From Dorset Council – July 2025

Camp Bestival, a family friendly music event, will take place in the grounds of Lulworth Castle between Thursday 31 July 2025 and Sunday 3 August 2025.  I have received a series of applications on behalf of Camp Bestival’s Traffic Management provider Event Traffic Control Ltd to prepare two Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders to coordinate traffic and pedestrian management arrangements for the forthcoming event.  These applications have been formulated, discussed and agreed at Safety Advisory Group forums by representatives from the Camp Bestival event, the emergency services, Dorset Council Highways Department and Parish and District Councils.  The first Order will effect a safe traffic management plan for ingress and egress, and will minimise the disruption caused by the event on the highway network.  This will create additional ingress routes, temporarily reduce the speed limits, and extend the existing clearway around East Lulworth village and the entrances to the event car parks (see map below).

The second Order will temporarily close footpaths through the event site, for safety and security reasons (see below at the end of this page).

Event visitors: Ingress
Thursday 31 July 2025 – Friday 1 August 2025

a) Visitors approaching from the West and the Midlands (A352/ A35/ M5) will be directed off the A352 at Burton Cross onto New Buildings Road.  A TTRO will be placed on New Buildings Road to make it one-way southbound, between 07.00hrs on Thursday 31 July 2025 and 17.00hrs on Sunday 3 August 2025. At the junction of New Buildings Road and B3071, traffic will be directed southwards towards the appropriate gate.

b) Visitors approaching from the East and the Home Counties (A31/ M27/ M3) will be directed south from Bere Regis.  At the Wool roundabout this traffic will be directed onto the A352, eastbound, and the B3070, over Holmebridge level crossing and the Army Ranges.  Then it will be directed southwards towards the appropriate gate.

c) Visitors approaching from the Poole / Bournemouth conurbation (A35 – Bakers Arms roundabout /A351 – Sandford Road) will be directed south on the Wareham by-pass (A351) at the Worgret roundabout.  The right hand turning lane at the junction of West Lane will be coned off so that traffic will continue onto the Stoborough roundabout.  Here it will be directed to take the fourth exit so that it returns along the Wareham by-pass and the left hand turn onto West Lane.  Traffic will then continue on West Lane turning right towards West Holme.  At West Holme crossroads traffic will be directed southwards onto the B3070 and over the Army Ranges towards the appropriate gate.  Traffic control (temporary traffic signals) will be in place at West Holme crossroads to ensure that traffic keeps moving in this area.

Saturday 2 August 2025 – Sunday 3 August 2025

All event visitor traffic arriving on these days will be directed to site via the B3070, Holmebridge / Army Ranges road, thus avoiding Wool village.

Event visitors: Egress
Thursday 31 July 2025 and Saturday 2 August 2025

a) All day-ticket traffic will be directed off site via the B3070 over the Army Ranges and Holmebridge Level Crossing to the A352.

Monday 4 August 2025

a)All traffic from the car parks on the north of the Camp Bestival site will be directed out via New Buildings Road, which will be made one-way, northbound, from 17.00hrs on Sunday 3 August 2025 until 15:00 on Monday 4 August 2025.  Signing at Burton Cross roundabout will direct traffic heading towards the West and the Midlands west along the A352 towards Dorchester.  Traffic heading towards the East and the Home Counties will be signed into Wool and across the level crossing towards Bere Regis and the A31 Trunk road. If traffic backs up severely here, there is a contingency to redirect it south to Burngate junction and then onto the B3070 over the Army Ranges and Holmebridge Level Crossing to the A352.

b) All other traffic leaving the site will be directed to the B3070 and over the Army Ranges and Holmebridge Level Crossing to the A352.

c) All traffic at the junction of B3070 and A352 (Holmebridge junction) will be directed left onto the A352, and then onto Bere Regis via the C6 (past Monkey World).

d) At Bere Regis signing will disperse traffic onto the A35T (towards Dorchester) or onto the A31T (towards Wimborne/ Ringwood).

d) Event traffic will not be signed onto the A351 (Wareham Bypass/ Sandford Road/ Bakers Arms roundabout) although, as public highway, it is open to all traffic.

Proposed Rights of Way closures:

The organisers have requested that the footpaths through the site be closed from 23.59hrs on Sunday 27th July 2025 until 23.59hrs on Tuesday 5^th August 2025.  This will allow the event site to be secured whilst it is established, during the event, and afterwards whilst the site is being dismantled.  The footways affected are:

1. Footpath number SE 13 / 2 (East Lulworth)
2. Footpath number SE 13 / 3 (East Lulworth)
3. Footpath number SE 10 / 4 (Coombe Keynes)

Please note that both the definitive line and the walk line of these footpaths will be closed, as indicated on the map below.

