What facilities would we like?

SD has suggested this excellent topic. I can't actually think of anything sensible apart from a gym and changing rooms to go with the MUGA. It will be very interesting to hear what you all have to say.

Planning

Sorry to have taken so long starting this topic. It is probably the most contentious issue at parish level and I know that passions are raised by but do resist making libellous comments. Anything that accuses an identifiable person of wrongdoing is libel. So "we all know the recent applicant in FV/MN has friends in high places" is superficially vague but both identity and wrongdoing are stated. I understand that you cannot libel councils.

I don't think that corruption is a problem but there is some weakness in the planning office over retrospective applications and some inconsistencies between small applications and large. I have kept an eye on the relative success of FV and MN applications. Quite a few FV have been refused but none of these refusals seem particularily suspicious. I wonder which "council" is referred to in the posts, is it MN Parish Council, West Dorset District Council or FV Parish Meeting (not a actually a council at all)?

Calor gas tanks at Harvey's Close

Developers at Harvey’s Close have applied for retrospective planning on these three (you can only see the covers of two in the picture) underground Calor gas tanks and their control box. They have been situated in the middle of the area which was to be given to the village as a public space as part of the planning arrangement (this sort of thing is usual with large developments, sometimes parishes receive money). It completely ruins the area as a public space and is an open invitation to vandalism. The developers are clearly taking the Mickey.

Policing issues

How about a topic on policing,or the seemingly lack of it.....

By Anonymous, at Thursday, 20 April, 2006

We could do with better security at the school it is so easy for anybody to get into the playground which usually has people urinating in the wooded part of the grounds,and alot of noise late at night from other parts.The litter is awful by the step's,there should be more bin's around the village in general.P

By Anonymous, at Friday, 21 April, 2006

Skate Park

Does anybody know what is happening about the skate park or the bike track and come to think of it the shelter?The shelter i hope will be put in MN maybe in church road,as there is enough in FV,as this was suggested by a MN resident it would make sense....

By Anonymous, at Sunday, 23 April, 2006

I've heard that the skate park is no more as there are not enough volunteers to run it and the insurance is too high. The BMX track is also on hold at the moment too. It may be resurrected if the sports court gets the go ahead. Without wishing to put a dampers on anything, if the skate park is no longer used and the BMX track hasn't begun, oh and the shelter appears to have been forgotten, how long before we have a multi purpose sports pitch no longer in use?

By Anonymous, at Saturday, 29 April, 2006

The Visitor's Car Park at White Horse Mews

The Parish Council has been trying to get the White Horse Mews car park extended for years now. WDDC has not been very helpful and the matter has dragged on and on. It was raised at the public meeting held in March(?) with Oliver Letwin.

Among the many efforts to get the project moving a petition was gathered at the Newsagent's. If I remember correctly, two or three hundred signatures were gathered supporting the removal of the trees and shrubs to allow for an extra six spaces.

The matter first came up in the summer of 2003 when someone pointed out that the car park was sometimes full. I remember that during that summer, sometimes, it was. Perhaps somebody had lots of visitors that year. Since then a full car park has been a rare occurence despite repeated protestations by just about everyone to the contrary. When the petition was being gathered I did a little survey over a three week period actually counting the number of spaces - yes I know I should get out more. On average there were eight free spaces, there were often eleven or more and on not one of the sixty visits I made was it full. I even did a graph and got a very nice distribution curve.

Over the past three years (nearly) I have kept an eye on the car park usage and have probably visited it three or four hundred times at all hours and days. Mostly there are five to ten free spaces and on only three occasions was it full. Parking always brings out passions in people and I wonder if passion rather than reason is why a problem is being seen where none exists.

New topics

I am busy collating the suggestions for new topics and we should have four or five new threads by tommorrow. Sorry to take so long.
A couple of people have joined as members and I encourage you all to do the same. This will enable you to start topics on your own. It is very easy - just email me on john@hook5.com.

A Group Parish Council for MN & FV

I have just published a new version of "A Tale of Two Villages" - an article arguing for the formation of a Group Parish Council for our two Parishes. The original was posted two years ago and caused a bit of a stir. This latest one expands on its predecessor by criticising parish meetings in general.

Limits

When I got home at 9:45pm last night and found my inbox full I knew there had been an altercation on the Blog. I have deleted all the entries from and about people dissatisfied with the service they receive from some of our shops. I do not think any were libellous or even particularly unpleasant and they would no doubt pass as "fair comment" (this is actually a technical term meaning someone's opinion) , but whilst those who posted negative comments were anonymous and will not have to face those who might have been offended, I am not and will. For my part I have never had any problem with anyone in any Maiden Newton shop in the last 25 years.

I cannot delete individual comments so I have deleted everything and reposted the other threads as new topics.

