Councillors Caroline Payne and Janet Page at former flood troublespot - now draining free

Following visits by the Environment Agency to town and parish councils some flood warden schemes have been put in place. Cllr Janet Page says that the one in Beaminster is already working well. “Where blocked drains reported to the County Council are kept clear and cleaned out flash floods are less likely.” Cllr Caroline Payne recommended this idea to villagers with problem areas. “It would help if the County Council also ensures hedge and verge trimmings are cleaned away and ditches maintained”.

Beaminster Cllr Caroline Payne and Sue Farrant call for more affordable housing in rural areas

A roof over one’s head is a basic need. Sadly, all too many people in West Dorset simply can’t take it for granted.

Fact: In the year to March 2008, 61 households were accepted by West Dorset District Council as being homeless and in priority need. Another 61 homeless households were put onto the housing list but for one reason or another are not priority cases and are unlikely to be housed by the Council.

Fact: Across the six Dorset District Councils, 140 households were judged to be homeless and in priority need in the year ending 31 March 2008.

Fact: At the end of March this year, a total of 125 Dorset households were living in temporary accommodation (including bed and breakfast).

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Karl Wallace with petitions against closure of West Bay Post Office

Over 1000 signatures were collected by Karl Wallace and the Lib Dem team for the petition against the proposed Post Office closure at West Bay. We are now awaiting the official decision regarding the future of this essential local service. Karl says ‘We have campaigned hard right from the beginning to try and prevent the loss of this vital resource.’

Beaminster Councillors Janet Page and Caroline Payne discussing the need to keep St. Mary’s Day Care Centre open with local resident and centre user, Mr Albert Dawe.

Dorset County Council chose the season of goodwill to announce that they want to close Beaminster’s Day Centre.

Beaminster is the hub for a large rural area providing a range of valuable services - including St. Mary’s Day Care Centre. People come from miles around to use this service.

St. Mary’s is welcoming and safe, where people find a friendly caring face and familiar staff who can give them the attention that they need. They also have a cooked lunch. For some it is their only chance for a social life and to engage in activities that stimulate the mind and body.

Local Councillor Caroline Payne said, “I have been contacted by several people who use the Day Care Centre. They all spoke of the kindness of the carers and the pleasure of being with their friends in a safe and friendly environment. Someone from Hursey welcomed the opportunity to play Scrabble and the chance to be sociable. The Centre had helped her to ‘get her smile back’ and regain her confidence.”

“I believe that closing Day Care Centres will prove to be a false economy. Without their tonic many elderly people’s health will go downhill. This will cost the NHS far more in the end as well as ruining the final years of their lives.”

Cllr Caroline Payne and Gil Streets

Beaminster Cllr Caroline Payne and Gil Streets are working together to keep our countryside safe and quiet from the threat posed by a new law to make Byways Open to All Traffic (B.O.A.T.S.)

“We don’t want to hear 4×4’s and quad bikes roaring up tiny paths disturbing local residents and wildlife and damaging ancient rights of way,” said Caroline.

Cllr Caroline Payne is backing the campaign to safeguard the future of the local post office network

Last month campaigners from across Britain handed in the largest ever UK petition to 10 Downing Street. Over four million people are calling on the Government to safeguard our vital post office network.

Local post offices are under threat like never before because the Government keeps moving away business from them while not allowing new services to be offered, or encouraging any new investment. At the present time many small post offices are losing money. These often provide a vital, or even the only, local service in many villages. Their importance has been recognised in recent years by a small subsidy from the Government but they have so far refused to say whether this subsidy will continue beyond the end of this year.

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“The overdue introduction of doorstep recycling in the Bridport, Beaminster and Lyme areas has resulted in recycling rates rising to over 27% of all waste in recent months,” says Beaminster Councillor Caroline Payne (pictured left). “This shows that people are keen to do their bit for the environment.”

The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for the introduction of doorstep recycling - now they are calling for the range of products being collected to be increased.

“We must follow leading Lib Dem Councils, such as South Somerset, in collecting kitchen waste for recycling and look again at collecting plastic,” added Caroline.

Related Stories: The Green Switch

West Dorset’s Justine McGuinness today spent time with Beaminster Playgroup’s members and mothers to learn more about their campaign to build new classroom accommodation. “The first year of a child’s education are vitally important, and deserves serious investment.

Beaminster Playgroup does a fantastic job; it’s time their long-running campaign for better accommodation was fully supported.”

The Liberal Democrats will invest in early years education, and here in West Dorset Justine McGuinness pledges to support Beaminster Playgroup and other facilities like it.

Local campaigner, Justine McGuinness has found out that at least 33 public phone boxes across West Dorset are in danger of being axed by BT. Local residents have only got 10 days left to voice any concerns about losing their village pay phone. BT Payphones are currently consulting on the closure of phone boxes in villages such as Nettlecombe, near Bridport.

BT will not guarantee that the boxes at the neighbouring villages of Powerstock and West Milton will not be axed as well. Liberal Democrat County Councillor, Gil Streets and West Dorset campaigner, Justine McGuinness, are very concerned about the potential loss of these vital rural services.

Justine McGuinness commented: “Following the loss of the Post Office and shop in Nettlecombe, the loss of phone-boxes would be a disaster. This is the one service the village still has. People with mobile phones probably think they do not need a pay phone, but I have tried several different mobiles in the Nettlecombe area - none of them get a signal. I think BT should at least guarantee that one of the three villages retains a phone box.”

Cllr Gil Streets added “I know that most mobile phones do not get a signal in Nettlecombe. So public phone-boxes are important for residents and for the many visitors who come to enjoy the beautiful countryside around Powerstock.”

Justine McGuinness commented: “Local residents and people concerned about the closure of any of the phone boxes on the ‘condemned’ list have only got until 25 May to voice their concerns to BT.”

Anyone concerned about the closure of phone boxes should write to BT Pay Phones saying why you think that the public phone box should not be removed. Write to BT Payphones, PP 06A21, Delta Point, Wellesley Road, CROYDON CR9 2YZ, quoting the number of the phone box, or email: btp.authorisation.team@bt.com, by 25 May. The number for the Nettlecombe phone box is 01308 485 258.