Bere Regis

  • BERE Regis Floral Group is so thrilled and proud of its president, Joan Herridge who, at the age of ninety-going-on-twenty-five, gained not only a first prize in the recent Dorset and Guernsey Area of NAFAS area show held at the Springfield Country Hotel at Wareham, but also won the cup for the best use of garden plant material.

The club has an open demonstration on Tuesday, November 9 at 2pm at Tarrant Keynston village hall.

National demonstrator Michael Bowyer of television fame will present Flowers for Christmas.

Everyone is welcome.

Tickets cost £10.

Telephone Jean Freak on 01258 488636.

  • READY, steady go green for Pudsey at the Pop in Place on Friday, November 19 from 10am until noon.

Come along to the Drax hall and help to raise money for Children in Need.

Affpuddle

  • BENJAMIN'S BOOK is the title of the Christmas show to be held in Briantspuddle village hall on Saturday, November 27 at 7.30pm.

Tim Laycock and Colin Thompson invites the audience to join them for a feast of storytelling, folksongs, puppetry and local history.

The show will be followed by supper in the social club.

Telephone Philippa Thorniley on 01929 471497 for tickets costing £10 to include supper.

  • A VACANCY currently exists for a parish councillor and is open to any parish resident who is over the age of 18.

The official notice will be issued after the parish council meeting of November 10.

As always parish council meetings are open to the public but if you would like to be further involved in helping the local community then please come along.

If anyone is interested in being a member of the parish council, please contact Anthony Braine, the clerk, on 07887 594072 or at anthony@abraine.wanadoo.co.uk for further information.

As a result of members requests the parish council received a helpful presentation from Alan Davies, development control manager for Purbeck district council on listed buildings.

The county councillor, Mrs Alex Brenton, gave a helpful insight into the process the Highways Authority (Dorset County Council) uses to determine the need for a speed limit on any stretch of road within its control.

This is essentially all public roads in the county with the exception of major trunk routes which are controlled by the highways agency.

A speed limit will only be considered where average recorded speeds, accident history and police opinion indicates that any speed limit is likely to work.

With accident history, accidents will not be included which were the result of driver error.

At an average cost to the Highways Authority of £60,000 per speed limit the authority want to ensure that any speed limit implemented will be effective.

Some parish council members had attended the meeting of Purbeck district’s full council that considered the core strategy.

This will determine the development strategy for the district up to 2026.

One recommendation within the draft core strategy is to remove the development boundary of many villages, including Briantspuddle.

This would prevent the building of any new housing within the village.

Members were concerned that such a move would mean that the village could stagnate.

No new homes would mean that new people could not move into an area and this could prevent re-generation.

The limited availability of existing housing would just continue to push up prices and exclude many from affording to live in the village, including children who grow up in the area.

Following representations from the chair of the parish council and others Purbeck officers will be reconsidering this recommendation.

The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on Wednesday, November 10 at 7pm.