Double decker in Morden will continue.

Its official;- The DCC Cabinet agreed to a substantial subsidy to continue almost the same bus service on the Bovington-Wool -Lulworth -Wareham Dorchester 103 & 104 route as before the uncertainty started in January.  There will be no subsidy for the early morning route so that may not continue and there may be one reduction in the middle of the day and the late run back from Wareham at 6.30pm may go.  However compared to the threat to lose it completely, we have achieved a good deal.

However no bus service is safe if it is not used enough. How about all retired or non working residents of Bovington using the bus twice a week!  Make a bus club where you go down in company to Wool to the Library and save two services at once. 

The Big news on the 347/387 from Poole to Dorchester is that it will now be run by First Bus out of Poole.  There is a slight loss of very early and late services to Dorchester but they were mostly because Damory used a overnight depot in Dorchester.  There will be fare rises of up to 20% unfortunately but without that the subsidy needed would have been much bigger.  There may be problems over interconnecting tickets etc that remains to be sorted out but at least workers and students will be able to get in and out of Poole and Dorchester for work and college times at least until April 2013.

So there you are, we campaigned, you signed petitions, we wrote letters, you kept up the pressure .. .. and we have a good result.  Get involved – sometimes it works.

John Taylor was elected as Purbeck District Councillor for Lytchett Matravers and Morden ward.  Some people think that it doesn’t matter who gets in as a District Councillor as it does not change much in an individuals life , there is rarely a great change in direction locally as District controls relatively minor things.  However it is always best to vote for the better candidate who has  a committment to the community,

John Taylor at the recyling bins Morden

 shown in joining parish initiatives and helping local improvements even if in what seems minor matters.  Welcome to John Taylor  lets hope he can use his common sense and understanding of local problems to help with case work and fight for Lytchett and Morden.

Well done Wool and Bovington, you returned Graham Holmes for a second term as Purbeck District Councillor. A increased majority of 300 is a sign that enough of you realised that the important thing in local politics is to vote for the better candidate.

Graham looking ready for council meeting

Since the news that Wool First School and Bere Regis First School would lose their  Lollipop ladies because Dorset County Council would not fund the salaries of SCPs where the road concerned did not meet National Criteria.  Both Schools have been trying to find other ways of paying their crossing ladies. 

 In Wool help has come from Dorset Green Technology Park who have agreed to sponsor the salary for up to three years, as part of their ambition to connect with the village more.

In Bere Regis the  school has asked various Sand and Gravel companies for help on the principle that it is the HGVs which are so frightening to pedestrians and as local companies many of their employees will have children attending local schools. Up to 6 companies have combined to make an agreement to sponsor the  School Crossing Patrol.

My part was to following the vote at Dorchester to  stop supporting these crossings was to find out the terms which were offered to schools and finding them unacceptable for any sponsorship deals.  I asked the Policy group and the Safety officers to go back over the deal and make the whole process simpler, more open and feasible for a private company to sponsor salaries but keep the management, ( redundancy and sickness cover, training etc) with the County. After being lucky finding a sponsor in Wool, I suggested the same approach in Bere Regis which was taken on by the school with success.

I still feel the decision to stop paying the SCPs on smaller roads or where there is an existing zebra crossing is mean spirited and penny pinching, I voted against the original proposal. But having suggested that Communities take more responsibility, the County must make sure that the bureaucracy is made more straight forward so that communities without huge legal backup can understand what they are taking on.

There will be a ‘Press Release’ soon from Dorset County Council making it sound as though all is fine.  However there is still resentment from many schools about the way this was thrown onto them at a time when every penny is being counted.

Graham Holmes at the closed crossing.

At last Network rail have accepted that they must re-open the footpath railway crossing by the Ship Inn.  Following a campaign of protest by Councillors from Parish District and County objecting to the ‘emergency’ closue which looked to become permanent, South West Trains  will reduce the speed of trains as they approach this crossing giving the public a longer possible crossing time.

