Parish Council Projects
The Parish Council receives Community Infrastructure Levy payments. This is known as CIL and is a levy imposed on construction projects by unitary councils. In our case, that is Dorset Council. We receive 15% of the levy that is raised. Dorset Council pays this money to us twice a year. It is to be used on projects that will be of benefit to the community. A previous large project that was funded by CIL was the complete refurbishment of the play park.
Recently, the PC has been involved in several different projects. Three of these projects are:
Community Orchard.
This was a project to plant a variety of fruit trees in Braeside Glade to form a small community orchard. The trees were 2x Victoria plums, 2x Bramley apples, 2x Conference pears, and 2x Summer cherries. The eight trees were planted in December 2024. During this current heatwave, we are watering the trees at least twice a week using a towed water bowser. It is hoped that when the trees are mature, they will provide fruit for wildlife and residents and provide an attractive setting within the glade. In addition to using CIL funds to pay for this project, the PC obtained a grant from Dorset Council Natural Landscape Team that paid for the trees and the watering.
Red K6 Telephone Box
The parish council has purchased an old-style K6 red telephone box. It will be positioned on a bespoke concrete base at the entrance to the Village Hall complex. The phone box has been fully and professionally restored using the correct fittings, fixtures, and colours as the originals. Once in place, we will install bookshelves in it and it will become a ‘community book swap’ where residents can take and leave books free of charge. Currently, there is a community book swap facility in the village hall. That will remain. We will also attach some flower planters to the outside of the phone box to add some colour in the summer.
It is anticipated that the phone box will become a village landmark. As in ‘if you are looking for the village hall, just go down Braeside Road and look for the red telephone box’.
New Bus Shelter
Members have been looking at how they could provide shelter for children catching the school bus in the mornings. There are two main locations where children catch the bus, either Woolsbridge Road or Horton Road. Unfortunately, there are not many locations that have a pavement of sufficient width to fit in a new shelter. It was decided to install a new bus shelter on Horton Road near Horton Rec. The new shelter has now been installed. It has built-in seats and protects occupants from inclement weather. The seat that used to be in that location will be relocated to Spinney Copse.
