Susan Jefferies

Councillor Dog                                                                      Saturday August 29^th 2009

Heck ! another job for me, being a Councillor Dog can been quite busy in August.  We have surveyed footpaths and bridleways, walked all around Beacon Heath to Upton and back with a Countryside officer and today’s job is before breakfast !!

Susan and I had an intriguing assignation at 08.30 this morning.  We had been invited for a quiet walk on Corfe Mullen Recreation Ground to see how well the Rec is cared for by the Dog Walkers, who are concerned by the threat of restrictions, Dog Control Orders.

Quite short notice, invited yesterday and Susan only confirmed at 7pm last night that we could be there.

8.30am, our morning walk, well before the teams started to play.  Out of the car and we met Keith Stannard and his wife and dog, then realized that a little way away there were all sorts of people !  12 hours is plenty of time for the midnight barking to do it’s work and the word had got around and lots of people had come to meet us!  Keith was very apologetic but No, we said, Great, the more the merrier! 

Perfect August morning too, clear blue sky, dew still on the grass, scents good.

We all walked quietly and sensibly round the pitches and down to the Dog Walking Field where we were all let off the lead and raced around together, lots of fun and lots of smells, good hedges to sniff in.  I made a lot of new friends, can’t remember everyone’s name but pretty good bunch this lot are!   Collies, Labradors, Golden Retrievers and some very lively terriers too.

We went on to look at the Picnic Field, then returned around the cricket pitch having a really good look.  At 9.15am, as the teams began to arrive we left for home and breakfast.

Our humans talked far too much as you can imagine, but Susan says that they had some really good and sensible discussions and stayed friends, as we all did.   While they were talking I lost my ball to Molly, found another, then lost that one.  Too many distractions and new friends to get to know. 

I have asked Susan to list the main points we noticed for you.

• There were more dogs than we were expecting, probably 30, many more than we ever see on Beacon Heath, this is obviously a very popular place to walk dogs.
• All were well behaved
• The whole area was extremely clean and tidy, we saw not one bit of dog poo.  That includes everywhere, the Dog Walking Field as well.  Much, much cleaner in fact than Beacon Heath.
• Credit must be given to everyone concerned, the groundsmen who look after the Rec and the public who use the area.
• We saw several people picking-up after their dogs and disposing properly in the bins.
• There was no evidence at all of fouling on the playing surface, we inspected all over.
• People did say that wild animals, foxes and badgers, sometimes mess on the pitches at night, but we do not want to be blamed for that.
• Everyone said that they would never run across the pitches when children were playing.  A couple of people were throwing balls for their dogs on the pitches, however the pitches were not being used then.
• Susan inspected her shoes when we got home and they were simply covered in grass cuttings.

Conclusion, we had fun, met lots of good people and saw plenty of evidence of good behaviour and we all hope that this consultation will bring out something positive.

Zac Jefferies August 29^th

East Dorset District Council (EDDC) has issued a leaflet asking for consultation on impending Dog Control Orders (DCO) on the Recreation ground in Corfe Mullen.

Feelings are running quite high !

On the one hand the Rec is well used by all our Sports Clubs, over 200 youngsters take part in Junior Football for instance and the Sports Clubs are determined to protect the health of our children by eliminating dog fouling on the pitches.

On the other hand the Dog Walkers use the area very regularly, often 3 times a day, whatever the weather, and want to continue.  The whole area is a zone where dog mess must be bagged and picked and disposed of in the proper bins and almost everyone respects that.

The DCO would require dogs to be on leads everywhere except the Dog Walking Field, where they could run free,  and dogs banned from walking over the playing surface of the pitches.

Everyone is invited to contribute their views to dogorders@eastdorset.gov.uk  before September 30th

The women’s Refuge is Weymouth, in existence for over 20 years to take up to 6 families in emergencies who are at immediate risk of domestic violence, is being threatened with closure.

