West Parley news in full

before. . .

last month

18 Nov 2009
This elderly but capacious and useful Hall is one of West Parley's central features. Unfortunately the surrounds and approaches to the Hall have been rather neglected in recent years. Bramble and scrub have hidden the Hall from the road.

The Memorial Hall committee, with the support of WPRA and WPPC, are now making an effort to put this right. WPRA volunteers have put in a lot of work, and have also recently secured the services of teams from the Environment Agency and the Community Pay Back service.

now

The front area has just been re-turfed. (Also scroll down to see the work done at the end of June this year)

Work will go on over the next year and will probably include the nearby Millenium Garden which is also looking shabby. WPRA volunteers will continue to work with the Memorial Hall committee and WPPC, with the aim that in a years time we shall once again have something that West Parley can be proud of.

Parley Cross Gyratory Option 1

A338 - airport link road

Paul Willis, Dorset County Council's Group Manager Transport Planning told WPRA about their plans for £63 million local road improvements. The money will come from Regional Funds and developers contributions. The work is planned for 2016, but it is possible that some money will be available for work to start a year or two earlier.

Please click on an image to expand the picture

Their priorities are the connection from the airport to the A338 Bournemouth spur road; Parley Cross; and the Hurn roundabout. They also plan to improve the Chapel Gate roundabout on the B3073, and to put an extra lane on the B3073.

The works have been planned in detail (although there are alternatives for Parley Cross and Hurn Roundabout and some changes may still be made.

Hurn roundabout Option 2

Parley Cross Gyratory Option 2

Chapel Gate Option 1

Hurn bypass Option B

29 Sept 2009
The meeting was a great success. 130 local residents came along to hear about the Airport, who fielded a strong team of Managing Director Rob Goldsmith, Operations Director Paul Knight, and External Relations Executive Sally Windsor.

Alan Macdonald presents
WPRA volunteer program

Sally Windsor from
Bournemouth Airport

As usual at these quarterly meetings the WPRA team took the opportunity to update residents on developments in West Parley. Chairman Richard Heaslip spoke about the Government's latest delay on the green belt housing plans - good news for us. Alan Macdonald briefed on the volunteer programmes that are improving the the face of West Parley with flowers, litter clearance, pavement clearance and now the Memorial Hall approaches. John Cullen told residents about deveopments in the Council's waste services and policies and the possibility of a large waste incinerator at the airport (more will be known about this in a few months)

Sally Windsor gave a good presentation on the Airport's operations and future plans. There followed a very lively question period, ably fielded by the Airport's MD and Ops Director supported by WPRA advisor and former BA pilot Shaun Webb. Questions came thick and fast on noise, take off patterns, night flying, traffic impact, road plans and a possible waste plant at the airport.

WPRA plans to continue this series of meetings, which combine an update on West Parley matters with interesting guest speakers. The next one will probably be in January - watch the website for date and details.

25 Sept 2009
This has been in the news lately. A tour operator was outlining possible future plans. The public has been concerned that it might lead to an increase in night flights and noise disturbance in the quiet hours.

Here are the relevant facts, as learned by WPRA:

The present night flights are freight, mail, newspapers and empty positioning flights. Mostly by quieter turboprop aircraft.
No jet aircraft take offs at night are planned for 2010.
If there were to be more night operations by commercial jet aircraft (and there are no plans for this as yet) they would only involve landings, not take offs.
All pilots at night operate quiet approach procedures. This way, most of an aircraft's approach noise comes from the airframe not the engines. So there is little difference in approach noise between the present turboprop mail flights and commercial jets.
Reverse thrust on landing - a noisy operation - is not used at night.

These are the latest weekly night movement figures:

Year	23.30-0600	2300-0700
2006	36	53
2009	29	43
2010	No increases predicted, and negotiations may reduce these figures further.

Bournemouth International Airport is very conscious of the need to protect the public from noisy night flights. WPRA keeps up to date through our advisor, Shaun Webb, West Parley resident and retired B.A. pilot. Shaun is a member of the airport's Consultative Committee.

before

after!

30 June 2009. Five volunteers from the Residents Association had a go at the entrance to the West Parley Memorial Hall.

The Hall is a valuable and much used facility in the village - but it is getting on in years and its committee has its hands full keeping it going.

The outside has become rather overgrown, so W.P.R.A. has begun work to get it in trim - see pictures.

Want to help? Click on Get Involved

16 June 2009. The Government has announced that the publication of the Regional Spatial Strategy(RSS) for the South West (the authority for building in our green belt) is further delayed. It had originally been planned for January 2009 but was delayed until end June by the sheer volume of written objections from the SW. Then Hazel Blears resigned before she could announce it.

Now, the RSS for the East of England (which preceded ours by a year) has been overruled by a High Court Judge on its failure to meet environmental requirements. The Government said on 15 June that they would now have to further delay the RSS for the South West to take account of this.

We believe that the earliest they could now issue it would be October 2009 - too late for it to make it through the ndecessary paperwork and consultations at our own District Council before the May 2010 General Election - which could of course change everything. it is quite possible that the Government might not now issue it at all, but kick it into the long grass.

Are our green belt fields now safe?
Quite possibly.....but we shall have to watch closely for every twist and turn of events.

John Denham

8 June 2009. John Denham, new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, will soon have to decide on the final Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West. This includes housing estates in the green belt at West Parley, Corfe Mullen and Wimborne.