Our new Bere Regis community bus, or “Communibus” as it is commonly known, has now been sign written with its new logos etc. We are most grateful to Hardy Signs for their sponsorship of the Communibus project. The current schedule of trips for the second half of 2025 is below.

The Parish Council met on Thursday 12^th June 2025 in the Village Hall. One member of the public was present and we were pleased to welcome Dorset Cllr Mike Baker. 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.

Wyld Cabins
Representatives from Wyld Cabins and Crestview, together with Mr Chris Jowett of the Charborough Estate addressed members regarding their proposal to install approximately 50 luxury cabins in Bere Wood. The cabins would be set in 75acres of the 800acre Bere Wood site and would be between 23sqm and34sqm in size. The concept is one of a retreat to nature and, in addition to the cabins, it is anticipated that there would be two wellness pods consisting of a sauna and plunge pool and a small shop, together with a site office for the manager. The cabins would be rented for up to a week and there would be no long-term or permanent habitation on site. Any vehicles would be using the existing roads and parking would be between 50m and 400m from the cabins. The intention is for a high quality, bespoke experience with visitors being offered the option to purchase food hampers for their stay, made up from local produce.

Pre-application planning advice has been sought and the various nature surveys are underway. Access to the site would be via an existing ride from the A35, after the Sugar Hill turning and before the Bloxworth turning. Highways have confirmed that they would be happy with this access, subject to a small amount of work being undertaken at the junction with the A35. It is anticipated that the proposal will result in six extra vehicles across the 4hour check-in and check-out period. Cabin lights will be low impact and the cabins orientated away from existing paths and neighbouring cabins.

It is hoped that a prototype will be available for inspection prior to full implementation, should the application be approved but it is still very much in the planning stage. A copy of the brochure provided at the Parish Council meeting is available here.

Parish Council Roles & Vacancy
Now that our new councillors have settled into the role of a councillor, responsibilities have been determined. This is partly to provide parishioners with a first point of contact should they have a specific issue they wish to raise but also to give councillors a specific area of responsibility that they can take on. Any necessary training is provided for all areas and roles:

Planning – Cllrs Fairhurst, Bates, and Munnings
Finance – Cllrs Curtis and Walker
Parish Assets – Cllr Walker
Traffic – Cllr Walker
Allotments-  Cllr Hawkins
Environment + Trees – Cllrs Bates and Hawkins
Human Resources-  Cllrs Walker and Curtis
Play Area Cllrs – Bardwell and Hazell
Village Events – Cllr Percy
Community Liaison – Cllrs Curtis and Percy
Website, IT + Publications – Cllrs Walker and Bardwell
Rights of Way – Cllr Walker
Children + Youth – Cllrs Curtis and Hazell
DAPTC Rep – Cllr Hawkins
Thomas Williams – Rep Cllr Munnings
Village Hall Rep – Cllr Park
School Liaison – Cllr Hazell
Parochial Church Council – Cllr Curtis

Both the Chair and the Clerk are also available to contact on any issue, should you wish. Contact information for each councillor will be available on the Parish Council website.

As you can see, the Parish Council is involved in many areas of village life. We do still have one vacancy for a councillor. So, if you think you could contribute to both the Parish Council and the village, please contact any member of the Parish Council or the Clerk for more information.

Path Cutting
At the start of each meeting, a period of time is set aside for any members of the public present to raise any points of concern they may have. The issue of the footpath running along the bank by Rye Hill Farm was raised. During the time the farm was occupied, this path was cut back and the bank maintained. However, for the last five years, this has not been done. As a result, the vegetation has been allowed to encroach more and more onto the pathway. As a result, there are times when it is necessary to walk in the road to get past. Dorset Cllr Mike Baker offered to take this up with Highways to determine who is responsible for maintaining the bank and to get the vegetation cut back.

Community Speed Watch (CSW)
The CSW team are now managing to get out more frequently and, thanks to their efforts and the placement of the Speed Indicator Devices, the speed of vehicles is being noticeably reduced. The team were out three times in April and provided data on 33 vehicles travelling in excess of 35mph, with a maximum speed recorded at 46mph. Because we have a CSW, the Police camera crew visit more frequently which further deters speeding. However, as with all volunteer initiatives, more people are needed to help. If you can spare a couple of hours a month, please, please let the Clerk know and your name will be passed to the CSW team.

Effluent Discharges into the Bere Stream
This was reported by Dorset Wildlife Trust in last month’s magazine. Cllr Bates has confirmed that the Wildlife Group would be happy to undertake aquatic invertebrate and fish monitoring in the stream. He has asked the Dorset Wildlife Trust SNCI Officer to give them guidance and help with equipment. This is the recognised way of monitoring stream and river health. If you would like to assist with this, please contact either the Clerk or Cllr Bates for more information.