This may not look as though it is of immediate significance to Corfe Mullen and East Dorset.  However, if you were part of a family (from East Dorset) under constant threat of violence and perhaps death, would you not feel safer in a Refuge in Weymouth than one much closer to home ?

This is an important facility.  Please contact me if you are concerned.   I am.

Those residents in Corfe Mullen South who use the Roman Road will know that Poole Borough Council is doing resurfacing work next week.

Plan A was to close the road completely for 3 days so that we could not use our cars during the day unless we had ‘escaped’ with them before 7.30am and parked in the surrounding streets.  This was going to affect some 300 houses from Gladelands Way, to Beacon Road and all roads between.

We residents and Dorset County Council were not consulted until a few days ago.  You should know by now that we have negotiated long and hard and come up with Plan B.

Plan B means that the work will be done in 3 chunks.

On Tuesday the south part will be done, so Beacon Road will be closed, however residents will still be able to use Maxwell Road.  Both Corfe Way and Upton Way will be closed off so we will need to enter via Clarendon Road.

By Wednesday this part will be open but Maxwell Road and the Close will be closed off, residents in Maxwell Road will be able to use Beacon Road.  The end of Clarendon Road will be closed so we will all need to come via Upton Way and Corfe Way.  Residents in Gladelands and the Corfe Lodge Road area will be unable to drive to the end of Clarendon and will need to turn into Gladelands Way.

Day 3, Thursday will see Gladelands and the Corfe Lodge Road area including Beech Close and Lavender Way and also Dell Close completely shut off from 9am - 5.30pm.  Residents here will need to have ‘escaped’ with their cars and parked them outside the area if they need to use them during the day.

You should all have had a clear map delivered to you which explains all this.  if not, please get in touch with me.  I hope we have managed to minimise disruption, it is clear to all of us that the road needs to be resurfaced.

The summer holidays are upon us, the summer is half spent, how time flies !

I am at home in Corfe Mullen this month, while half the world seems away, but if we have better weather there is nowhere to beat Dorset.

I am walking some of the footpaths in Corfe Mullen to report on the state of maintenance.  So far not too bad.  We have 40 marked footpaths in Corfe Mullen which are the responsibility of the County Council (there are lots more but they are not DCC ones) and regular maintenance has become a bit haphazard, mainly simply a response to complaints.

In September the Parish Coucnil will audit all the paths and try to create a timetable of regular inspection.  In the meantime any of you who use a footpath regularly could help us by reporting problems to the Parish Office, behind the Co-op and the Library (tel 698600).

During the election campaign some mischievous remarks were circulated about Green Belt Issues.  I did not reply during the campaign because it is not good form to enter into a ding-dong battle, however I should now like to clear up some things.

My opponent stated he would Stop Building on the Green Belt.  How I wish he could but I am sure most of you realize it is not a simple as this.  Your Councillor simply standing up and shouting, ‘Stop !  Not here ! Go somewhere else !’  would not work. 

I do not want the Green Belt boundary to be breached.  I have always worked vigorously to protect the integrity of our Green Belt.   I have also worked to find an alterative site for the required housing to be built on, but without success.

I have attended Cabinet Meetings when invited; I have no right to speak at a Cabinet Meeting and can never vote. There have been times when I have entered a written response.

Electing an alternative County Councillor would never have given Corfe Mullen a vote on the Cabinet.  Many decisions on Tory Dorset County Council are taken behind closed doors (ie the doors of the Cabinet) and the LibDems have long fought to change this.

I have attended countless meetings about the Regional Spatial Strategy, I have spoken many times, however Minutes of these meetings are not verbatim, what I have said is not always reported in the Minutes.

Many of these meetings are concerned with other aspects of the RSS which is an enormous document; Corfe Mullen is only a small part of the whole Regional Plan.  Many meetings have dealt with Dorchester, Bournemouth, Hurn airport etc etc.

I will continue to use all legitimate ways to protest about this development that few local people are happy about.  Let me also remind you that it was a Tory County Council who suggested that Corfe Mullen was a suitable place for development in the first place.

