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April 2019 April 2019

DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL REPORT BERE REGIS HISTORY SOCIETY

Purbeck District Council We had our February meeting at The
Village Hall on Wednesday the 20th
This will cease to exist from the end of March - whilst (having skipped January due to coughs
the new Dorset Council authority will start its and colds). We began by re-capping the
existence from April 1 there will not be any elections aims of the society, especially to find the
st
until May 2 . However, if we apply to remain in the earliest origins of Bere Regis, and we
nd
EU for longer than a few weeks then there will be compared our village with activities in
European elections for a new selection of MEP’s on both Wiltshire and Ancient Egypt.
May 23 and the local elections will be delayed until Surprisingly,
rd
then. At the time of writing this report it was not clear Bere Regis has put up a good show as far as antiquities
what was the likely outcome so please look out for are concerned. This was followed by the showing of
any announcements. Our last Purbeck District an Egyptian carving (2,800 BC) and a small Mummy-
Council meeting will have been on Tuesday March model (about 1,500 BC) both on loan to the Society.
19 where we will be winding up the books and closing off a number of processes Des then gave a short talk on metal detecting, using
th
to hand over to the new authority. his own detector to demonstrate technique and
special searching modes obtainable. Then we had a

talk on the Second World War weapons, the V-1 and V
Mini Bus for Bere Regis -2, and the attacks on Southern England in 1944 and
1945. A surprising number of members had memories,
One of my final acts with DCC was to arrange for Bere Regis Parish Council to
purchase a mini bus that had reached the end of its public life but is still in or recalled their parents' memories of those attacks in
perfectly good condition. the last 10 months of the war. A piece of shrapnel from
both weapons was shown. We then had refreshments

while a number of new exhibits were viewed, including
Dorset Council Appointments process newspaper cuttings from Victorian times about the
village.
We have now completed appointing the Chief Executive and most of his direct
reports. At the next level down there are 23 people and 9 positions to be filled. The next meeting will be on the 20th March, and new
We are working hard to minimise the number of redundancies but this is an members are welcome.
inevitable conclusion of the decision to abolish a complete tier of government in John Pitfield, Project Secretary
the form of 5 District Councils. As the Workforce portfolio holder, I have the
responsibility for ensuring our policy is both effective and fai, and this is currently
occupying a great deal of my time.

Verge Management

In a recent nationwide competition Dorset County Council came top out of eight When you respond to advertisers, do please tell them you saw
shortlisted authorities for its innovative ecological approach to highway verge
management by reducing soil fertility through the collection of grass cuttings. their advert in this magazine - it helps them monitor the
They have also introduced species of flowering plants that restrict grass growth
whilst ensuring low nutrient soils are used in road construction. The result is slow effectiveness of their advert and helps us generate more
growing, beautiful wildflower verges that attract and sustain pollinating insects. It advertising revenue!!
is also saving money as the verges require less cutting.

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