Page 13 - BR-May-2018

May 2018 May 2018

In 2002, as a Parish Councillor, Campbell headed a Steering Group, with a brief
to put together a Parish Plan. The process to bring this plan to fruition included
extensive involvement and consultation with the community. The result of 700
hours of local voluntary effort was a wide-ranging document covering local
concerns such as housing, community facilities and conservation issues. By 2004
the plan had been adopted by both the Parish Council and Purbeck District
Council as a Community Policy on future developments, with the express
intention of being used to assist with local authority decision making at all levels.
Thanks to this forward-thinking approach, when putting this document together,
the plan remains relevant to the Parish Council today.
As part of the consultation with residents in developing the Parish Plan it became
clear that there was an appetite in the Parish for a community website.
Campbell was pivotal in bringing this wish to fruition. The aim of the website was
to provide information to both residents and visitors alike on the facilities and
activities within the Parish. Campbell is still the editor of the website and it
remains a wonderful window into the life of our rural parish and a focus for the
entire community. Whilst the site remains entirely relevant, Campbell has once
again seized the initiative and is currently engaged in bringing the site up to
date, in so far as its underlying technology is concerned, as well as updating it for
the new Data Protection legislation.
Campbell’s ability to research complex issues and relate them to the challenges
faced by our community has meant that he has been approached by others to
assist with issues and projects from time to time. In 2015 he was asked by the
Village Hall Committee to review the administrative arrangements for running the
Village Hall Trust within Charity Commission requirements as the law had
significantly updated since its originating documents of 1983. Following research
and public consultation, in 2016 a preferred way forward was identified and
Campbell was able to present a draft of the recommended Constitution of the
Briantspuddle Village Hall as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation based on
the recommended Charities Commission “Foundation” Model.

In 2012 Campbell decided to take the bull by the horns on behalf of the whole
community. Residents were reporting very low and variable Broadband
capacity and he decided enough was enough. Campbell spearheaded a Self-
Help campaign with two elements. The first to make sure that Parishioners’ house
installation was as good as it could be and the second was to report poor
performance to the Internet Provider. Regarding the first, Campbell offered
information on the community website, including diagrams and pictures, but
inevitably residents contacted him for additional support and expertise. In
response he spent many hours seeking to improve individual installations and
offering guidance.
A leaflet drop increased awareness of the issue and what individuals could do to

Affpuddle and Turnerspuddle website: www.briantspuddle.info

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