West Parley Parish Council
Did you know that you can report parking issues to Dorset Council online?
Follow the link Parking problems - Dorset Council and 'start now'. Choose the location on the map and then select 'Highway Obstruction' and 'obstruction in the road (vehicle)'. Complete the rest of the online form and click submit. Issues will then be investigated.
The refurbishment is well underway, and we hope you are enjoying seeing the updates on progress so far. This is a substantial project for a parish council to undertake, and we wanted to share with you how it is being funded. Behind the scenes, West Parley Parish Council has worked hard on behalf of residents to develop the project without burdening the parish with financial borrowing.
We began our financial planning for the refurbishment by looking at funding received to support infrastructure around new housing developments. Since April 2018, local town and parish councils receive a proportion of the Community Infrastructure Levies (CIL) which are raised by Dorset Council through planning developments of more than 9 dwellings. We have allocated West Parley's share of these funds, £131,000, to the Community Hub project, which will benefit local people.
Once we knew the development of the land east of New Road was certain to proceed, we successfully negotiated the inclusion of Section 106 monies within the planning application at a late stage in the process. The total for this was £130,000. Originally, we were due to receive payment once 50% of each of the two phases of the development were occupied, which may be some years in the future and would have delayed the refurbishment. Therefore, we are very pleased that both Dorset Council and Bellway Homes looked favourably on our request to forward fund the full £130,000 to support the Community Hub project now.
Finally, around £100,000 of funding has been raised through successful grant applications to Dorset Council and The Veolia Environmental Trust, and we are grateful for a donation of £30,000 towards the installation of solar panels, offered by Eco Sustainable Solutions Ltd. This renewable energy source should reduce the running costs of the building.
We are proud of the hard work and dedication that has helped bring our vision for West Parley Community Hub to life, and would like to offer our sincere thanks to all our funding partners for their support with this project. We continue to challenge ourselves to source additional funding streams to ensure the future sustainability of the Community Hub.
We are excited to launch this fantastic facility for residents, clubs and local businesses very soon, and look forward to offering a warm welcome to all at the official opening ceremony.
The Parish Council and your Dorset councillor (cllr Andrew Parry), have continued to push for yellow box junctions at both the main crossroads and the junction on Christchurch Road with Elizabeth Way. We have received the following update from Dorset Council, on imminent adjustments to the light sequencing.
Dorset Council are continuing to modify the way the signals operate to ensure they are at their optimum. The SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) part of the signal system only came online on 18 August 2025, which should improve the situation at busy times, but may need fine tuning. If they don't see an improvement with stacking and driver behaviour, the final option would be to put in the yellow box markings.
The school holidays are now at an end and traffic volumes are reverting to normal, so we would welcome your feedback over the coming weeks.
Have you visited the lovely All Saints Church in West Parley? Why not come along on Saturday 13th September to visit this beautiful church on the banks of the river Stour? Refreshments are being served between 10am and 1pm, parking on Church Lane, not to be missed!
We are proud to have been able to offer Parley Pre-School a home, within the West Parley Community Hub, for the past two years. They have worked hard to secure grant funding from Dorset Council's Expansion Plan and the Talbot Trust. Alongside the major refurbishment by West Parley Parish Council, the pre-school are using their funding to make significant improvements & also repair areas that have been previously damaged by water leaking through the roof and to upgrade the electrics in their part of the building. These changes will hugely benefit the children who attend the Pre-school; whilst keeping the Charity's purpose of offering high quality early years education at an affordable price. These improvements will mean that the pre-school will be able to offer additional places to local families; who will benefit from the increase in spaces for 30 hours funded for low income, working parents and 15 funded hours for all 3-4 year olds. This is a huge benefit to parents in the local community.
This consultation document sets out opportunities for meeting the development needs of the Dorset Council area. It will help form the Dorset Council Local Plan which will be used when making planning decisions in Dorset. The Local Plan will be Dorset Council’s response to the Government’s commitment to addressing the shortage of housing, to enable economic growth and deliver essential infrastructure to enable this growth. It will also set out how planning decisions will seek to conserve and enhance the environment, including measures to address climate change. Dorset Council are seeking feedback on the identified opportunities to help them prepare for the next round of the local plan production.
Alongside the Dorset Council Local Plan Options Consultation 2025 and its Appendices A-D (Appendix A – Opportunity Sites for Housing; Appendix B – Opportunity Sites for Employment; Appendix C – Opportunity Sites for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople; and Appendix D – Opportunity areas for renewable energy) the Council has published a Habitats Regulation Assessment, a Sustainability Appraisal and a number of background papers and evidence reports.
