New research sheds light on the extent to which village halls and community buildings have been affected by three successive national lockdowns.
Much has changed since England’s 10,000+ village halls were surveyed at the beginning of 2020 by national charity, Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).
Whilst 3 in 20 halls supported Covid-19 relief efforts, the majority stayed closed and will need ongoing support and funding to recover. 15% of halls contacted said they had played an active role in supporting their community during the pandemic, including many Dorset village halls and community centres who provided a valuable community service despite the challenges presented by Covid-19 lock downs.
Herston Village Hall for example acted as a base during the pandemic for the Friendly Food Club to make ‘food bags’ to be delivered locally to families in need, and other community centres such as Littlemoor, Weymouth provided foodbank services. Dorset Community Action’s centre in Wimborne continued to host organisations like Reach and Innovate, who provided a limited number of ‘essential services’ to support vulnerable members of their community, including drug and alcohol support services. The community centre in Fontmell Magna has been working to develop a community cut flower garden in partnership with the Blackmore Vale Partnership social prescribing team to promote the health and wellbeing of local residents.
However, aside from these inspiring examples of the community coming together, many halls expressed concern that they would find it hard to attract volunteers and users back once they reopen, particularly older generations who may be less inclined to meet in person.
Dr Tom Archer, of Sheffield Hallam University who authored the report said, “Halls face major challenges in reopening and re-establishing services. The pandemic has had a significant impact on their volunteers and staff, as well as their users, and the future remains very much uncertain.”
Deborah Clarke, ACRE’s Rural Evidence & Village Halls Manager said, “The research demonstrates a clear and urgent need for continued funding support to be made available to village halls during this period of uncertainty, particularly those facing financial difficulty. This should involve bridging funds and continued relief from business rates.”
Through its membership of ACRE, Dorset Community Action is here to help local community centres and village halls to reopen. Please contact Jo Keats if you would like support [email protected]
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In return we will offer a competitive salary, full training, development opportunities, company pension, 28 days holiday (including bank holidays), Cycle2Work scheme, Employee Assistance Programme, Eyecare Scheme and Retail Discounts.
Kingcombe Meadows – and adjoining Powerstock Common – have just been designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR), recognised as nationally and internationally important landscapes.
An early form of crowdfunding bought the farm for the Dorset Wildlife Trust in a rundown condition in the late 80s – Dorset Life covered the story on the 30th Anniversary, do take a read here it’s a wonderful story.
It’s an amazing place to explore – the public are welcome to wander freely thought the Kingcombe Meadows reserve, not restricted to public footpaths only. You are simply asked to respect the crops. And this is one of my all time favourite Dorset walks, with the start and finish winding through a series of ancient-feeling meadows all filled with a vast array of native plants and wildlife. Whenever I follow this route, I feel like I’m stepping back through time.
To follow this route using the Outdooractive App, please find the route here.
Every month in the BV Magazine we publish Dorset walks under the heading ‘Take a hike’ – you can see them all here. Not always in the heart of the Blackmore Vale perhaps, but always within reach for a day’s walk.
We have created and then walked them all ourselves – we always aim to create interesting, unpopulated routes with as little road use as possible and of course as many beautiful views as we can squeeze in.
You can always see the routes we take and follow them yourself via the Outdoor Active App – see all our routes here. – Click on contents tab.
We usually aim for between 10 – 15 miles, although due to many requests and to keep everyone happy we have now added some shorter routes between 5 – 10 miles in length.
Above all, we hope you enjoy reading about the walks that we do and enjoying the pictures of course, but if you are taking them on yourself, we would love to receive your feedback on how you found the individual route and any suggestions you might have. Oh and of course we would love to receive your pictures to share as well!
Kingcombe Meadows Nature Reserve Walk- 13 miles
(for shorter versions there’s the obvious pinchpoint in the middle of the route – the Jubilee Trail joins the two sides and you can enjoy the full route as two shorter walks )
This is a beautiful and varied walk through Dorset’s stunning AONB, covering some ancient and untouched parts of the county – it’s one of the most ‘Dorset’ of our Dorset walks.