This is not the perfect solution, we were campaigning for automatic wicket gates and a pedestrian light signal indicating when a train was approaching.  However people in Wool have been crossing here for years and have the common sense to look at the lights at the station for indications of oncoming trains.

Many thanks to Graham Holmes who kept up the pressure and kept the issue at the top of the agenda.

More changes on the busses are happening.  Because First Bus want to run a commercial route from Lytchett Matravers to Poole offpeak during the weekday, Damory have been persuaded by DCC to alter their timetable and keep out of the villages of Lytchett Matravers and Lytchett Minster at those times, to avoid BUS WARS.  The effect of this is to stop bus communications between Bere Regis or Morden with Lychett Matraver during the day.  I think we could have to learn to live with these anomolies , annoying and awkward as they are.  The villages of Morden and Lytchett do have many links with doctors surgery, schools and relatives living nearby, how much disruption this will cause is difficult to judge but it will be yet another isolating factor for our village.

It seems as though rural villages are unfairly caught by the government and Dorset County Council cost cutting measures.

Bus services naturally  cost more in rural areas where distances are greater and passenger numbers lower and the costs of fuel higher. 

The increase in fuel prices is obviously hitting rural residents harder than suburban residents.  There are also fewer petrol stations and further apart.

School Crossing patrols are under threat as numbers of traffic are lower in villages than towns even though the speeds may be higher.  Business sponsorship may answer the immediate need but it really should not be necessary to go down that path.

Village libraries are being rethought mostly because a cut in budget, some may make a go of it as community enterprises Wool probably will succeed which is great but very hard work for those involved. More work for volunteers.

At this time of change we need good people to be councillors ones who are prepared to be active and involved.

 I am happy to endorse John Taylor for Lytchett Matravers and Morden ward for Purbeck District council.

Graham Holmes has been an active keen and useful Councillor for Wool and Bovington Ward.   He has been spokesman for the Built Environment at Purbeck District Council, and is keen on rural regeneration and affodable homes 

Graham and Alex outside Wool Library

 for the sons and daughters of our villages.  We need him back at PDC to fight for a good deal for Wool.

Tonight I have been to the first offical AGM of FOWL – The Friends of Wool Library.  It is great to see the enthusiasm and determination of the meeting.  They have a full Committee and a Training Coordinator and a Fundraising Coordinator under the leadership of Chairman David Smith.  There is now 92 paid up members of the Friends and a rota of library volunteers is being drawn up.

Sometime this summer the Wool Parish Council will move into part of the Library room into a partitioned area, the Parish Council will cover the costs of rent and services and the Library will become Community run by September. 

There are still plenty of details for Dorset County Council to finalise with FOWL. issues with how the Book system and computer system will work and several other things . 

However it is amazing that a village like Wool is taking the lead in setting up this new sort of library.  It is a pity they have been forced into this by the Dorset County Cutting Council, but Wools response has shown qualities of cooperation and committment of which they should be proud.

After considerable pressure from Dorset County Council, Damory coaches have agreed to continue their service on the threatened routes until mid June.  This will beon condition of some funds from DCC.  The details will be discussed at a Cabinet meeting on the 21st March.

Representatives from the Parish Councils of all villages on the 347/387 route met together at Bere Regis to discuss the Parishes response to the bus route stopping.  All parishes agreed a resolution stressing the need for an effective route connecting the Parishes through the centre of Dorset and urging the Cabinet to agree to free up ‘emergency contingency ‘ funds to subsidise the route until  suitable alternative public transport was agreed.

Please do not feel that because no press release has come out lately that Dorset County Council Bus transport  team have done nothing.  All the routes which Damory have decided to stop are all the moment up for bidding by any commercial bus company. Until all the commercial bids are in County’s hands are tied.  If there is no interest at all from commercial  bidders then DCC will have to look in its coffers and decide how much to offer as subsidy to run non-commercial routes.  We all know that money is short and the service provided is likely to be poorer than at present. I can assure you that we are planning various alternative routes with the funds available, I am just hoping that the Cabinet can be persuaded that our rural areas need a timetable which enables, students and workers to get to work as well as the occasional shopper.