These documents can be found online and at County Hall, Dorchester during normal opening hours. The options consultation document (though not the appendices) will also be available in Dorset libraries.
The consultation document and opportunity sites can be viewed on the Dorset Council online consultation portal, where you can also make your comments. Their preferred method is for you to provide a response through the online survey. This will significantly speed up the analysis of comments. If you’re not able to submit your response online you can respond in writing using the council’s response form, including your name and address. They are not able to accept anonymous responses.
Dorset Council is responsible for kerbside waste disposal. You can find out collection dates, report a missed collection, order additional bins and much more. The most frequently used links are:
Dorset Council are also responsible for Household Recycling Centres
Please find this poster which illustrates your responsibilities should you hire a third party to undertake waste removal on your behalf.
A team of the village's wonderful volunteers repaired the boardwalk at the far boundary of Parley Wood. Our woodland is a beautiful asset within the village and is great for shady walks on hot summer days. The woodland is protected by Natural England, and has a Dorset Council Tree Protection Order, and we are encouraged to keep it gently managed and natural. The boardwalk connects Parley Wood to Parley Common, so walkers can easily avoid the busy roads when taking a morning stroll. Parley Common does require dogs to be kept on leads during set periods of bird nesting.
The Volunteers do lots of activities within the village and if you have a spare 2 hours per week and would like to get involved, pop your name in the comments and we'll put you in touch with the WPRA Volunteers.
DORSET COUNCIL has issued a Notice under Section 14 [2] of the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 as amended. All vehicles, cyclists and horse riders will be prohibited from proceeding along Dudsbury Road, West Parley between Linden Road and 83 Dudsbury Road, a distance of approximately 30 metres. The Notice is needed in order to comply with health and safety regulations which require the provision of safe working areas and to minimise likelihood of danger to highway users. It came in to operation with immediate effect and can remain in force for up to 21 days, however it is anticipated that the works will be completed by 25th July 2025.
This is to enable South West Water safe access to carry out emergency works to repair burst communications pipe.
For more details please see this Dudsbury Road closure notice.
West Parley Parish Council is delighted to announce that works on the West Parley Community Hub commence on the 23rd June.
After years of neglect, the Parish Council has secured the funding for a complete, redevelopment and refurbishment of the entire building, at no additional cost to residents of West Parley.
The Parish Council understands the importance of a community provision, and by undertaking this project it will protect this faciltiy for many years to come, for all ages, both socially and phyiscally.
In a time when so many community facilities are closing or under pressure, it has been a fantastic effort by all concerned for the works to begin.
The Parish Council want to provide a fantastic facility for all its current users, and we look forwards to welcoming new user groups to the Community Hub.
The Parish Council would like to thank everyone that has helped get us to this point, especially to Westmade Construction, Spase architects, Veolia Environmental Trust and ECO Sustainable Solutions.
We are hopeful that the project will be completed by early October 2025, and we will keep you updated on the progress of the project.
It is with regret that Dorset Council have informed us, that due to a vehicle breakdown today, they have suffered a service disruption on todays recycling collections, in West Parley.
The roads affected are:
Elizabeth Way
Church Lane
Clarence Place
Kensington Drive
Christchurch Road
New Road
Dudsbury Gardens
Longfield Drive
Ridgeway
Barrack Road.
A plan is in place to have these roads collected first thing tomorrow morning.
Dorset Council apologises for the inconvenience caused, this is just down to a vehicle breakdown.
It's the annual Summer Fair at the MS Centre Dorset, on Saturday 12th July, between 11am and 2.30pm.
Lots of games, stalls, refreshments, something for everyone, only £1 entrance.
Please support this charity event, which supports one of only 3 centres nationwide.
We have been have notified by South West Water of urgent 2-way signals on Christchurch Road West Parley, to repair a com-pipe leak.
The works are expected to be completed by 09-06-2025.
For more information or any access concerns please contact - 01726224400.
The Parish Council has concluded the tendering process on the Community Hub to remove the first floor items and undertake a total roof replacement. After undertaking due diligence, the preferred contractor has been appointed. During the construction works the building will not be accessible to any user groups and alternative arrangements for toilets, refreshments and a 'room' are being arranged. The works are anticipated to start at the end of June to mid October. The scaffolding around the building, equipment and workforce will mean the availability of car parking will be reduced but much of the parking will be available as usual.
