News Archive
News Archive
Below you will find old news, archived back to 2011 - for information..........
2023
2022
December 2022
What shall we do about the Martyrs Inn?
For all information about the current proposal for the Martyrs Inn please go to the new dedicated website page
November and December 2022
Martyrs Inn
Two village meetings were held to discuss possibilities about ownership of the Martyrs Inn. Please visit the new dedicated website page created to hold all information about current proposals: The Martyrs Inn
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November 2022
Tolpuddle Events Committee
The Joint Chairs of the Committee, Jonathan Van Baars and Hilly Cobban, are standing down at the end of December after eighteen months in the role. Stepping up to the plate as the new Chair is Ian Cray who will take over from 1 January. Huge thanks to Hilly and Jonathan for all they have contributed leading the committee since its formation and congratulations to Ian in his new role.
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November 2022
Boundary Commission for England
There is currently a proposal that Tolpuddle, Cerne Abbas, Sydling, Puddletown and the Piddle Valley should be moved into North Dorset in a constituency shake up aimed at evening out voter numbers. This is stirring up quite a response and you can read more about it in an article by Miranda Holman Robertson in the West Dorset Magazine. This is a nationwide process.
We are aware that there is a consultation period currently open (closes 5 December, 2022) on the proposal – this is the third and final consultation. If you feel strongly about this proposal then go to the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) Consultation Portal (bcereviews.org.uk) to make your views known.
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October 2022
Food Bank
During the Harvest Festival, the Church collected items for a small Food Bank which is situated at the back of the church...……. if you are struggling at this difficult time do come and help yourself - don’t be shy.
There is also information there about other sources of help.
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October 2022
Website Email Subscribe
Really pleased to let people know that there is now an option on the website to subscribe to the Website Newsletter which will be emailed out to subscribers periodically highlighting upcoming events, news and items of interest.
See the Subscribe box at the bottom of the page.
This facility is going to be invaluable with news, events and updates straight to people's inboxes. Subscribe to receive the latest new direct to your mailbox.
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October 2022
ALERT:
A couple of outbuildings in Tolpuddle were broken into during the night of Monday, 3rd October and items taken. Please be aware and lock up as much as possible.
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September 2022
Cost of Living Crisis
Dorset Council has issued a helpful leaflet for those concerned about the rise in the cost of living.
Please click here.
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September 2022
The West Dorset Magazine
Copies are now available in the front Porch of the Village Hall (no longer the church). Please help yourself - free.
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September 2022
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022
At this time of great national and personal sadness mourning our much loved Queen, a Book of Condolence will be available in the Village Church from Saturday (10th) morning.
Please do call in if you wish to add your condolences and thoughts.
Update: 20.9.22: Book now closed
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September 2022
Music in the Meadow was held on 3 September, 2022. Click here to read the review of the evening.
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August 2022
Puddletown Area Parish Council (PAPC) - Tolpuddle and Southover Villages
Pleased to welcome Tyra Nozaic Goosen who is taking over the role of Clerk from Julia Johnstone. Tyra will be looking after the Tolpuddle and Southover Village meetings (which are additional to the PAPC meetings) and generally held twice a year. Many thanks of course to Julia who steps down after many years having done an excellent job.
Click here for more info
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August 2022
Tolpuddle Village Fibre Broadband to the Door - Progress
See latest update further up this page April 2023
Historic and Current Status
In 2014 BT installed fibre to the village exchange boxes and since then there has been interest on whether we could get fibre to the door. Many households in the village receive poor and slow broadband. Separately it was discovered that Dorset is a lead county in looking to provide fibre to rural locations and to support this Dorset provides vouchers towards the cost with additional funds per voucher to encourage this.
After discussion with various people in the village, I agreed to investigate the possibility of getting fibre installed to each house in the village. Summarised below is a dateline of the progress so far following up on this.
April 2021
Registered interest with BT Openreach
May 2021
BT Provided us with login details to register all interested Parties.
May – August 2021
Collected details of 90 interested households, using Facebook and a leaflet drop through all household doors and registered them online.
October 2021
BT OpenReach provided an outline quote to do the work: £302,000. A grant of £2,500 per house and £6,000 per business meant we needed about another 15 houses to cover the cost.
October 2021
BT advised that they had to suspend any proposed work due to Dorset being granted a budget by the Government to install Fibre to about 50% of properties across Dorset. From the details we could ascertain at the time, Tolpuddle would be included in this programme.
November 2021
Dorset Gigabit Programme was launched and when we were eventually able to speak to them, we asked what our status would be.
December 2021
We approached BT Openreach once more to see if we could proceed with their initial proposal and were informed that they would have to re-appraise the proposal and we advised some added addresses which had expressed interest.
