The Parish Council met on Thursday 14th May 2026 in the Village Hall. Six members of the public were present, together with Tim Hoskinson and Steve Clark from Wyatt Homes. 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.

The May meeting is split into two parts. The first being the Annual Parish Meeting at which the Chair gives their review of the past twelve months, and this is then followed by an open forum. A full copy of the Chair’s review is available on the Parish Council website. No points were raised in the open forum session.

The second part of the meeting is the Annual Parish Council meeting. This is largely taken up with the review of Statutory requirements and the agreement of the accounts for the previous year. Councillors are also elected to their roles for the coming year and the Chair is elected. Once this is done, the business of the Parish Council can be conducted as normal.

Councillors
Cllr Jon Park was elected to the Chair for a third term by a unanimous vote. He then informed the meeting that Cllr Simon Walker had decided to step down from the Parish Council. Special thanks were extended to Simon for the hard work and dedication he has given to the Parish Council and community during his time in office and we wish him well for the future.

We were very pleased to welcome a new Councillor, Ben Howard, to the Council. At 24 years old, he is the youngest person on the Council and will bring a fresh look at the work we do and, hopefully, enable us to content with the young people of the parish.

With so many new councillors, it was felt that the role of Vice Chair and membership of the various committees should be held over until the June meeting. This will allow Councillors time to think about how they see their role in the coming year progressing and where best they feel their individual talents can be used.

Grants Given
A grant of £800 has been agreed for the Bere Regis School. This is to go towards the installation of a Reading Corridor. Rachael Brown, Head Teacher of Bere Regis School was welcomed to the meeting and was able to explain the need for such a facility. During the recent work to the Village Hall roof, whilst the scaffolding was in place, we took the opportunity to check the area and found that the dormer window needed to be repaired. This was going to cost £800 and the Parish Council agreed to cover £400 of the cost.

Play Area
Cllr Hazell reported that a small group of about 8 volunteers had come forward to help move the project forward. He expressed considerable thanks to Alison Bennett and her team for their enthusiasm for the project and offer to help raise funds. Hopefully, progress can now begin and this valuable resource.

New Community Hall
The Chair raised concern regarding the number of rumours circulating regarding this project. He stressed that, if anyone has any questions or queries relating to the current situation, they are free to contact either the Clerk or himself for a full, current explanation. As things stand at the moment, there are still two potential sites for the hall; one on land owned by the Parish Council and one on land owned by Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT). Discussions are ongoing with DWT but are proving to be very slow and, until something concrete is known, no action will be taken with regard to the land occupied by the Scout Hut. It should be stressed that the Scout lease runs until 2031 so there is still plenty of time before a decision is made either way. Any updates will be published as normal.

Wyatt Homes sites
We were pleased to welcome Tim Hoskinson and Steve Clark from Wyatt Homes to aid the discussion on the proposed development of the Back Land and North Street sites. Since the original application was received in September 2024, Wyatt Homes have continued producing various reports required by Dorset Council and various other statutory bodies. The latest iteration involves the affordable housing element and the viability of the site with the 40% requirement in place. Following considerable discussions with Dorset Council, the number of affordable houses has been reduced to 7 or 10%. This will be made up from 3 shared ownership properties and 4 rented, via a housing association. Although the loss of affordable housing is disappointing, the need for a viable site is understood and the Parish Council voted 8 in favour and 1 against accepting the new proposal.

Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 11th June 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.

Amanda Crocker, Clerk