Wonderful victory on Friday !!   Thank you all so much.  Thank you to all who voted and to all who helped in many different ways.  it will be a continuing privilege to serve as County Councillor for Corfe Mullen for a further 4 years.

The result was

Susan Jefferies LibDems     1453

Brian Lane Tories                 1399

Evans UKIP                             554

Majority  54     Turnout   42%

A lot of people are talking about MP’s expenses on the doorstep.  First let me emphasise that these are not a local election issue, but you all know that.  Sadly it has made many people distrust all politicians.

As  County Councillor the only expenses I claim for are petrol and the occasional train ticket when travelling for Council business.

The LibDems have had their sticky fingers in the till less htan most.  Our own MP, Annette Brooke hardly features.  If you check her website you can find her modest expenses for a small rented flat in London, you can even see photographs which show that it is simply a place to lay her head and a tiny kitchen in which to have breakfast and prepare the simplest late supper.  In fact I am thinking of going up there and cheering it up for her, it could do with a few pictures of Dorset and a couple of colourful cushions !

Nest most important on the doorstep is protecting the integrity of our Green Belt.

I am sure you all realise that we LibDems have been fighting this issue right from when it first reared it’s ugly head nearly 3 years ago.  The Tory Council Council offered Corfe Mullen as a possible place in which to build in the first place, which is what has made this such an uphill struggle.  Their protests now are too little too late and simply window dressing.

long silence, I am sorry !

Elections in four weeks, activity building up, I will keep you all informed.

We have a County Council Election alongside the European Election, both conducted under different systems.

In the County Council Elections you have 3 candidates to choose from

1. Myself, the County Councillor who has represented Corfe Mullen for the past 5 years and worked very hard, every day, to try to keep Corfe Mullen the place that we all want to live in.  We keep you informed all through the year, and you will get even more through the door over the next week or two.
2. A candidate who has been campaigning for 2 years as a non political person, who has suddenly accepted Tory funding ?!!  He is passionate about preventing building on the Green Belt, are not we all ?  But he has an added impetus, it is right in his back yard.  He is promising the earth, I simply ask you all to judge for yourselves what is possible.  We, the LibDems, promise never to offer you unrealistic outcomes.
3. UKIP, I need say no more.

For Europe you vote for a party list.  You will get more information through the post.  What happens is that the votes are allocated per party, the most successful party elects the first 3 or 4 on their list, the next probably 2 or 3 and so on.

Top of the LibDem list is Graham Watson who has been our LibDem MEP for the last 10 years, a hugely successful and respected MEP Graham is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the whole of Europe.  He works incredibly hard and somehow manages to visit every part of his Constituency which includes 52 Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies, he represents the whole of the South West right down to Gibraltar on his own.  If we can muster just a few more votes them we can also elect Dr Kay Barnard, a very well qualified candidate who will share Graham’s burden.

Pleas don’t elect another UKIP candidate, they never even turn up in Brussels.

In Corfe Mullen our Library opening hours have been cut from 30 hours a week to 20 hours.  The staff report that during the hours they are open they are busier than ever, the same number of visitors and the same amount of work to deal with in two thirds of the time.

We are also very sad to lose both our long standing Library staff, we will miss them.   However we are very pleased to welcome our new Librarian to Corfe Mullen.

We now have a Children’s Centre in our Library.  This is available whenever the library is open and is also making full use of the days when the library is closed.  Many local people have said that they are pleased to see that our lovely building is being fully utilized.

Across Dorset:

• Staff numbers are being reduced and redundancies have taken place
• Expensive Self Service machines are being installed reducing the personal touch even further. In Corfe Mullen the Library will be closed from March 16th – 20th to allow the installation to take place.
• The cuts in hours all took effect in November, half of Dorset’s libraries are now closed on at least one day, one third are closed on 2 or even 3 days during the week, and evening openings are very restricted.
• A further cut in the Book Fund means the shelves are looking emptier.
• Charges are being levied for the use of computers.
• Library opening hours are: