A personal view of a Parish Councillor

The Parish Council is much better than it was with regard to moving with the times. The village population is changing and has gone up, the Parish are consulted more by the District on certain things. I do feel that we ought to be considered a little more. There are three tiers of local Government and we are at the bottom – we tend to be forgotten. The Parish Council is the place where parishioners can air their views to councillors. I do feel that we have had a very good period of relations between the Parish Council and the community within the village. The Parish Council in Broadmayne is accessible both to the community and to the councillors of the next tiers up.

The greatest attendance we ever had at a meeting was when we had on the agenda, ‘Improving Watergates Lane to a road open to all traffic’. The local residents objected; they wished it to continue as a bridleway. In general I don’t think that many realise that their contributions are welcomed and they can have their say in the democratic half- hour set aside during every Parish Council meeting. I suspect that because the Parish Council’s precept (that portion of the council tax allocated to parishes) is so little, people tend to be apathetic. I’m afraid it’s a sign of the times that people just don’t bother; it’s too much trouble to attend the meetings and the council will do what it wants anyway. It’s the same with the attendance at most things; people either want to go to a theme park where they are going to be entertained or an animal park. Broadmayne’s closeness to Dorchester makes it more difficult to maintain itself as a rural village. Many people here commute to work and have interests outside the village. We also have a significant intake of retired people, a number of whom are newcomers to the village. We are fortunate in having developments that have attracted families but we really need more young people and, I really can’t see, bearing in mind the cost of living – especially transport, that the village can provide the draw.

I don’t see us linking with Dorchester but I do see expansion in the future. West Knighton seem to want to stay on their own together with Knightsford. I can see that Broadmayne itself will have additional housing, probably not for twenty or twenty-five years, but there are sites that will be developed. Looking at the overall infrastructure, the local school is likely to be a big issue. If a new First school is built at Crossways (a growing community identified for significant housing development over the next ten years), Broadmayne First School would lose 40% of its school children and would be no longer viable. This would be bound to have an impact on Broadmayne itself. There is a view that the village can’t stay still if it is to sustain its community character. I have been an elected member of the Parish Council for 30 years and have been pleased to make a contribution for the benefit of my fellow parishioners.

Tony Bradshaw

What is Broadmayne Parish Council?
Report of the work of the Parish Council 1998/9 
Minutes of a council meeting