Many thanks to the Parley residents who kindly donated items to the various collection points for The Trussell Trust food bank, which is run locally by St Andrews Church, Kinson. In our first month we were able to contribute over seventy items, for which they were very grateful.The food collected by the Trussell Trust food banks, (St Andrews is just one of many throughout the country) is only given to people and families who find themselves in desperate need.
The Trust will generally give food just once to people in crisis, and at the time offer guidance, and advice on where to find assistance. Help is available to anyone in any area.
So, if you have an item in your food cupboard which has been there for ever, (has got welded to the shelf) or if you feel you could add a small item to your weekly shop, we would love to see it in one of our collection bins,which can be found at Tesco, Parley Cross, Parley Pharmacy, Parley Vets, Parley Country Club and The Owls Nest.
If you have any questions regarding the food bank, please feel free to telephone Cllr: Malcolm Plascott, on 01202 950521
8 Apr 2015 Have your say in West Parley
The Annual Parish Meeting in West Parley is to be held on 24th April at the Memorial Hall in Christchurch Road. It is a chance for residents to get up to date with what is happening locally and have a say on what they wish to see happen.
The meeting starts at 7.30pm but doors open at 7pm for tea and coffee and a chance for residents to see a range of Parish Council and Parley Country Club displays showing what has happened in the last year and their plans for the future.
7 Apr 2015 Weekend lane restrictions on A338
Drivers and visitors to Bournemouth and Christchurch are being advised of lane restrictions on the A338 Bournemouth Spur Road.
Three weekends of 24-hour lane closures - between Ashley Heath and Blackwater - are planned as part of the preparation work for the A338 major maintenance scheme in September.
Dorset County Council will be excavating areas of current road material, which will be tested to determine what mix of material is recycled to rebuild the road.
Lane closures will start at 8pm Friday - stay in place all day Saturday and all day Sunday - and reopen by 6am Monday morning from Friday 24 April to Monday 27 April, and from Friday 15 May to Monday 18 May.
A reserve date has also been scheduled from Friday 5 June to Monday 8 June, in case of bad weather or further work needed.
Work will take place on one carriageway at a time, with either the northbound or southbound direction of travel affected.
On each weekend closure, up to two 75m strips of road will be excavated and it will be:
Taken off-site for the material to be tested to understand how the road is made up
Recycled, with new material added such as binders and aggregates
Laid back into the excavated areas
Tested to confirm the design and materials are performing as predicted, and monitored over the next few months
Andrew Martin, Head of Highways, said: "These trials are extremely important as they will allow us to test the quality and quantity of the existing materials and finalise the design and recycling proposals.
"Although there is just as much traffic on the Spur Road at the weekend as there is during the week, there are fewer peaks at the weekend and people may have more flexibility in the time their journey can take.
"Where possible, people should allow extra time for their journey or use an alternative route."
19 Mar 2015 Flowers at Parley Cross looking good again
New road is open again and back to normal and I am sure all our regular commuters are enjoying the wonderful bright display of flowers in the troughs on the railings at Parley Cross traffic lights. In our endeavour to recycle whenever possible, the tete a tete daffodils have now been used in the troughs for at least three years and the Polyanthus from last winter cosseted throughout the summer by volunteers and replanted again to make this wonderful display to bring a bit of colour and cheer to these drab weather.
18 Mar 2015 New Road opening early
The A347, New Road, in West Parley has been closed since the beginning of March for Dorset County Council to repair the road.
The road will reopen to cars, vans and buses on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the evening rush hour. HGVs will continue to be diverted until 3 July due to narrow lanes on Ensbury Bridge, which is being repaired and repainted.
The original timetable for the road closure was three weeks.
Cllr John Wilson, local councillor and Chairman of the county council, said:
"I am delighted that we have been able to finish this work ahead of schedule this is partly due to the weather and the determination of our staff.
"I'd like to express my gratitude local residents and businesses for their patience and their forbearance during this time."
The repair was needed because tests showed that the structure of the road was severely damaged. The county council employed specialists, Stabilised Pavements Ltd, who recycled material in situ and added bulking and binding elements to give the road a new lease of life.
11 Mar 2015 West Parley in Bloom 2015
This year West Parley is entering the South and South East in Bloom in the large village category as we had previously been entered in the wrong class of small town. We are also entering "Its Your Neighbourhood" which is a category highlighting the work that volunteers do, as West Parley has a fantastic group of volunteers who should be recognised.
11 Mar 2015 The Big Litter Pick
They are at it again! The West Parley Volunteers take advantage of the closure of New Road to get at some hard to reach litter on the Big Litter Pick
Volunteers make a difference! Cllr Stuart Couper, Cllr Diana Penwill, John Dinsdale, Andy Steele, Terry Scott
West Parley volunteers decided having the road closed by the bridge the opportunity could not be missed to be able to gather the litter all along the edge of the fields where they cannot normally get. Working for about 2 hours the group collected 18 sacks of rubbish. The pictures show they also did some cutting back of overhanging branches, a very good job completed.
Peter Smith and Stuart Wood cutting back along New Road
Fancy having some fun while helping the community? The West Parley Volunteers are always looking for new recruits to join our small team. We also need drivers for our excellent Volunteer Drivers Scheme which plays a vital part in getting people out and about who might not otherwise be able to. . find out about volunteering. Contact Pat Couper, 01202 573833 or Richard Heaslip, 01202 594982. Volunteer Drivers - Kate Ward, 01202 577319.
2 Mar 2015 West Parley food bank
The Trussell Trust is a nationwide charity and one aspect of their work is combatting poverty in the UK. In 2013-14, their foodbanks fed 913,138 people nationwide. Of those helped, 330,205 were children. We are pleased to inform you that a number of collection points have been introduced in West Parley. All donations will be taken to the local food bank at St Andrews Church, Kinson, which gave food to approximately 1600 people last year in the local area . This is a short term assistance to people who find themselves suddenly out of work, single parents or people in financial distress. Once authorised, they receive food for just 3 days and the relevant agencies are brought in to help support a longer term solution, with only a maximum of 2 further visits to the food banks. One volunteer
explained that the recipients "are only a payday away from poverty".
Collection points will be at both the Tesco Stores at Parley Cross and Glenmoor Road, Parley Cross Pharmacy, The Owls Nest Restaurant, The Parley Country Club and parley Cross Veterinary Centre (animal food only). There is a poster at each collection point to explain how the food banks work, and who is entitled to use them.
Donations can include powdered milk, sugar, soup, pasta sauces, all tinned food, cereals, tea bags, instant mash potato, rice, pasta, jam, biscuits, snack bars etc. In fact, any non perishable foods, including dog or cat food for pets, as long as they are within use by date. Along with toiletries such as toothpaste or shower gel.
Your support would be welcomed.
2 Mar 2015 New Road - it starts today!
The Roadworks started today and without doubt will disrupt many drivers' journeys. However, please be patient and show consideration to other road users.
The Businesses are open as usual at Parley Cross, so please support them. To aid customers, it has been agreed that customers to the shops will have additional parking capacity on the 150m of the main road between Parley Cross junction and the closure point at the start of the road works.