As part of the Land East of New Road development, a section 106 agreement for a community donation up to the value of £130,000 specifically for works on the Community Hub, was agreed. However, the payment triggers are in 2 phases once both were half occupied; which could be some years in the future. Following negotiations with Dorset Council and Bellway Homes, both parties have agreed to our request to forward fund the monies for the works this summer. This is a significant figure but falls far short of the total project cost. Twice a year, Councils receive a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payment from Dorset Council which has been generated from property development within the parish. In recent years, these payments have been larger than normal, mainly due to the construction of both the Care Home & Lidl on Christchurch Road. As their name suggests, these must be used for infrastructure within the parish and council has set these aside towards the hub.
The Parish Council was keen not to burden the parish with a loan to undertake the works. But through careful management and delivery of functions, we have managed to keep our element of council tax low for residents. For example, a 'Band D' property in West Parley contributes just £50.81 towards the parish council within their Council tax payment to Dorset Council, compared to £123.75 in Ferndown or £71.03 in West Moors.
We are keen to pursue funding opportunities, which is evidenced by the outside gym only costing the parish council £1000 and the new play equipment from a grant of £58,000. In addition to the statutory reserves, councils can build earmarked funds for specific projects. Since 2011 we have increased total reserves from £40,000 to a little under £300,000. More recently, included in this is funding from the Dorset Council Capital Leverage Fund, receiving payments of £10,000 in round 4 and £12,500 in round 5. In June, we will hear the outcome of a funding application for £75,000 and are currently preparing 2 additional applications for up to £40,000. By seeking funding for the community building, it allows us to liberate funds for other projects within the parish without increasing the precept for residents.
In addition to all of this, we are thrilled that local businessman, Justin Dampney, has offered a donation of £25,000 to the community hub project to help provide environmental solutions for heating and air conditioning. This will likely be in the form of solar panels and will form part of the larger project. If any other local businesses would like to help funding our project, please do get in touch.
We can't wait to have the building refurbished and back open for residents and users to enjoy.
Bournemouth 7s 2025 festival will take place from Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th May. Each year they work hard to ensure they have as little impact on the local community as possible, however should you wish to contact the festival over the bank holiday weekend, they have detailed various ways in which you can do so below.
B7s Control Room Email
Control Room Direct Line - 01202 545 631
As per last year, they also have the community response form, which is the quickest and most effective way to reach the team if you have any concerns.
Please see the Linden Road closure notification for more information.
Please see the road works notification for Ferndown predominantly, but it also includes Glenmoor Road, between the 5th May and 9th June (anticipated).
It is with great sadness that we, with the family's permission, inform residents that Rear-Admiral Richard Heaslip, Dick to his friends, sadly passed away last month at the grand age of 92.
Dick was a founder member of the West Parley Residents' Association (WPRA) which was set up to defend the village's greenspace, enhance the parish for residents and honour West Parley's heritage. In 2011, the Parish Council unusually experienced an election seeing all elected members of the Parish Council coming from the WPRA members as they wanted to be able to make even more of a difference in the village. Dick was chairman of the Parish Council for a number of years and whilst he was never shy to speak out on important matters, councillors past and present remember him fondly. Rest in Peace Sir.
This is the Dick which we know but I attach a submariners group's tribute to explain his illustrious Royal Navy career.
Rear Admiral Richard George Heaslip CB.
Rear Admiral Heaslip joined the Royal Navy in 1950 and served until 1987. He served in HMS BERMUDA, HMS SENTINEL (4th Hand), HMS TABARD, HMS SPRINGER, HMS AMBUSH, COQC No, 44 Teacher Commander B Hutching, HMS SEA DEVIL (CO), HMS DREADNOUGHT, HMS DOLPHIN, HMS COURAGEOUS, HMS CONQUEROR (CO), Director of Naval Operational Requirements, HMS DRAKE (SM2), Director of Naval Warfare, NATO Appointment, HMS SAKER, Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Commitments, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Flag Officer Submarines & SUBELANT.
He was a Member of the Friends of the Submarine Museum, a previous member of the Submarine Association, and, Winner of the Graham Naval History Prize for 1948.
A Memorial Service will take place on 19th July at 11am at All Saints Church, 54 Church Lane, West Parley, Ferndown BH22 8TS. Everyone is very welcome to come along to the Memorial Service, and there will be a buffet lunch afterwards at 73 Bradpole Road, Bournemouth, BH8 9NY, to which everyone is extremely welcome.
Parish Meeting, 1st May 2025 at 7pm at the West Parley Community Hub. Please come along and talk about any West Parley related topics.
We looking forward to you joining us.
Please be advised that on the above morning, a contractor will be applying a herbicide treatment to the playing fields as part of the annual grounds maintenance. The area should be avoided during the application and 1 hour thereafter to allow the treatment to dry.
During this time, residents are encouraged to use the recreation ground or woodland.
Please see this Dorset Council poster for anyone considering downsizing their social housing needs.