The route covers woodland, protected nature reserves and holloways. If you’ve never visited Kingcombe Meadows, it’s a wonderful step back in time with flower rich grassland, ancient hedgerows, rough pasture and wet woodlands, almost untouched by artificial fertilisers and pesticides, with a handy cafe & water point at the car park. Definitely worth a visit and explore.
There are a lot of streams on this route (a favourite is the streambed section as you leave South Poorton, it’s truly magical on a sunny day) – beautiful in a dry spell, but probably quite sploshy in the wetter months!
All paths are clearly signed, and all stiles/gates easy to navigate.Number of people encountered – zero. Utterly unspoilt and tranquil walking, with just the birds and the odd cow for company.
The wonderful valley sitting between South Poorton and Loscombe Nature Reserves. The climb up is lung-burstingly STIFF – but the view is definitely worth it.
The track through South Poorton Nature Reserve is just a footpath but feels like an ancient drovers way.
My favourite path; C always has to stop and wait for me along here. I adore this track along a deep, secret streambed from South Poorton, overgrown with ferns and the water burbling across the stones underfoot.
Stop to appreciate the views across the Dorset AONB before you descend into Powerstock.
Another slice of secret Dorset – the grassy lane approaching Wytherston Farm.
There is a veritable abundance of wildlife in our gardens and parks, as well as in the wider countryside, at this time of year, but many of our native species live extremely secretive lives; hidden from plain view in the undergrowth or venturing out only at night. Thought you need only pop your head out of doors to see (or hear) birds and insects, you are less likely to come across small rodents, slow worms, frogs, toads and such like, as you go about your daily life. And unless you happen to be sitting outside in your garden, or taking a late evening or early morning stroll, you might not catch sight of nocturnal species like bats, moths, and owls, from one summer to the next.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock
During the first lockdown, my husband and I started going for our daily walks in the evenings, around dusk, rather than during the day. We did this, initially, to avoid adding to the ever-increasing numbers of walkers and cyclists in the little lanes around our home, but after a while it became our preferred time to walk. As we became more used to walking in the dark, our vision adjusted, and we started to notice things we hadn’t been aware of on our daytime walks. It wasn’t just sights and sounds, but scents as well, the most obvious being the intoxicating scent of wild honeysuckle growing in the hedgerows.
Through the warmer months there were night-flying insects (mostly moths) and wherever we saw these, we often found bats, at least two, occasionally three, different species at one time. The bats were silent, appearing suddenly from the darkness ahead, and disappearing again, in the blink of an eye. The Tawny owls, on the other hand, were far from silent – their hoo hu calls becoming so familiar that we were more likely to remark on the evenings we didn’t hear them than those we did. We rarely caught sight of the adults, but we stopped one evening beneath a veteran Oak, after hearing an unfamiliar call somewhere directly above our heads, and were enchanted, when we looked up to see two Tawny owl fledglings, huddled together on one of the branches.
There’s something incredibly peaceful and magical about walking outside in the twilight hours of dusk and dawn, as though an invisible veil has lifted and you are no longer separated, the way we humans have become, from the natural world. You should give it a go…
This summer the grounds of Minterne House will be filled with live music as the house launches ‘Minterne Festival of Music’.
With three concerts taking place across three days, each concert is a standalone event celebrating a different genre of music from classical to pop, ensuring there is something for everyone.
Join us on Thursday 22nd July as one of most exciting British cellists of his generation, Guy Johnston, to perform a programme that includes Mozart’s sublime Clarinet Quintet
Friday 23rd July will have everyone tapping their toes with internationally renowned jazz pianist Ben Waters and his band.
Saturday 24th July sees the three-day event close with 70’s pop nostalgia filling the grounds as Les Gray’s MUD II will have you stomping your feet singing along to their chart topping hits.
To make use of our natural setting, performances will offer time to picnic and enjoy the grounds before the concert begins. With a selection of hampers available, guests are welcome to enjoy Minterne’ s delicious offering delivered straight to their group. Alternatively, if they would prefer, guests are able to bring their own. So come and enjoy our beautiful surroundings alongside and evening of sublime music.
