Council Chair Mark Gracey has blogged about a reception last night to recognise the recent past service of four ex-Councillors who stood down at the recent elections.

The Agenda for an extraordinary Full Council meeting of the Parish Council has been published.

This meeting was called to enable a final decision to be made by Full Council regarding some of the outstanding issues relating to the Foxhills play area project. Due to time limits on grant funding available, it was agreed at the recent E&H Committee that we should not wait until the Full Council to make these decisions.

The Core Strategy from Purbeck District Council sets out some options for future housing development for Lytchett Matravers (and other areas in the District). Whilst the Regional Spacial Strategy is likely to be abolished, PDC has not considered it in it's plans anyway, but instead the Strategy represents PDC's views on housing development in the area (specifically to deliver 2400 houses across the District by 2026).

For Lytchett Matravers this means we need to find room for 50 houses (it would be more, but current and planned in-fill means it is only 50). The Parish Council have been consulted and made a recommendation on the location of these houses, but now it's your chance to have your say.

You should have received a consultation leaflet through your door in the last couple of weeks, although you can download a copy from here. There is also a PDC Press Release that provides some more information.

There will be a consultation roadshow taking place in the Lytchett Matravers Village Hall (4-8pm) Wednesday 30 June, where you can find out more and ask questions.

After the annual play facilities inspection that took place this week, the Parish Council have been advised that the skate ramps on the Rec are dangerous due to wear and tear and some other damage. This has meant the Parish Council chair, E&H Committee Chair and Clerk have taken the decision that they need to be removed straightaway to avoid potential harm to their users.

But fear not, the E&H Committee will be tasked with reviewing the situation and to consider suitable replacements.

We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause, particularly to the skaters and bikers that use the ramps, but we must be mindful of the fact that the ramps have lasted longer than expected (they're about 10 years old!)

It's nearly that time of the year when the whole village turns out for the Lytchett Matravers Carnival.

This year it is being held on Saturday 19th June and will include a procession.

For more details check out the Carnival website or join the Facebook Fan Page.

Minutes from this weeks Full Council meeting will be published shortly, but in the meantime, here's a summary of some of the main points discussed:

• Addressing how to help the school crossing, after a plea from the lollipop lady, is progressing. DCC have confirmed they'd like to give coning off parts of Wareham Road a try to see what impact this has (and on school parking given the current closure of the school car park). The Council will be discussing this further with PC Jon Stuart who will help co-ordinate the trial
• A consultation from Purbeck District Council will be dropping through your letter box soon, setting out plans for another 50 houses in Lytchett Matravers. There will also be a meeting on the 30th June.
• A final survey will be carried out of the Foxhills estate about whether or not to proceed with building a play area round by Fosters Spring. This follows a petition to stop the play area.
• The Parish Council have agreed for the Clerk to investigate what is involved and if it is possible for the rec to be classified as a village green
  

Last night was the Annual Parish Council meeting.

There were recently elections for the Parish Council seats for the next four years but the election was uncontested due to only 9 nominees coming forward for the 11 seats. However, at last nights meeting we welcomed 4 new faces to the Council (Julie Dyball, John Taylor, Liz Wilson and Keith Norris) and co-opted 2 councillors to make up the 11. We also said goodbye to Peter Evans, Roger Emmerson, Peter Burbidge and Adrian Russell - on behalf of the whole of Lytchett Matravers, the Parish Council thank them for their service to the community. A special thanks goes out to Peter Burbidge who has served on the Council for over 30 years.

Last night the Council also elected a new Chair, Mark Gracey and Vice-Chair, David Cross. Thanks also to David for serving as Council Chair for the last two years.

So your new Parish Council looks like this:

Mark Gracey (Chair)
David Cross (Vice-Chair)
Martyn Colvey
Julie Dyball
Dennis Gillard
Bob Miller
Maureen Munford
Keith Norris
Paddy Talbot
John Taylor
Liz Wilson

Tim Watton (Parish Clerk)

LYTCHETT MATRAVERS PARISH COUNCIL

VACANCIES FOR

PARISH COUNCILLORS

Two vacancies have arisen for Parish Councillors.

The Council intends to fill these by Co-option at the Parish Council Meeting on Monday 17^th May 2010.

Anyone wishing to put his/her name forward for Co-option should inform the Parish Clerk at the address below on or before Sunday 16^th May 2010.

Qualification as a Councillor: Candidates should be over 21 years of age and have resided or worked within Lytchett Matravers or within 3 miles of it for at least 1 year from the date of appointment.

If required, the Parish Clerk or any of the present councillors can give advice on the roles and responsibilities of Parish Councillors.

Tim Watton, Parish Clerk April 25^th 2010

Parish Office, Vineyard Close, Lytchett Matravers

01202 632468 or Mobile 07824 829491

Due to no one submitting a grant application to the Parish Council in time, the Parish Council have decided, as a one-off, to extend the deadline till noon-May 16th. The full notice can be found here