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

Last night was the Full Parish Council. Minutes from the meeting will be published on this site in the near future, but here's a summary of some of the key things discussed:

• County Councillor Fred Drane mentioned that there could be a cut of up to 15% affecting most county and district services. The Parish Council are concerned that this could be a threat to our library again, although at this stage it is not clear what services will be affected. Obviously we'll keep an eye on this and particularly on what impact this may have on our village.

• At the recent Environment & Highways Committee meetings a discussion was had about the chance to suggest some changes to speed limits in the village. From the minutes of that meeting:
  

• All B and C category roads within the parish boundary to be 30mph, except where identified separately below

• Wareham Road between Burbidge Close and Eldons Drove to be 20mph

• The full length of Huntick Road to be 40mph, until it reaches the 30mph sign at the village boundary."
  

• Councillor Gracey announced that a Youth Council had been set up. There are currently 6 members of the group who will work together to address issues that affect young people.
  

• We were all reminded that on Saturday the Annual Parish Meeting is being held
  

This years Lytchett Matravers Annual Parish Meeting is taking place on Saturday 20th March at 10:00.

Come along to hear what the Parish Council have been up to over the last year, find out about the recently published Parish Plan and hear from the Sports Club. Or just come along for a sociable cup of tea.

All villagers welcome.

Confirm your attendance on the Facebook page

The agenda for this evenings Full Council meeting is now online. As always you are more than welcome to come along.

The latest edition of the Lytchett Link is now available for download (paper copies will be delivered to villagers in the next week or so). You can download it here.

Although it's outside our Parish, villagers should note that the recycling banks (which are probably for glass) are being removed from the site that was formerly Goldys.

(the Parish Council continue to work with Purbeck District Council to work out a suitable site for recycling banks for Lytchett Matravers)

Here's a brief outline of some of the key points raised at the February Full Council meeting - you can get the full story in the minutes when they're formally published.

Burger Van
The Council has received a number of pieces of correspondence about the burger van that has appeared in the layby opposite the Rose & Crown. The Clerk responded confirming that the van will need a licence and checks have to be carried out for the use of the layby.

Fish Seller
A member of the public also brought to the council's attention a rather over zealous fish salesman who was operating in the area. It has already been reported to the police, but if anyone else is having problems with him then let Cllr Mark Gracey know as he will raise it at the next PACT meeting with the Police.

Patching up our roads
County Councillor Fred Drane updated us on DCC's plan to "velocity patch" roads which have suffered from the recent bad weather.
   
Primary School Crossing
A few meetings ago we had a plea from our school crossing patrol person about how difficult it is safely crossing children to the school. At our meeting we discussed the options that were available including white lines, temporarily coning the area around the crossing and possibly moving the position of the crossing. We're going to hold a meeting with the school and Police in the next week or so to discuss these options further and work out what we can do to make the school crossing safer.
   
Litter Picking
We discussed some grant options for forming a litter picking group in the village. It was noted that previously the Guides had offered to help and now the Army Cadets have volunteered also. Anyone interested in particpating in a litter pick round the village should get in touch with the E&H Committee.

Ever thought about becoming a Parish Councillor? This year elections will be held to re-elect Lytchett Matravers Parish Council.

Purbeck District Council is holding an introductory session for potential candidates on Monday 1st March. The session will take place in the Council Chamber at 6.30pm and potential candidates will hear about the electoral process and what it means to be a District or Parish Councillor.

To confirm attendance or for further information contact Peter Aston (Deputy Returning Officer) by email or on 01929 557221.

The agenda for the E&H Committee on Monday 1st March is now available

Between 15th February and 8th March, public works down by the Courtyard Centre will mean that Huntick Road will be shut.

Apologies, a little tardy, but here's a brief update on what was discussed at the last Full Council meeting.

We had a discussion about recycling (see seperate blog post on where things are at) in the village and possible options.

In the District Council report, Cllr Colvey provided details of some things going on in Wareham: There will be some maintenance work carried out on the Wareham Walls; the Core Strategy (which appears to have got away with not referring to the Lytchett Minster new town development) sets out some new houses and a supermarket in Wareham.

Cllr Fred Drane's County Council report including details about work on the Twin Sail Bridge in Poole, concerns over the lack of gritting during the snowy period (particularly as some of our salt reserves got sent to Bournemouth rather than used to help get the Manor school open). Fred also commented that its important that the extra bus that has been put on to take pupils from Lytchett Matravers down to Lytchett Minster school gets as much use as possible otherwise there is a risk it will be withdrawn.

We were also informed that Huntick Road down by the Courtyard Centre will be shut between 15th February and 8th March due to public works.

The Parish Council continues to work with PDC on possible options for recycling banks for the village. We have three potential sites: (1) in the layby opposite the Rose & Crown on Huntick Road; (2) in the car park of the Youth Hut; (3) in the car park of the Royal British Legion. There are pros and cons for all possible sites, but we're working on trying to ensure we have at least plastic recycling somewhere locally.

Also, look out for an article in the forthcoming issue of the Lytchett Link.

The agenda for the Full Council meeting being held on the 15th February has been uploaded: Agendas

Dorset County Council, who are keen to encourage people to cycle more, are consulting on possible cycle networks across the county. They need your help to find out where people living in Dorset would like cycle routes.

They have set up an online route mapping tool which you can use to draw a proposed route. You can also submit your ideas via other means. For more information, click on the cyclist in the photo to see DCC's poster or visit their website.

Our webmaster, Cllr Mark Gracey, has updated the Community section of the site. It now includes a list of events for the village as well as useful links to other online materials.

If you have a community site you'd like linked from this part of our website then drop us an email to parishcouncil@lytchettmatravers.org.uk

You may recall that a survey went round the village in 2007 asking for villagers opinions about the village. Well we are pleased to announce that the Lytchett Matravers Parish Plan Group have now published their plan. Villagers should expect to receive a summary of the Plan over the next few weeks, but you can view the summary and the main plan by following the links on our Parish Plan page.

Last night was the last Full Council meeting of 2009. We had a couple of speakers from the public: Joe Puttick gave an interesting presentation about sign posts in the village and their heritage value suggesting that the Council should do more to ensure the historic posts around the village are kept in order; he also told us about how the finials are an important part of the signs and add to their historic interest.

Kay Ellis, who to some may be known as the schools "lollypop" lady pleaded for better traffic control down by the school due to the problems she has in delivering her service to the parents and children at the primary school. It was agreed that the Clerk should write to Dorset County Council to highlight the issue Ms Ellis highlighted to see what can be done to help.

District Councillor Martyn Colvey gave us an update on PDC's thoughts for potentially offering plastic recycling facilities in the village. At the moment there are three potential sites for smaller recycling bins that need to be considered by the Council at the 4th January Environment & Highways Committee.

The 2010/2011 budget was signed off with hopefully a 0% increase in the precept.

More details about these points and for a fuller report on the meeting can be found in the meeting minutes which will be posted in the minutes section of this site.