Play Park
Many of you will have noticed that the ground level trampoline has had to be removed. Whilst this is regrettable, we were informed by our insurers that they would no longer be willing to insure its use. This makes it even more important that a new play park is created. If you are able to help with the fund raising for this, please contact either Cllr Bardwell or Cllr Hazell.

Next Meeting – The next meeting will be held on Thursday 10^th July 2025 commencing 7pm at the Village Hall. 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.

The Parish Council met on Thursday 15^th May 2025 in the Village Hall for the Annual Parish Meeting, followed by the Annual Parish Council Meeting. No 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.

Annual Parish Meeting
We welcomed Samantha Dallimore, Community Engagement Officer for Wareham Arc Landscape Recovery who gave a brief talk on the aims of the initiative. Should funding be forthcoming, the delivery phase of the project will start in January 2026. The project area covers approximately 4,000 hectares of Purbeck and aims to restore the natural processes of the area by creating resilient habitats and businesses which deliver environmental benefits. The objective is to give wildlife the ability to move within the landscape rather than from natural island to natural island. In addition, the project hopes to encourage people out into the landscape and expand opportunities for engagement with nature. The environmental objectives will include slowing the flow of rivers to allow nutrients time to drop out of the water naturally before reaching Poole Harbour; the restoration of peat bogs and planting of woodland pastures. The team will be working with Kingston Maurward and local schools but this is all in the very early stages. Once funding is confirmed, more information and details of how to get involved will be made available.

Parish Council Roles & Vacancy
At the Annual Parish Council Meeting, Councillor Jon Park was voted in for another year as Chair, with Simon Walker elected as Vice-Chair. Despite two new Councillors joining us in recent months, there is still a vacancy for a new Parish Councillor. If you would be interested in giving up some of your time to help our community then please contact the Clerk on clerk@bereregisparishcouncil.gov.uk for more information.

Community Speed Watch (CSW)
The CSW team are now managing to get out more frequently and, thanks to their efforts and the placement of the Speed Indicator Devices, the speed of vehicles is being noticeably reduced. The team were out three times in April and provided data on 33 vehicles travelling in excess of 35mph, with a maximum speed recorded at 46mph. Because we have a CSW, the Police camera crew visit more frequently which further deters speeding. However, as with all volunteer initiatives, more people are needed to help. If you can spare a couple of hours a month, please, please let the Clerk know and your name will be passed to the CSW team.

Communibus
The new bus is now operational and the old one has been sold. Hardy Signs have offered to sign write the bus at a reduced cost of £150 if they are able to put their logo on the bus. We will continue to operate the new bus under the Section 19 conditions as before.

Neighbourhood Plan Review
This is continuing and we have reached the stage of needing a Strategic Environmental Assessment. This would originally have been undertaken by Dorset Council but they have said they no longer have the manpower to do the work. If we wish to continue, it will now be necessary to pay for the work ourselves. Members felt that, as so much time and work has been put into the Review, we should carry on. It is estimated that the cost will be in the region of £2,500 and the Review should be ready to go to consultation in September.

Finance
The accounts for the year ended 31^st March 2025 were agreed and have now been sent to the external auditor – BDO LLP. They will be available on the Parish Council website from the beginning of June. The Parish Council is in a healthy position with £248,727.75 in hand. However, this does include 50% of the annual precept and will be used to cover costs up to the end of September. The balance is held in reserves for key on-going projects, such as the play park and new community hall, and to cover the cost of replacing such items as dog bins, benches, signs. A full breakdown of the reserves held will be available on the Parish Council website.

Treeworks
The next phase of the necessary tree work along the riverside walkway will take place in June. Alongside the tree work, an ecological survey of the area has been undertaken. This highlighted the use of the stream by both people and dogs. Whilst we do not want to prevent access to the stream, we would ask that, if you have used a non-oral flea treatment on your dog, please read the instructions and don’t let them go in the stream for at least 24 hours. Most treatments contain a compound that is harmful to water insects and the fish and birds that depend on them. We are lucky to have one of the most important chalk streams in the area and we need to protect it.

And finally
A number of parishioners have raised concerns around the reliability and speed of broadband connections throughout the parish. With the Bere Regis exchange not yet part of the Openreach roll out of Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and EEhomes still reliant on traditional copper connections (at least from the Cabinets to homes), the Parish Council would like to canvas for expressions of interest from households that would like to upgrade their Internet connections to fibre to the premises. 

If there is a sufficient level of interest, the Parish Council will approach several fibre providers to determine if enough households are interested for the provider(s) to roll out fibre broadband to the parish.

If you would like to express interest in upgrading your broadband connection to fibre to the premises, please contact the Clerk at clerk@bereregisparishcouncil.gov.uk. 

Next Meeting – The next meeting will be held on Thursday 12^th June 2025 commencing 7pm at the Village Hall. 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.

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.