It is possible to make this a moderated blog where every comment would have to be passed by me but I have avoided this as I believe it would spoil the flow of ideas. I do not wish to sound like a school teacher but it is not difficult to present a powerful argument whilst being scrupulously polite. I have managed to upset lots of people by being polite! It's a gift.

Talking of anonymity I have thought a great deal about the suggestion that our parish, district and county councillors should become involved in the Blog. It is just my opinion of course but I think that the open rough and tumble of a public blog is not the sort of thing that councillors should get involved in. They have an official position and need to address the concerns of their electorate in a more formal manner than the blog would allow. Also I have noticed that many of the concerns expressed here are rather vague and not amenable to simple answers or, sometimes, any answers at all. Finally these concerns are usually anonymous and councillors are not obliged to respond to anonymous petitions, not least because the anonymous person may not be from their constituency. I happen to know that councillors do read the Blog and I have promised to print out the posts for Sally Falkingham.
I hope that this blog, which has turned out to be more popular than I dared hope, will continue to receive your support. I applaud vigorous debate but I think that in a small community such as ours there must be stricter limits than would be needed in the wider cyberspace.

Circus

As I am sure everyone knows by now the circus is coming to town thanks to the Friends of Greenford School. I will post some stuff on the web site about it soon. Below are a few comments that were posted elsewhere. I spoke to Mr Atkinson today and he said that most, though not all, of the tickets had been sold. This is good news but it would be a great help to the school and improve the atmosphere of the day if the remaining ones could be sold.

Dog problems

This is a perennial favorite topic so I have re-introduced it and included some recent comments posted on the "Suggest a New Topic" page. Well done to whoever has been putting up the notices reminder irresponsible dog owners of their duties.

Suggest a new subject

Sue has suggested a general page where new subjects can be introduced. So here it is. Use it to suggest topics which can then have their own thread. Remember this is a public blog so if you register you will be able to start topics, not just comment. I am still wondering if a discussion group format would be better. Please let me know what you think.

New Frampton Court

I have deleted the posts for this topic and started a new, independent Blog for this subject. It is, after all, not in our village. The Echo have picked up on my Framptonos piece on the web site and will be publishing an article about it next week.

Go to Framptonos Blog.

Footpath at the Station

I am afraid I have rather ignored the matter of this footpath on the website. Not because I do not think it important but because I have been unable to keep up with the various twists and turns of the plot. I believe it is now officially a footpath albeit one waiting for a public inquiry. It is also a closed footpath, the previous owner saying that the land was unsafe but apparently not being in a great hurry to rectify it. There are now, I believe, new owners, Belway Homes, and maybe matters will improve.

The Echo is visiting the site today(Monday 27th March) so perhaps their ace reporters will be able to get to the bottom of it all. It is a great shame that this very useful path has remained blocked for so long.

New development at the end of Stanstead Road

The development at the end of Stanstead Road has been passed despite a record number of objections to it from just about everyone in Stanstead Road and, unaccountably, someone on the Isle of Wight. I have copied below a few comments posted elsewhere.
It is a Magna Housing development and therefore will provide relatively low cost housing for the village. It has certainly been a concern that all the recent development has been for very expensive properties - Manor Farm, Harvey's Close and the Corn Stores. This proposal and the other one next to Hill View will redress the balance a little. Of course this is of little comfort to those living nearby.

Here are some earlier posts from Tuesday 21st March:

Anonymous said...

I see the housing has got through even though there was a lot of people against it.I want to build a house so my children can live in the village do you think i would be able too,I doubt it i'm not a builder or magna and there is not enough money in it for the council(i wonder who got what out of it)it's the same in Frampton how on earth could those awful things get through obviously some one got something

2:12 PM

Anonymous said...

I wonder when the local council will allow people who actually live in MN/FV to build houses for thier families rather than outsiders,our children can't afford to live in our own villages and the council just isn't helping.We should be allowed to have propertis built to help our own but it is always decided by people who DO NOT live here H

2:17 PM

Anonymous said...

Yet more houses going up but the roads are not ready for all the extra traffic no thought as usual when will they learn,MN the new Poundbury.S

2:20 PM

How Responsive are our Councillors.

I have had a request to start a thread regarding the responsiveness of councillors at County and District level (or any other level, if you like). What experiences have you had with the people who represent us? Have they always come back quickly with a response, helpful or otherwise?

Note: there is such a thing as "fair comment" which allows people to express, sometimes quite challenging, views about a person. There is also libel. So please be careful!

Footpath in FV

It is a shame that the dangerous walk past Natalia Terrace is taking so long to be addressed. Anon posted that it was low priority. Apparently DCC has spoken to Mr Denty recently about a possible plan or two. It is hoped that a display will be mounted in FV showing the proposed scheme to all interested parties. This may happen quite soon.
The footpath scheme will involve land purchase and this could take just a few months but it could take years. The project is budgeted for "after 2008/9". This is a very long way away but if everything falls into place sooner it could be brought forward.
I had very, very narrow escapes twice with my two daughters when they were younger at this deadly location so I have every sympathy with FV on this matter.

