Parish council receives presentation from police on the subject of trvellers (From Dorset Echo)

Parish council receives presentation from police on the subject of trvellers

2:26pm Thursday 23rd December 2010 in Community

Affpuddle

• AT DECEMBER'S parish council meeting, members received a very helpful presentation from the police on the issue of travellers, particularly attacks on the public by dogs kept by the travellers.

Members learnt that travellers were regarded as an ethnic group and case law and human rights legislation dictated how the relevant laws were interpreted.

The travellers currently in Purbeck came under the category of simple trespass.

The police would decide whether their behaviour was acceptable and would monitor local crime levels when travellers moved into an area.

The police also had to have regard to the schooling of the children of travellers and any pregnancies within the group.

Any dog Incidents would require formal complaints backed up by a willingness to prosecute by the victims.

With the recent Sares Wood encampment, there were only two reported attacks involving dogs with no formal complaint.

A consultation exercise had been carried out by British Telecom on closing the public telephone box in Briantspuddle.

Should BT decide to close this box then it can be bought and maintained by the public.

BT cannot sell these boxes to individuals but can sell them to the parish council.

The parish council has become increasingly concerned at the number of incidents within Sares Wood involving trial bikes and 4x4’s.

As well as noise issues these vehicles pose a very serious danger to anyone using the woods.

The Forestry Commission would be contacted to see if anything could be done to restrict this activity.

The recent period of snow would have reminded everyone that the county council do not spread grit or providing grit bins on unclassified roads

.

The parish council has told the county council about local farmers who have volunteered to store salt for use on local roads and to also have a snow plough attachment to fix to their tractor.

It is hoped that the county council will be able to get supplies of salt and the snow plough to these farmers in time for the next fall of snow.

As for grit bins, the parish council currently lack the resources to buy the sufficient number of bins to cover the parish but will keep this under review.

Full minutes of the meeting and agendas will be on the parish website.

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  Puddletown

  • BURNS Night supper tickets priced £12 are now available from Jim and Diana Wilson on 01305 848510 and Glad Antell on 848646.

  The supper will be held on Tuesday, January 25 in the village hall, and there will be entertainment by Rainbarrow.

  • ALISTAIR Chisholm, award winning town crier of Dorchesterter, is the special guest at an open bottled beer sampling evening organised by Calling All Men on Friday, January 21 at 7pm in the church room.

  All men are welcome, so come along and join in.

• BEAUTY and the Beast, performed by the Miracle Theatre Company, comes to St Mary's Middle School on Saturday, January 22 at 7.30pm.

  This performance blends pop nostalgia with up-to-the-minute technical wizardry inspired by 1960s science fiction movies and is packed with live music, comedy and space-age mahem.

  Tickets cost £8, £5 under 18s, £23 for a family of four (maximum of two adults).

  Contact Sue Chamberlain on 01305 261984