• THE first meeting of the Broadmayne History Group, which explored the history of Broadmayne, was very well attended and everyone enjoyed Dr Mark Forrest’s talk on the archives relating to the village.

It is obvious that Broadmayne has a wealth of hidden history waiting to be discovered.

The second meeting of the series will be held in the village hall on Thursday, February 5 at 7.30pm.

Slides will be shown, relating to the changes of the village over the years and subjects of particular interest will be identified for future meetings.

For further information, contact June Salt on 01305 852480.

  • THE parish council has been notified by West Dorset District Council that planning approval has been granted for various alterations/extensions at 5 Main Street, 8 Martel Close and 22 Chalky Road together with the pruning of one hornbeam at 21 Old Brickfields.

The parish council bulletin, dated January 2009, has been circulated throughout the village.

If you have not received a copy please contact the clerk, Mrs S Blake.

With regard to Old Brickfields Open Space, the chairman, vice chairman and clerk had met with a representative from Persimmon and its contractor in early December.

Further work was identified and it has been suggested that the parish council takes over ownership of this area but to date no proposals on this had been received from Persimmon.

The parish council has consistently resisted taking on the ownership and will not consider doing so without consultation with parishioners.

New tenants are being sought for 1 Crosstrees Close when the current tenancy ends at the end of January.

The council’s solicitor has advised that the council has a further year’s lease with the current tenants, which allows for a month’s notice on either side.

A detailed feedback has been received from the judges of the Calor Village of the Year 2008 under the four categories of People: Business: Environment and Communications.

Included in the feedback is the statement “Broadmayne is a lovely village, and clearly there is a shared awareness of the need to take care of the local environment.”

Although the annual parish meeting is not until Monday, May 18 in the Village Hall at 7.30pm, the parish council is already considering its format and possible speaker or speakers.

The current thinking is that you might like to know more about waste – what you can do and where it goes.

If you have any ideas, please contact any of the councillors or the clerk.

Two members of the public were present during the democratic period, in addition to County Councillor Crowhurst and District Councillor Alan Thacker.

Members of the parish are always welcome to attend and speak at council meetings by arrangement with the chairman.

The next meeting of the council is on Monday, 2 February 2009 at 7.30pm in the hall at the back of the methodist church Website: www.broadmayne.org. Clerk: Mrs S Blake, 19 Shaston Crescent, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 2EB 01305 263759.