War Memorial

Very good to see Maiden Newton and Frome Vauchurch War Memorial restored, more or less, to its former glory. The lettering had become illegible and irrepairable. New plaques had to be placed in front of the old ones.

MNPC had tried to get a grant for the work but in the end have had to pay for the work out of parish funds.

The Maiden Newton/Frome Vauchurch divide

I have republished all the sensible posts as a single comment.

My position on this divide is that, at some levels, there is one; that there shouldn't be one; that a joint parish council would fix the (relatively) important parts of the problem. I doubt if it would remove all of the rivalry but it would take away most of the bad feeling (and I do not wish to overstate this - it is more a case of minor irritation). However problems over when and where things happened in the two villages such as road improvements and facilities for our children would mostly disappear or a least the decisions about such things would involve both villages and be open to scrutiny.
My essay on the subject, a couple of years ago, gave the argument for such a joint parish council. The argument was presented in good faith and it is a pity it was viewed by some as an outright attack on FV, which it never was.
The argument for the status quo is understandable and honorable. It is simply a case of FV wishing to retain its independence. However it is my belief that this comes at too high a cost.
I will finish this by reminding the reader that the views expressed above are entirely my own.

Possible permanent Traveller's site at Whitesheet Quarry

I have re-posted original comments as a single comment below.

If you haven't seen it already the letter I received from DCC regarding the total lack of information on this subject is on the web site.

It seems we will have to wait until June to here whether or not Whitesheet Quarry will be put forward as a possible permanent site. Then all the planning, environmental etc agencies will be consulted and local opinion sought (though the latter is unlkely to present any surprises). It is actually in Toller etc. Parish but I think MN Parish Council and perhaps FV Parish Meeting will be informed though I am sure they are keeping a close ear to the ground on this matter anyway.

I believe that the whole issue of WSQ being a potential site should have been kept secret, just as many other potential sites have been kept secret, but that it leaked out.

I know that one of the main concerns is that a "property blight" will settle on the village, well I can tell you that this has already happened.

Stuff moved about

I have moved some of the posts around so that they are in the correct threads. Hope I got it right. This blog is working like a forum so I am wondering if I should set up a proper forum instead. Can anyone recommend an easy, and free, forum host? In the meantime I will add a few topics to act as thread holders.

Dog's mess

A couple of people have mentioned that we need a thread on dog's mess, so here it is. I will post their comments in this thread as well. Dog's mess is a terrible feature of village life and for some reason it is in the villages that the biggest problem occurs. I spent three days with my family walking around London last year. We walked miles and never saw any. You can't walk 20 metres in Maiden Newton. According to my mate who lives in London it is simply not tolerated there. We must adopt the same attitude here.
Surprisingly my efforts of scrawling, in crayon, "Clean up your dog's mess!" near offending piles does actually work - for a while. Only the most sociopathic of personalities are completely immune from social censure.
Thanks to the person who offered photographic evidence! We could have a Dog S*** page under the Photos section of the website, complete with thumbnails. Perhaps Dog T*** of the Month.

Traffic issues meeting

It was strange, after spending over an hour hearing about the congestion, speeding, danger at junctions, difficult pavements and the impossibility of ever finding a place to park, to walk out on to a peaceful village scene with car parking spaces clearly available and hardly a vehicle in the road. The most sensible remark I heard was later on in the day from someone who had not gone to the meeting – “So? It’s a busy village!”

There are, of course, problems, one or two of them serious, most of them mere inconveniences. In my opinion, and you may think otherwise, the worst problems are:
The deadly walk down the Crewkerne Road by Natalia Terrace which mercifully, if belatedly, is being addressed.
The blocking of Bull Lane by cars parked near the junction with Dorchester Road. This is serious because the Fire Engine sometimes cannot pass and it forces pedestrians into the middle of a narrow, pavementless road.
The unsatisfactory “traffic calming” in Dorchester Road near Frome Lane. I think the planners did their best here but it is a very difficult one to get right. At the moment people have to cross the road twice or shuffle along the sections without pavement. Perhaps this needs looking at again.
I do not believe that speeding is anything other than an intermittently serious problem except for the Crewkerne Road at FV.
Despite the popular conception I do not believe that parking is a serious problem in the village except for those with no off road parking and parking restriction near their house. I have lived right in the middle of the village for years and do not recall ever being unable to park within 150 metres of my house. 90% of the time I can park right outside. The general consensus that the car park is always or, at least often, full is just plain wrong. I don’t particularly mind if it is enlarged a bit but only on the basis of real evidence of real need. Not guesswork and perception. (Naturally, just to prove me wrong, two camper vans have taken up residence there managing to fill four spaces. Hey ho). However parking could become a serious problem if double yellow lines started spreading as was suggest by a few at the meeting (all people with off road parking themselves, by the way).