All of our events will be run safely with social distancing measures in place with guests being seated in their groups of up to four, and we ask that our audiences take all possible precautions and not attending if they have any signs of infection or have been asked to self-isolate. Should you be unable to attend due to any reason related to the pandemic, we will offer you a full refund of your ticket including the booking fee.
Tickets for each event are sold in ‘pods’ with a maximum of four guests per pod and guests can select from ground or chair seating within their pod. Guests are able to select the location of their ‘pod’ at the time of purchase only.
The dress code is discretionary so if you enjoy dressing up, please do!
Minterne House looks forward to welcoming you to its beautiful grounds to enjoy an evening of sublime music in a beautiful setting.
Regular monthly Blackmore Vale property commentary column in the Blackmore Vale from Susie and Brad the North Dorset Team at Meyers
Goodness me what a month this has been with everyone rushing to complete on their house purchases before the end of the Stamp Duty holiday deadline of 30th June. This months ‘Voice of an Agent’ is a big ‘shout-out’ to all the solicitors, lenders, brokers, estate agents, removal companies and clients themselves, who have pulled together really hard to make sure dreams are not shattered by missing out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. Communication and teamwork has been exemplary over these crucial few weeks and we at Meyers are very grateful for all the hard work that has been going on between all the ancillary services associated with the house buying and selling process.
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But what happens now? There are STILL savings to be made on Stamp Duty with the basic level being increased from 1st July through to the end of September to allow purchasers to receive a nill Stamp Duty on the first £250,000 of their next home purchase. Will this help the market to settle a little bit? We certainly hope so; allowing more families to find their perfect new beginning is what Estate Agency is all about and with housing stock numbers struggling to meet demand, it will be a welcome relief to see more houses becoming available for purchase.
What can shift this change for the better? In our view, it is a return to the old ways now (please) of allowing prospective home movers to view houses when they themselves are not currently on the market. CV-19 restrictions made this impossible with all buyers being required to be ‘proceedable’ and this contributed massively to the ‘chicken and egg’ scenario with those who had sold their own homes, racing to secure their next one. This in turn, fuelled houses to sell in excess of their asking prices and in so doing, largely precluded the chances of those who have a mortgage and favoured the pure ‘cash buyer’.
Details of the new Stamp Duty levels are below for you and as ever, we at Meyers will be delighted to answer any questions you may have on how we can help you with your next home move.
From 1st July 2021 to 30th September 2021 inclusive
£0-£250,000 = 0%
£250,000-£925,000 = 5%
£925,000-£1,500,000 = 10%
£1,500,000 and above = 12%
From 1st October 2021 the Stamp Duty Rates will return to normal so will be:
£0-£125,000 = 0%
£125,000-£250,000 = 2%
£250,000-£925,000 = 5%
£925,000-£1,500,000 = 10%
£1,500,000 and above = 12%
For First Time Buyers, you still won’t pay Stamp Duty on the first purchase up to the value of £300,000 so are exempt of Stamp Duty for the first £300,000 of any purchase.
Gillingham families are in fear of using a community skate park due to escalating anti-social behaviour.
Social media groups connected to the town show comments from upset and angry parents whose children and even themselves have been the target of threatening behaviour. Reports include verbal and racist abuse, aggressiveness, littering and the smoking of illegal substances by a group of young people frequenting the skatepark near RiversMeet sports facility in Hardings Lane.
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Zoe Bell, mother of two from Marnhull, told the digital Blackmore Vale: “My daughter Charlotte, who is only 10, experienced extreme verbal abuse when she went to the park. She was so upset.
“There’s so much bad language being spoken and a gang play really loud music with foul lyrics. It just puts you off taking your children there. Since my daughter was verbally abused, we just won’t go.
“Even as an adult, I’m scared as these troublemakers don’t pay any attention to other adults who have challenged them. It’s appalling that so many well-behaved children are unable to use the park because of these kids.”
