Chairman: Jon Park 07970 727792 chair@bereregisparishcouncil.gov.uk
Vice Chairman: Simon Walker 07714 329396 s.walker@bereregisparishcouncil.gov.uk
Parish Clerk: Amanda Crocker 07855 396073 clerk@bereregisparishcouncil.gov.uk

Websites:
www.bereregisparishcouncil.co.uk
www.bereregis.org

The Parish Council met on Thursday 10^th April 2025 in the Village Hall. 2 members of the public were present. Members of the press and public are welcome and there is a period for public participation at the start. If you are unable to attend but wish to submit a comment or question, please contact the Clerk or any member of the Parish Council.

New Councillor
We are very pleased to welcome Kevin Hazell to the Parish Council. His wealth of experience and knowledge will undoubtedly prove invaluable to the Parish Council and the community. At the same time, we were sorry to hear that Bryan Benjafield had decided to step down from the Council. He has been a councillor since 2014 and has been key in running the social media for the Parish Council. He has always been a voice of reason in any discussions and will be greatly missed. We wish him well for the future.

Communibus
We are very pleased to announce that we have been able to purchase a new bus to replace our existing one. The current bus has been very well used over the last few years and is beginning to show signs of wear. With the closure of Nordcat, we have been able to secure one of their fleet at a cost of £11,000. This will be funded by an £8,000 grant from Dorset Council and £3,000 raised by donations and the sale of the current bus. We are still hopeful that the bus will be with us by the end of April but it is currently undergoing some work prior to being handed over.

Tree works
As reported last month, the priority work necessary on the streamside walk trees has been undertaken. The full report was considered at the meeting and the next phase of work considered. This will be brought back to the May meeting for confirmation, by which time costs will be known. Once the trees are in full leaf, a better idea of their condition can be gained. This will then lead on to a more detailed Management Plan. At the same time, an ecological survey will be undertaken on the site which will be an integral part of the Management Plan.

Play Park
The Play Park Group met on the 19^th March. Cllrs Sam Bardwell and Kevin Hazell will be heading the project and Cllr Hazell is in the process of drawing up a document to highlight what the group hopes to achieve, together with what funding is available. Our thanks are extended to the current volunteers but, as ever, more are needed. If you are able to help at all, please contact either Cllr Bardwell or Cllr Hazell.

EV Charging Points
These will now be installed in the central car park on the 22^nd to 24^th April with the second fix on the 5^th to 6^th May. The bays will be coned off from the 21^st April and we would be grateful if you could ensure any vehicles are moved in order to make way for the work.

Road Traffic Incidents
This is something that we have raised before. If you or a neighbour are involved in a near-miss on the parish roads, please report it. This also includes if your vehicle incurs any damage (broken wing mirror, etc) when parked on a parish road. At present, there are no reports of any near miss incidents in the parish but local knowledge tells us this is incorrect.

Collisions and/or driving offences can be reported via a call to 101 or via the Dorset Police website – https://www.dorset.police.uk/ro/report/rti/rti-beta-2.1/report-a-road-traffic-incident/
(Clearly use 999 for reporting emergencies, serious road traffic incidents etc)

Near misses can be reported via the Dorset Council website – https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roads-highways-maintenance/road-safety

Rye Hill
Most of you will have spotted this but for those that have not, the 30mph speed limit extension on Rye Hill came into force on the 21^st March. The 30mph now extends to the top of the hill and out to the village signs after the Yearlings Drove turning on the way to Wool.

And finally
A big thank you to Cllr Jon Park for repairing the bench at the entrance to Shitterton. It has been looking very sad for some time now but Cllr Park has replaced all the wooden slats with hard wood, giving it a new lease of life.

Next Meeting – The next meeting will be held on Thursday 15^th May 2025 commencing 7pm at the Village Hall. This is a week after the normal date due to the VE Day celebrations on the 8^th May. This meeting will also be the Annual Parish Meeting and we will have a guest speaker in attendance. This year, our speaker will be Samantha Dallimore, Community Engagement Officer Wareham Arc Landscape Recovery. If you wish to have an item added to the agenda for discussion, please contact the Clerk or a member of the Parish Council. A full copy of the minutes is available on the Parish Council website.

As per the report from the February 2025 meeting, here is a brief traffic update.

Following the 2024 parish survey, there was strong support for measures to reduce the speed of traffic in the village and to address a number of other vehicle related issues. In July 2024, we met with representatives from Dorset Council to discuss both speed and parking issues in the centre of the village and on Rye Hill. As a result of this meeting, we requested that an all our yellow lines be repainted, and our white lines in the village centre be either repainted, or in some cases added at various junctions. We also requested that yellow lines outside the Royal Oak be investigated, and that Green Close / Rye Hill junction be reviewed to see what safety improvements could be made. Yellow lines outside the Royal Oak have subsequently being rejected. None of our requested yellow or white lines have so far been repainted or added. We are not aware of the outcome of any review of the Green Close / Rye Hill Junction.

