West Parley Parish Council
Every year Electoral Registration must undertake an annual canvass, and Electoral Registration canvassers are wanted to cover the whole of Christchurch Borough and East Dorset District.
It is with great sadness that the Parish Council shares the news that District and County Councillor John Wilson, died earlier this week. John was a stalwart of our Community and his dedication to duty was unparalleled.
He will be greatly missed and our thoughts are wife his wife and family, at this very sad time.
Please see the Daily Echo article
We've just received the following email .... "I wish to compliment the 4 gentlemen that were busy cutting back the grass overgrowth and restoring our Fitzpain pavement to us. Well done." If you would be interested in joining the volunteers in keeping West Parley neat and tidy, please do get in touch.
Please be advised that waste collections days may change in West Parley from 1st July 2016. Please keep a look out for a letter in the post. More information can be found on the Dorset for You website and entering your post code in the "localised to ..." box on the right hand side of the home page.
We are now entering the time of year when Rogue Traders & Doorstep Crime is on the increase. We have already had two recent victims of distraction burglary in East Dorset.
This crime type is under reported- victims sometimes don't realise and can also be too embarrassed to contact the authorities. Please don't hesitate to report these incidents, however small. If you know of a friend, neighbour or relative that has been duped in this way- tell us and we will deal robustly.
A major £3.3million scheme to improve a busy junction near Bournemouth Airport has been put on hold. Dorset County Council and the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership confirmed work at Chapel Gate has been postponed to allow the plans to be developed further. A spokesperson for Dorset County Council said: "The current Chapel Gate scheme is on hold. Dorset County Council is working with the Dorset LEP on further assessment work to improve the junctions along the B3073 to ensure the most cost effective delivery of the transport schemes within the BIG programme."
LEP director, Lorna Carter said they wanted to look at the B3073 in its entirety, from Longham mini roundabouts to Blackwater. "It's really just a sense check before we fully commit to a scheme. The work on the A338 has been fantastic and we want time to take a proper look at what's next. We're trying to be responsive and see what the public really want."
She said the project had not been abolished and could be used once the reassessment had been completed. "Over the next couple of months it will be much clearer. We're looking at whether there is a different order we can do things in and if it would be better to do something different."
After 6 months of hard work over the Winter by West Parley volunteers, residents of West Parley are seeing the benefits of removing dense undergrowth from Parley Wood. A huge amount of invasive holly has been cleared along with small birch and hazel trees to allow more light into the Wood. This has encouraged flora and fauna to inhabit the Wood that could not survive previously. These improvements are being monitored by local conservationists who have welcomed the considerable changes being seen.
Public access has also been improved. For many years the ancient wood has suffered from boggy, indistinct and overgrown pathways. Parish volunteers have widened and defined pathways, removed trip hazards and installed boardwalks where needed.
Parley Wood is the last large areas of natural woodland in West Parley and is shown on maps hundreds of years old. The wood was used as a managed resource, supplying oak timbers for ships and buildings and hazel coppiced to provide material for local buildings and fencing.
This tradition for the reuse of natural materials continues as some of the cut trees have been used to create a new woodland play area for very young children at the West Parley Recreation Ground.
The clearance project started some 5 years ago with work being done each Winter under an agreed work schedule. It has been entered for a Peoples Project Award as part of the Dorset Best Kept Village competition.
The informal play area, partly made from recycled material from Parley Wood, is well underway for little people to enjoy. Plus, the Children's Play Area has 2 new residents for the younger visitors to the park!
The Parish Council is pleased to announce that Jonathan Heath was elected as the new Chairman at the Annual Parish meeting on May 18th. We wish him all the best in his new role.