Reports mention children as young as 12 behaving aggressively towards adults who challenge them, preventing others skateboarding by sitting on the ramps smoking and watching porn on their phones with graphic commentary. Some adults declined to speak to us for fear of reprisal and blame lack of parental control.
According to David Sidwick, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, anti-social behaviour, (noisy dogs, noisy neighbours, litter, vandalism, public drunkenness – in short, anything that makes people’s lives a misery) – is a growing issue across the county.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time visiting sites across the county which have been affected by this problem, to learn more about it and what I can do to provide more support. Where possible this has been in person or alternatively virtual, including recently speaking with Gillingham residents.
“I’m aware of the skate park issue as are the police. I know many residents across Dorset are concerned about anti-social behaviour and I’m determined that this will be tackled.’’
Responsibility for dealing with anti-social behaviour (ASB), is shared between a number of agencies as well as the police and local councils. This creates delays and confusion. Dorset Police www.dorset.police.uk/help-advice-crime-prevention/safety-in-your-community/asb/ state they are aware that victims can feel helpless, bounced from one agency to another and then back again.
To combat this problem, changes have been made to the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014), placing the victim at the heart of the response to ASB and giving police and other agencies flexibility in their response.
This led to the development of the Dorset Community Trigger – Dorset Council, giving victims and communities the right to request a review of their case to “bring agencies together to take a joined up, problem-solving approach to find a solution to anti-social behaviour.”
Any Dorset-based resident, community or business may use the Community Trigger to request a review of their case. The community may be a loose group of affected residents or a formal community group such as a residents’ association.
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For over four years, Gillingham Town Council has funded the Outreach team from Gillingham Rendezvous, helping local young people find solutions to issues they may have.
Newly appointed Mayor of Gillingham, Councillor Paul Harris said: “We recognise that some recent behaviour at the park has upset parents of younger children. We can approach this in a variety of ways. Solutions are found through interacting with our young people, understanding the motivation behind their behaviour and what they see as the solution.”
“Rendezvous Gillingham has helped many young people and has a presence around the town, including at Hardings Park. We’re also working in partnership with the local police, specifically our local PCSOs, who work closely with the community ensuring that, where appropriate and proportionate, police action is taken.
Councillor Harris confirmed that CCTV is provided at Hardings Park and footage is available for the police to draw on as necessary.
“In general, our young people in Gillingham respect each other and we don’t suffer from excesses of other anti-social behaviour, such as graffiti, that occur in other towns.”
However, problems at the skate park have been going on for a long time with perpetrators largely unchallenged, as Zoe Bell explained:
“These aren’t isolated incidents. There have been numerous issues over 18 months. It’s so sad that a really great community facility is ruined by a handful of kids who just don’t know how to behave.”
Along with other Gillingham residents, she would like to see regular police presence at the park and believes incidents should be reported to nearby Gillingham School, urging others to do the same: “We need to keep reporting to the police and the local school. Although the kids causing problems aren’t in uniform, the school may know who they are.”
Head Teacher of Gillingham School Paul Nicholson said: “It’s most unfortunate and upsetting that a small minority of young people, whether they attend our school or not, continue to involve themselves in anti-social behaviour. We will continue to work closely with partners in our wider community to address these behaviours.
He added:’’ At Gillingham School we’re proud of the role that we play in our community.
Young people during the pandemic, perhaps more than any other generation, have been a force for good and an inspiration to many of us.
“The vast majority of our students make an outstanding contribution, often involving themselves with local charities and volunteer work. We continue to remind all students of their responsibility to make a positive contribution, indeed one of our core values is ” to treat everyone with kindness and dignity.”
Dorset PCC David Sidwick added: “Working closely with Dorset Police, with local authorities and with other partners, I am absolutely committed to clamping down on anti-social behaviour, and this will form a key element of the Police and Crime Plan I am currently developing. I will be looking to address the short term need and the roots causes of the problem. Residents deserve this and we will tackle it.”
TO GO IN PULL-OUT BOX? How to report anti-social behaviour – advice from Dorset Police
Don’t turn a blind eye to anti-social behaviour. If you see it, report it.