March 2022
BT Openreach eventually came back and advised some of the addresses we had would increase the cost over £400,000 and could we review these. To move things forward as quickly as possible we asked for these addresses to be removed and a new quote provided.
April 2022
The Dorset Gigabit team advised that only 7,000 houses would be covered in the initial phase and were advised Tolpuddle would not now be part of the initial phase. The next phase would not be looked at until 2025.
April 2022
We approached Wessex Internet, who had installed fibre to Briantspuddle, Affpuddle and Southover. They expressed interest, but as yet have not come back with any firm proposal.
May 2022
BT Openreach advised that original quote of £302,000 was still valid and we asked if this could be moved to a final quote and proposal for installation.
July 2022
A conference call with BT Openreach provided more detail on timings and costs. BT are to provide a final formal quote within 4 – 6 weeks. The likely timing would be installation complete by the end of 2023 at the latest.
Comments:
If we are to proceed, all properties interested would have to confirm online that they are happy to proceed and then BT would apply for the grants. We would need at least 120 households to complete this to ensure the likely costs are covered. The online process is simple but we may need to provide some help to some households.
If houses do not express interest, they can get the installation at a later date, but the cost could exceed their grant, depending upon how far the house is away from the cable line in the village.
If a household confirms interest, once installed, the owners have to have Fibre Broadband set-up and running within 3 months. BT do not need to be the provider.
Details on the way this works and likely running costs will be provided when we have the final proposal, hopefully in August 2022.
Contacts:
Jonathan Van Baars
jonathan@vanbaars.co.uk
07887 657256
Ian Cray
ian.cray@maidenvideo.co.uk
07941 645303
August 2022
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2021
No archived news
2020
June 2020 || Puddletown Area Parish Council
Dorset Council, as the local planning authority, is required to carry out a consultation on the submitted plan. The consultation is due to commence on 26th June until 7th August 2020. This will give individuals the opportunity to comment on the content of the plan or how it was produced.
The plan and supporting documents can be viewed online via the following links:
Puddletown Neighbourhood Plan Website
link to: http://www.puddletownareaparishcouncil.co.uk/Puddletown_Neighbourhood_Plan_24839.aspx
2020 Tolpuddle Survey
Download Tolpuddle Survey (document to be uploaded Sept 2022)
Download Tolpuddle Survey Database (document to be uploaded Sept 2022)
May 2020 || Tolpuddle Village Meetings
The Tolpuddle Village AGM which was scheduled for Thursday 21st May has been postponed due to the Covid -19 virus. The monthly Parish Council meetings continue on-line rather than in the usual public format. If you wish to raise any issues please contact Tolpuddle Councillors Peter Walton and Nicky Ling or the Parish Council Clerk via email on puddletown@dorset-aptc.gov.uk The agenda will be posted on the Village Hall notice board and website ahead of the Parish Council meeting and should include a code to enable people to join the meeting via Zoom.
Julia Johnstone (Village Meeting Clerk) tolpuddlemeeting@yahoo.com
2019
Sale of the Martyrs Inn - Meeting on 5th December, 2019
There were 46 attendees. Lots of discussion and information about the pub finances and how a community bid would work. It was decided that the village was very much in favour of retaining the pub however we didn't want to register a community bid at this point. It was hoped that a purchaser would be found who would appreciate and maximise its full potential. Peter Walton will report the meeting outcome to the PAPC meeting in Tolpuddle on 10th December.
Interesting reading regarding Community Pubs can be found here
2019 || Tolpuddle Defibrillator Cycle Challenge
August 2019 || Legacy of Tolpuddle Martyrs saved thanks to National Lottery
The National Lottery Heritage Fund today confirmed a grant of £329,300 to help save Tolpuddle Old Chapel, the meeting place of the Dorsetshire Labourers before the events that saw them help spark the Trade Union movement and become known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs.
2018 - no archived news
2017- no archived news
2016
February 2016 || Rural Bus Services Under Threat
Dorset County Council intend to cut a number of rural bus services from April 2016 in an effort to save £500,000, including the 186 service from Dorchester to Poole which runs on Tuesday and Fridays. Up until two years ago Tolpuddle was serviced by 5 buses a day to and from Dorchester and 4 daily to Poole, from Monday to Saturday inclusive. Since the last review, this was reduced to 3 per day to Dorchester Monday to Friday and a twice weekly service to Poole. In April there is a proposal to cut out completely the service to Poole, despite it being well used (20 to 25 people on the average trip). The County Council no longer wish to subsidise the service as it is used mainly for leisure and shopping. There has been a Rural Bus Consultation which ended on 8 February. I am informed by our County Councillor that there may well be a further "review" of services in 2017 which could result in reductions to our already limited service to Dorchester. Unless there is a change in Council funding the only buses that may still be operating in 2020 will be those that make a profit for the bus companies or where there are contractual obligations (ie.to schools). Do you want villages such as Tolpuddle, which has seen an steady increase in population in the past decade, to end up being only accessible to people who own their own cars? With youngsters and the elderly reliant on obtaining lifts from neighbours and friends. Our roads are already congested, particularly in the summer holidays, this will make matters worse.
