndown.
Details of some of the more interesting features were highlighted. The location of the small WW2 prisoner of war camp was confirmed as south of Crescent Walk. Some residents remembered it and the Italian prisoners held there and it was shown in a number of 1947 aerial photos on display. These photos also showed how little of the village had been developed at that time with the outline of the current main and most of the side roads clearly visible but with very little housing around.
Further work with County Archaeologists who will help check out local features on maps and records and agree the age of boundary features such as ditches, banks, stones and posts. Some current boundaries may seem fairly recent but many are likely to go back to very ancient times.
As the result of recent publicity about the heritage project, a local metal detecting group has come forward to help the research needed to get more information about the older parts of the village. Agreement from landowners is now needed for these land searches and fieldwork to go ahead.
16 May 2013 Ferndown Area 50 plus Forum
At the Barrington Centre, Ferndown on Wednesday 29th May, 10am, Pam Stone will be giving a talk on victim support. . .Ferndown Area 50 plus Forum document