You can report anti-social behaviour online here or by calling Dorset Police on 101. In an emergency, where life is at risk or a crime is being committed, always dial 999.
If we are not able to deal with your complaint directly ourselves, we will give you advice on which local agency can help and how to contact them. We work very closely with our partners to deal with anti-social behaviour, including all local authorities.
No matter how you report anti-social behaviour, all complaints are treated as confidential. You don’t have to worry about your identity being revealed.
Our regular column in which you discover the faces and stories behind the pub sign. This month we’ve been chatting to Rhiannon & Greg who run The Antelope Inn at Hazelbury
How did you end up at The Antelope?
Greg and I found ourselves running The Antelope while on a travelling sabbatical that was grounded due to Covid. After a year into our travels (although originally from here, we were living in South Africa) we came to the UK to spend Christmas with my mother and our daughter Hannah up North, just before the pandemic hit.
During the pandemic we decided to help our friend Alasdair Warren (whose family have lived in Dorset for over 200 years) with renovations of his collection of beautiful pubs here in Dorset. Loving The Antelope, we decided it would be a fun challenge to run it! Hannah (and her cat Pax) joined us in the adventure of pub life and as a family we have been warmly welcomed into the village. Alasdair’s pubs (including The Elm Tree in Langton Herring, Pymore Inn in Bridport and World End in Almer) have all been beautifully restored to their former selves, with close attention to detail while maintaining the period of the building.
What’s your favourite local place to visit on an afternoon off?
We take our breaks from the pub with lovely walks (Bulbarrow is a favourite) , catch ups with friends in the village, coffee and cake at the King Stag Coffee House and the occasional lunch at The Gaggle of Geese or The Elms. On rare days off we llike to visit neighbouring towns – especially Sherborne and Shaftesbury – and learn as much about Dorset as we can.
Tell us about your pandemic
Lock down here at The Antelope was very productive! We were decorating, maintaining and we reupholstered in our Skittle alley. We did manage to have a socially distanced Christmas market in our skittle alley, which we hope to do again this year with less restrictions.
Since opening back up this year, we have seen many people, both local and holiday makers and many furry friends, return to our beautiful garden and pub.
What’s been your biggest challenge since taking over?
For us it’s been encouraging locals back to the pub who have not visited for many years due to the fact that it was primarily a wet pub with little or no option of food. We have been encouraged by the return of families and locals who are enjoying our tapas menu, great burgers and weekly added specials.
What part of the pub is your absolute favourite?
The Antelope was built in the 1700s, originally as a combined dairy farm, brewery and Ale house. Thankfully the Ale House part stayed! It is full of character. The Snug is a special space which we all love… but I have to be honest, the bathrooms are gorgeous and most people comment on them! The garden is also one of our favourite places in the pub.
Which dish is your most popular?
Our change to a tapas menu this year has been successful and we are seeing people return for their favourites, especially our sticky chicken wings and boerewors, a traditional South African sausage. Our burgers with homemade relish and locally sourced meat are also very popular and our homemade deserts and scones are not to be missed!
So what’s next – do you have big plans on the horizon?
Beginning of this month we started afternoon music in the garden and have artists lined up for 24th of July and 8th of August as well as an Open Mic evening on the 7th of July. We are also waiting for the sun, so we can get back outside and bring back our barbeque (braai) evenings!
We have all been told how wonderful the pedestrianisation of Shaftesbury High Street is and how people are now flocking there to shop. We have seen pictures of the crowded street full of people. But how about on a normal day? The lack of parking due to the closure is now effecting the town. I have witnessed tourists trying to park in the Bell St car park and driving off when there are no spaces. I have been asked by tourists where they can park as they have tried all the car parks they can find in the town. The town council stress how much safer people feel in the High Street with it being pedestrianised. The trouble is that the High Street is only partially pedestrianised. Busses, delivery vehicles and even private cars are driving through the high street in both directions. Far faster than the 5mph allowed. It is only a matter of time before someone is going to be lulled into a false sense of security and knocked down and killed. I believe this has already happened in Salisbury. I am aware of a petition that was submitted to STC which contained 40 signatures from businesses against pedestrianisation. According to STC 80% of businesses are for it. Are there really 200 businesses in the High Street?
