Moreton

THE AGM of the village hall committee takes place on Tuesday, April 22 at 7.30pm in Moreton Village Hall.

A year ago the hall faced the real prospect of closing when several long standing members of the committee retired.

In spite of giving a long period of notice, nobody came forward until the eleventh hour.

Now, 12 months down the line it is a chance to see how things are going and an open invitation is extended to village residents and users of the hall.

The hall is also looking to dispose of its piano, which is a Haywood & Sons upright in good condition and yours for a donation towards the maintenance of the hall.

Catherine on 01929 462475 will be able to give you more details.

  • REDECORATION of the interior of St Nicholas Church Moreton is scheduled to be undertaken during April and hopefully will be completed by the time of the flower festival, which takes place over the spring bank holiday weekend.

Everything is being done to minimise the inconvenience to the many visitors to the church who come to this delightful Georgian church with its world famous clear engraved glass windows by Laurence Whistler.

Because of the importance of the building and its treasures' the decoration has to be carried out very sensitively and in accordance with the many rules and regulations concerning the maintenance of our historic churches.

Consequently the costs are much higher than other public buildings. Hopefully the prospect of seeing the church beautifully restored will entice many visitors to the flower festival and in readiness for this Carol Gibbens is urgently recruiting volunteers for a variety of roles for the weekend of May 24-26.

Musicians to play or sing in the church, cakes and savouries for the refreshment stall, small gifts, sweets, cans soaps etc. for the tombola.

Plants of all types for the plant stall and children to run the children's stall. I know Carol would welcome a call from those willing to help or wanting to know more on 01929 462468.

Crossways

THE recent meeting of the parish council had a varied and wide agenda which provoked a lot of debate and public interest.

Among the decisions made was a donation to the Parish Magazine, which carries monthly reports on the council.

As reported in the Echo agreement was given to make a planning application to move the former Methodist Chapel from its current location to be relocated on the Scout camping ground.

The installation of two new windows to the sports pavilion had been kindly sponsored by G Crook & Sons.

The council voted against the replacement of the outside lights in view of the costs involved and the anticipated benefits to the council's coffers.

Some councillors are turning into historical detectives in response to a challenge from some residents.

Through the centre of the village is a rough track' which predates the developments and was originally a country lane.

At one stage the Methodist Chapel stood on the corner of this lane at a spot nicknamed Gospel Corner'.

It is now part of Combe Way which is divided into 'new' and 'old' sections. This can cause confusion with regard to postal deliveries but previous attempts to renumber the houses in consultation with the resident were abandoned as it is a complicated process.

A small section of track links Binghams Road and Mount Skippet Way, both built in the 1970s together with Spitfire Close and Crossways Court which are adjacent to the lane.

A resident has complained about how the puddles create a flood across this track in wet weather and inconveniences those who wish to use it especially pushchair and wheelchair users.

Upon investigation, the Council has had difficulty in identifying who actually owns the land. This is where the amateur sleuths come in and are looking into the history of the village to see if an answer can be found. Unless you know something and can help the sleuths?

Councillors also held an informative and interesting meeting with the top brass' from West Dorset District Council on the topic of planning.

During the past 30 years Crossways has grown as the result of various building schemes. The most recent is the Woodsford Fields development of 140 houses which also saw a very large contribution towards the provision of our new first school as well as other items within the village.

For those new to council work it also gave an insight into the key planning strategies which are being driven from a national level and ultimately will have a great impact on any future building in Crossways.

Following a detailed presentation there was an opportunity for in depth questions which all found useful.

It gave an insight into the possible response to future medium to large applications for building and the impact on our infrastructure and facilities. With that in mind the council has a guest speaker at the annual parish meeting, which will take place on Thursday, April 24 at 7pm in Crossways Village Hall.

Rob Westrell is coming to talk about the future of quarrying on the Bardon Aggregate sites and plans for the land after the operations finish. All residents of Crossways are most welcome to attend and listen.

  • POLICE Support Officer Vickie Hedges has been in contact following the list of Crossways youngsters who have been recognised for outstanding work to improve the quality of life in the village.

Apologies go to Elliot Rice, whose name appears on the 'roll of honour' and was left out from the previous report.