As a further result of the July meeting, in October 2024, Dorset Council undertook four traffic speed and volume surveys on our behalf, on Rye Hill, Southbrook, West Street and Elder Road. The results of these surveys have been published on the Bere Regis Parish Council website. In summary, they indicate that less traffic than we perhaps expected is exceeding the 30mph speed limit, with the exception of Rye Hill where levels of speeding match previous surveys, and remain unacceptable. In the centre of the village, in particular West Street, average vehicle speed is less than 20mph. On Southbrook and Elder Road, average vehicle speed is less than 30 mph. We therefore do not believe it is necessary to apply for a 20mph speed limit in the village centre at this stage.

Rye Hill remains a problem, but far more traffic was recorded as speeding coming down the hill. We still await the extension of the 30 mile an hour zone further towards Wool, and we will assess the impact on speeding traffic once this has taken place.

Outcome of October 2024 Traffic Surveys

4 locations were surveyed between the 21^st & 27^th of October 2024.
– Rye Hill – near Green Close
– Southbrook – between Elder Road junction & Egdon/school junction
– Elder Road – between Southbrook junction and Manor Farm Road junction
– West Street – just past Southmead junction (heading West)

Surveys were conducted using laser type devices, not pressure tube devices, and thus we received no information about vehicle types/sizes.

Rye Hill

Traffic volume – 6166 vehicles per day average (3917 southbound, 2969 northbound)
Average flow – ~420 vehicles per hour 7am – 7pm
Peak flow – ~620 vehicles per hour around 5pm
Speeding vehicles – 12.2% >35 mph (752 vehicles daily),  2.6 % >40 mph (159 vehicles daily)
Note 20% of downhill traffic (northbound) >35 mph, but only 5% heading south to Wool.
Mean speed of traffic on Rye Hill is ~30mph

Southbrook

Traffic volume – 6107 vehicles per day average
Average flow – ~420 vehicles per hour 7am – 7pm
Peak flow – ~620 vehicles per hour around 4pm
Speeding vehicles – 7.1% >35 mph (436 vehicles daily), 1.5% >40 mph (91 vehicles daily)
Note 12.3% of northbound traffic >35 mph, but only 3% heading South towards Wool.
Mean speed of traffic on Southbrook is ~28mph

Elder Road

Traffic volume – 1022 vehicles per day average (561 eastbound, 461 westbound)
Average flow – ~75 vehicles per hour between 8am-6pm
Peak flow – 100 vehicles per hour around 5pm
Speeding vehicles – 4.5% >35 mph eastbound (25 vehicles daily)
7.8% >35mph westbound (36 vehicles daily)
Much traffic well under 30mph – 68% of eastbound, 78% of westbound
Mean speed of traffic on Elder Road is ~25mph

West Street

Traffic volume – 1568 vehicles per day average (741 eastbound, 827 westbound)
Average flow – ~110 vehicles per hour 7am – 6pm
Peak flow – 140 vehicles per hour around 5pm
Speeding vehicles – virtually no traffic over 30mph (2 eastbound, 1 westbound)
Most traffic under 20mph – 27% >20mph eastbound, 15% >20mph westbound
Mean speed of traffic on West Street is less than 20mph

A PDF version of this page with graphical data is available here.

3 Walks Around Bere Regis
Due to restricted access in some parts of May’s Wood, the Parish Council has made some revisions to the 3 Walks Around Bere Regis leaflet that we published a number of years ago, with a new walk through Wild Woodbury being added to 3 walks around the village centre, May’s Wood and Black Hill.

Choosing the location for a new Community Hall
For a number of years, we have been seeking a suitable location for a new Community Hall in Bere Regis, to replace the Drax Hall in North Street. There are 4 potential sites identified below.  Click here for details about each site.

We would like as many parishioners as possible to express their views by voting with an order of preference.   Click here to vote online before 30/9/24
*** from 1st October 2024 – voting now closed ***

Potential Community Hall Locations 2024

The Community Survey was undertaken during April 2024. At the Village Forum on 22 July 2024, we displayed half a dozen poster boards showing the results of survey. These poster boards are provided as links below.

Submission details – Poster Board 1
How many responses; and geographical breakdown by post code in the village centre and wider parish.

Your communications feedback – Poster Board 2
Your preferences – how you want to receive information from the Parish Council, and the type of information you want to receive.

Poster Board 3 – traffic survey 1
What you think the main traffic issues are in Bere Regis.

Poster Board 4 – traffic survey 2
Analysis of your comments on traffic & road issues in the village.

Poster Board 5 – traffic survey 3
Your view on some potential traffic & road improvement measures.

Poster Board 6 – traffic survey 4
Illustrated map of the Village Centre identifying many of the traffic & road issues – for discussion with Dorset Council.