But John Denham is a neighbour - one of us, almost. Born in Devon and went to school in Dorset. MP for Southampton Itchen since 1992. He has given public warnings of the danger to Labour of "southern discomfort," the growing alienation of southern voters.

He has also talked about the detrimental effect of the Southampton Airport expansion on nearby residential areas. Sound familiar? He said that the starting point for an Airport Master Plan should be that the quality of life for local residents - and the levels of noise and air pollution - should improve year by year.

Is this the man to allow new high density estates of up to 1000 houses to be built a mile away from the end of Bournemouth Airport runway?

You can help. Write him while he is thinking about this. Soon.

email him at contactus@communities.gov.uk

or write him at
   Rt. Hon. John Denham MP,
   Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,
   Eland House,
   Bressenden Place,
   London SW1E 5DU

Nick Cuffe and Stuart Couper (obscured)

flower baskets by Herbies and the Co-Op

8 June 2009. The planters in their Summer finery went up on the railings at Parley Cross - 30% more of them than last year thanks to our generous supporters.

The 24 flower basket display which went up in front of the shops 24 May is doing well and looking good.

They are watered and fed by community volunteers.

Want to help? Click on Get Involved

Hazel Blears

3 June 2009. Hazel Blears, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, resigns. It was her who said (on a BBC Any Questions programme last year) "I can unequivocally say that I will defend the Green Belt" and who 6 months later issued the draft Regional Spatial Strategy for the South West full of requirements for housing estates in the green belt, including West Parley.

Goodbye Hazel - you will not be missed.

The whole question will now fall to her successor, who is not yet named. Whoever he or she is will find on their desk a pile of letters from groups all over the South West urging that more common sense be used, and that more decisions on details should be left to local councils. W.P.R.A. will play a leading part in this.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and County Councils have been working on a countryside route for walkers, cyclists, horse riders and the disabled. It is part of a programme by the national charity SUSTRANS (Sustainable transport routes) The money comes from the Lottery Fund and from Bournemouth and Christchurch Councils.

The route had been planned to go from Throop, across the river Stour at the Throop Mill bridge, then across the fields to Hurn, and into the Hurn forest and the countryside. See map below.

Click Here for the Sustrans website

Late in the day Hurn decided that they didn't like it, and put forward a new route through West Parley! This route would go from Throop along the South side of the Stour; across the Stour on a new bridge at the bottom of Church Lane; up Church Lane; along the B3073 Airport road to Hurn, and thence to the Hurn Forest.

W.P.R.A. has pointed out that no consultation has been done with the Church Lane residents. Further, that Church Lane is a narrow winding lane with no pavements and now has quite heavy traffic from the several enterprises along the lane. It would be dangerous to put a lot of walkers, cyclists, horses and disabled people into this environment. Also, it is 4 miles of road walking from the bottom of Church Lane to the Airport - not much of a relaxing countryside day out!

We await developments. A countryside route out of Bournemouth is a good idea, but we will be surprised if the West Parley option put forward by Hurn is eventually chosen.

East Dorset District Council has just completed a 4 month task called the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment. (S.H.L.A.A.) They were directed by the Government to survey and assess every possible building site in the South East of the County, whether it was in the green belt or not.

Government instructions were that every Council must have a rolling 5 year supply of suitable building land - if they did not they would be vulnerable to any builder's proposal, whether in the green belt or not, being approved by higher authority over the Council's head.

The Council does now have this 5 year supply. All the sites can be found on the "Dorset for You" web site, in the EDDC Agenda papers for their 18 March 2009 Policy and Resources Committee meeting. click here

Of special interest to us are the sites assessed as suitable for high density housing in and around West Parley. Here they are:

Land south of Christchurch Rd
and east of New Rd, West Parley.

Land south of Christchurch Rd
west of Ridgeway.

Land at Holmwood Park, Ferndown.

This does not necessarily mean that houses WILL be built at these sites. This will only happen if the Government's proposals are confirmed by Secretary of State Hazel Blears at the end of June. They still have to get through the long confirmation process at East Dorset District Council. The Council is presently opposed to these housing plans. We are here to encourage the Council in their opposition, and see that they remain opposed.

The final version of the R.S.S. - which we expect will authorise high density building in the green belts here - will be published by Secretary of State Hazel Blears at the end of June.

It was due in January, but was delayed while they processed 35000+ responses - a record - from us here and all over the South West. So you see, your views can affect things. In this case, the delay might be crucial in avoiding action until the next General Election, which has to be by May 2010. We shall see what happens.

W.P.R.A. will be holding a Public Meeting to look at the final Regional Spatial Strategy, where it will lead, what we can do.

Nick has been a resident of West Parley, with his wife and twin daughters, for over 15 years. His career has been in construction in a variety of positions, going from apprentice carpenter to director of a construction company. Nick has also been actively involved in a number of committees, including the Chartered Institute of Building (Chairman 2005-2008) and the more recently formed Sustainable Construction Network. He is a welcome addition to the W.P.R.A. team, which he joined in Feb 2009.

The pavements were overgrown by up to 3 feet, leaving little room for walkers, cyclists, pushchairs etc to pass. Councils don't have the money to make this a priority, so W.P.R.A. decided to help out - and get some healthy exercise at the same time! W.P.R.A. intends to clear all the principal pavements in West Parley over the course of the year. Volunteers still needed for this, also for flower watering, litter clearing, newsletter distribution. Names to Alan Macdonald on 01202 571349

L to R John Cullen, Alan Macdonald, Frank Trollope, Mike Loader

Beautiful West Parley