I know of a business based in Semley who used to regularly come up to collect lunch from the Salt Cellar. But due to the pedestrianisation not any more. Helen from the Baguette bar has also lost business from the industrial estates. I’m not particularly against or for the pedestrianisation, for me it’s just an inconvenience for my clients and staff. I have had an office opposite the Town Hall for the last 21 years so I have got a bit of experience on how the High Street works. However what I am concerned about is the way STC are conducting their surveys and their ‘findings’ Pedestrianisation is not something to be taken lightly. Full and proper consultation needs to be completed by an independent body. The residents of Bell Street and even Gold Hill and St James need to be consulted, as they are all being effected by increased traffic flows and parking problems.
Reports commissioned by STC over the last 20 years have all said Shaftesbury is short of parking spaces. Pedestrianisation removes 200 one hour parking slots per day. Leaving Shaftesbury up to 500 parking slots per day short. And that’s according to one of the reports commissioned by STC!
Pedestrianisation may be a popularist policy. But without further consideration of the potentially dire consequences it should not happen. Adrian Thompson Shaftesbury
There are many views about the pedestrianisation of Shaftesbury High Street but there is a clear majority of some 87% in favour of it which includes disabled people. Councillors have listened to comments and have reduced the pedestrian period allowing car access for longer. If disabled people need access to banks or shops after 4pm when the shop or bank might close then that shop or bank has a duty to open to provide the disabled customers with the service.
At the end of the day the decision is not with the Town Council nor do we have a decision about the final details as these matters lie with Dorset Council.
I suggested the council lease and operate a golf buggy to transport people from the disabled parking, like the airport buggies, however covid regulations made it impractical. It is an option though you can imagine the cost over a year!
Some people expect to drive and park outside the shop door, which the proposal would allow for 25% of the working day, which you cannot do at West Quay or other shopping centres Cllr Philip Proctor Shaftesbury
I’m really enjoying the quality of the photos in your magazine – do you have any plans for a print version one day? F Greeves, Marnhull
I’m afraid not Fiona – we deeply believe in the environmental benefits of a digital publication, plus at over 100 pages with a strong focus on high resolution beautiful imagery, each magazine would cost over £10. Currently, in order to make print viable we would have to sacrifice content and quality – neither of which we wish to do!
I wonder if readers have noticed that the minute England won the match against Germany the sun came out and has stayed shining. Do you think this is just a coincidence or are they linked? You appear to have good writers on your mag – what about an investigation? VB, Shaftesbury
I’ve taken advice from an expert on the England team, who is also an expert on lounging about doing nothing in the sunshine while moaning, and my 18 year old son assures me that it’s definitely linked. He says ‘it’s the hand of God blessing the righteous.’ – Ed
I’m fairly new to this area and I am very happily surprised at the confidence Dorset people have: reacting to the lockdowns by starting new businesses, extending their business and being incredibly community-minded. I’m pretty sure we’ll be a more harmonious and prosperous society post-Covid. It’ll take a while but we’ll get there. One of your funnier columnists wrote a piece about it in a previous issue, quoting the economic views of ‘Professor’ Noddy Holder, the singer of Slade. It was amusing but also accurate, in my view.Government has got used to spending big – when tax revenues return (all forecasts predict it will be sooner, not later) I hope and believe that they will continue to think big. W Smith, Shaftesbury
I was amazed to read about the retired RAF pilot who served in the Falklands. What an incredibly brave and skilled man – and what heroes we have quietly living in our midst. Sally B, Sturminster Newton
Sally, they’re not living all that ‘quietly’ as you will read if you glance at our follow-up article on a ‘Famous flier ‘annoys’ BV Magazine journalist’ here… Ed
I live in Okeford Fitzpaine, not far from the old dairy site and the houses that were featured in the last ‘Then & Now’ column. How fascinating it was, still within living memory for some. I felt rather sad the next day, walking down the street and remembering those who were once there. Lucy P, Okeford Fitzpaine