If like me you wish to see our present level of services maintained, please write or email your County Councillor, Andy Canning (andycanning@btinternet.com) and MP Oliver Letwin (oliver.letwinmp@parliament.uk).
I am proposing to set a group in Tolpuddle to campaign for the retention of our existing bus services, possibly in conjunction with others from neighbouring villages. If you are interested in joining this group, please contact xxxxxxxxxxx
2015 - no archived news
2014
November 2014 || Superfast Broadband Update
An update for you on what's happening with superfast broadband in Tolpuddle.
A meeting was held on Friday 14 Nov 2014 with Openreach, the National Trust and Stakeholders from the Parish Council at Tolpuddle Village Green. A location on the village green was agreed with the National Trust and now the Wayleave and appropriate documentation is being progressed. According to the latest information that we have this means that work will commence as soon as possible, and Openreach are currently estimating fibre broadband available in the area in the new year.
June 2014 || Superfast Broadband is on the way
Areas of Abbotsbury, Dorchester, Maiden Newton, Martinstown, Preston, Puddletown, Upwey and Warmwell. Phase 2 work is due to run from June 2014. The first customers will be able to buy new services from October 2014. Availability will continue to increase until Christmas 2014. Puddletown telephone exchange serves Tolpuddle and other villages in the area. More Information is available Here
June 2014 || Mid Dorset Mencap Group need Donations
The above group is going to open a "Virtual eBay" shop in Dorchester in July, this will be a location were local people with learning difficulties can have the opportunity to learn new skills etc. They are looking for items to sell, any donation will be gratefully received. For any enquiries or donations (delivery or collection), please contact Tina Hansen - 07917 411168 or Mervyn Harris - 01305 848338.
January 2014 || West Coast Energy return!
West Coast Energy has booked the Village Hall on Thursday 13th February (2pm - 8pm) for a "Consultation Meeting". Not to be missed by those concerned about the possible wind farm between Tolpuddle and Milborne.
2013
October 2013 || Good News! Windfarm Application Withdrawn
Application No: 1/D/13/000183
Proposal: Proposed wind farm to comprise of nine turbines with associated crane pads, substation control building, anemometer mast, new tracks, new entrance junction off A354, plus temporary site construction compound. Location: LAND SOUTH OF A354 AND NORTH OF A35, NORTH OF TOLPUDDLE, SOUTH WEST OF MILBORNE ST ANDREW, AND NORTH EAST OF PUDDLETOWN, DORSET
With reference to the above, would you please note that as of the 24 October 2013 this application has now been WITHDRAWN from the Planning Register.
August 2013 || Orchard Meadow - Good News
We've secured funding from Viridor Credits and West Dorset District Council to resurface the basketball area, improve drainage and provide a dedicated petanque area. This work will commence on the 9th September for up to two weeks and will mean the basketball area and the eastern entrance to Orchard Meadow will be closed off. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
The local community are planning to hold a sports fun afternoon for all ages on Sunday 6th October, 2013 at Orchard Meadow to celebrate the opening of the improved facilities - watch this space for more details!
Puddletown Area Parish Council
August 2013 || St John's Church
Our parish church, St John's, now has planning permission from the District Council and the Diocese for the development of Phase 3- this will involve the building of a disabled WC and creating a servery area- this will bring the church to life and encourage the use of this historic building for various activities such as concerts and lectures as well as the usual church services. The village has raised large sums of money and we have accessed every grant possible but we still have a shortfall of £15,000. Do you feel a connection to this small Dorset village and its heritage? Do you have happy memories of events in this church- perhaps a marriage or christening and do you feel you could spare some cash to help us reach our objective and save our church? If so do contact the PCC Treasurer on 01305848552 or taylorjs@doctors.org.uk
July 2013 || Martyrs Weekend
A great weekend for fund raising! The final totals still have to be agreed, but initial estimations are in excess of £3500. Many thanks are expressed to all villagers who helped with the various activities.
July 2013 || Faster Broadband on its way!
A multi-million pound contract to bring faster broadband to thousands more Dorset homes and businesses was signed today (Weds July 10). Dorset County Council and BT have agreed a £31.75 million deal which will see high-speed fibre optic broadband becoming available to 97 per cent of premises in the county within three and a half years.
