The Parish Council met on Thursday 8th January 2026 in the Village Hall. One member of the public was 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.
Bus Services
The latest information from Vikki Slade MP is that Dorset Council were intending to extend the CR (socially necessary) routes that include the service which calls at Bere Regis to include a Saturday during 2026. It is understood that they had the funding but there was a formal process that needed to be followed to take the decision through the Council. The intention was that this would come into effect during the next financial year. It is stressed that this was an intent do things and may have substantially changed. Updates will be passed on as soon as they are received.
In the meantime, Dorset Community Transport run a service on Tuesday, leaving the Royal Oak at 10am to Poole and returning at about 1pm and to Blandford on Thursdays, leaving at 9.30am and returning at 1245pm. You must register to use this service – telephone number 01258 287980 – and bus passes are accepted.
Neighbourhood Plan Review Consultation
The consultation is now underway and runs from the 5th January and run until the 22nd February 2026. A village meeting will then be held at the end of February/beginning of March to cover both the Neighbourhood Plan review and the future of the play park.
The Review document and supporting evidence is available here or, if you would like a hard copy, please contact the Clerk.
Play Park
We are extremely grateful to all those who have donated money towards the cost of a new play park. Needless to say, we have a long way to go. It was suggested that, rather than try and build a completely new play park all at once, we should, perhaps, be thinking of purchasing one new piece of equipment at a time. This will be discussed further at the February meeting.
Parking
Complaints continue to be received about non-electric vehicles parking in the EV bays. It is appreciated that parking is limited but we would ask residents to be considerate and not use the electric charging bays. The car park is the responsibility of the Parish Council and we have to pay business rates on it. The small amount of income taken from the EV bays is the only way some of this cost can be offset.
Lengthsman
As many of you know, we are in the very fortunate position in Bere Regis of having a Lengthsman to carry out many of the day to day jobs around the parish and pick up much of the work no longer undertaken by Dorset Council. As part of our due diligence, this role is advertised every few years. If anyone would like to apply for the job, please contact the Clerk for details of the job description.
Parish Councillor Vacancies
There are now three vacancies for councillors on the Parish Council. Bere Regis is a very active Council with a great deal going on. If you would like to be a part of this and represent the community in which you live, please contact the Clerk for further information.
Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 12th February 2026 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.