June 2013 || Travel Dorset Web Site Launch
Travel Dorset has a range of useful information to help you travel easily around Dorset by car, public transport or other means. This includes up to the minute traffic information, the location and cost of car parks and live information about bus times.
April 2013 || Superfast Broadband
Regarding the procurement, the Invitation to Tender was issued in February, with responses due back on Monday (22 April). There will then be an evaluation period, followed by an agreement period, with contract signing expected in July.
It is important you register your interest as the amount of interest will dictate whether or not this area will be included in the plans.
January 2013 || Puddletown Library
The Community Library in Puddletown will be opened at 3.00 pm on Monday 7th January 2013 by internationally acclaimed BBC journalist, Kate Adie. Come and join us.
New Opening Times From Monday 7th January 2013:
Monday:- 3:00pm to 5:30pm
Tuesday:- Closed
Wednesday:- 3:00pm to 5:30pm
Thursday:- Closed
Friday:- 3:00pm to 5:30pm
Saturday:- 10:00am to 12 noon
Sunday:- Closed
2012
August 2012 || Proposed Wind Farm
Following the recent revelations regarding the Milborne wind farm, an action group has been established by members of Tolpuddle, Southover and Affpuddle. More information will be posted here, in the meantime a Facebook group has been set up HERE
The action group TAINT has been set up and a website is xxxxxx
August 2012 || Tolpuddle Bus Service
Village bus users will have noticed that a new provider 'First' are now operating the service to Dorchester and Poole. The time tables have been slightly modified to the 387 service, details are displayed at each bus stop.
387 Monday - Friday Timetable 387 Saturday Timetable
Thankyou to all the villagers who signed our petition and sent letters to our MP so that there was an awareness at County Hall of the importance of public transport links in the village. Also, a big thankyou to Hamish Green for his maintenance work on the bus shelter. Jan Hopkin
July 2012 || Superfast broadband is coming to Dorset!
The work to deliver superfast broadband in Dorset is planned for 2013/14. Register your interest in the Superfast Dorset scheme online. Register Here
June 2012 || Latest Dorset Road Safe Newsletters
'No Excuse' May 2012 Newsletter
2011
November 2011 || FUNDRAISING TOTAL IN
The final total for Ray Kerslake's fund raising events is in. A total of £8472.50 was raised with several events. £1000 was given to West Dorset Mencap and the remaining £7472.50 to Poole Cancer Unit.
The events included:
14 mile walk which saw 15 take to the hills from 6 till 10.30. Tim Reed, who did the planning, managed to go round the route twice! A few well deserved beers were had back at the Martyrs.
The Party in The Paddock was a huge success providing a fun event for everyone. Special thanks go to Merv, Liz, Jim, Tony, Annette and everyone who helped erecting gazebos, making cakes, donating prizes for the raffle and auction. A big thank you also to Alan Washer who paid for the excellent band.
The Tandem Ride by Ray and Julian went off without any major aches or pains. Thanks to Paul Taylor for the T-Shirts and Julian for constant efforts, indulgent Apple Juices and being auctioned off to cook for 10.
Charity Golf Day at Wareham Golf Club was enjoyed by all those who took part. An excellent evening back at the Martyrs rounded off a perfect day. The day proved to be such a success that it has been scheduled again for 2012.
Ray and Anna would like to express their heart felt thanks to everyone involved in the fund raising and for all the on going support throughout the village.
On the 24th November 2011 there is a Presentation Evening at The Martyrs Inn to celebrate Ray's fund raising this year. Starts at 7.00 - 7.30pm. There will be a bowl of stew in return for a donation.
Pictures from the events can be viewed in the Gallery
September 2011 || 101 NON-EMERGENCY NUMBER GOES LIVE IN DORSET
The new 101 police non-emergency telephone number has gone live.
Members of the public in Dorset must now ring 101 to contact Dorset Police for non-urgent enquiries.
The new 101 number has replaced the previous non-emergency police number in Dorset of 01202 or 01305 222 222. Calls to the 101 non-emergency number from both landlines and mobile phones cost 15 pence per call no matter what time of day you call, or how long you are on the phone.
July 2011 || Martyrs Weekend 15-17 July 2011
The Village Hall raised over £2,200 for the Re-refurbishment Fund during the weekend of the Tolpuddle Festival. Cream teas were served on Saturday Afternoon and Lunches, Cream Teas, Cakes and Tea & Coffee on the Sunday. Gross taking were £2,537.59 and after expenses the net profit at the time of writing is £2,243.47. This figure is approximately £100 down on 2010, when the Festival enjoyed better weather and had more visitors. In addition breakfasts were served on the Martyrs Field and raised £800 which will be shared equally between the Village Hall and St John's Church.
The village car park raised £700 towards the 'Save Our Church' fund.