Your Residents Association Newsletter

Thursday 5^th May gave the residents of Dorset the opportunity to elect a new Police and Crime Commissioner to oversee Dorset Police and set their priorities and budgets for the next few years. The person elected to fill the role was the ‘Conservative Party’ Candidate David Sidwick. The resident’s association committee were able to speak to David via zoom (as well as 2 of the other candidates) before the election and we were impressed with his presentation and vision for the future of local policing.

The Commons ward also had the by election on the same day to elect a councillor to replace the late Colin Bungey who sadly passed away last year leaving a vacancy on BCP council. Winning by a good majority was the ‘Christchurch Independent Party’ Candidate Vanessa Ricketts who is Town Clerk for Wareham Town council and previously worked for Christchurch Borough Council.

We wish them both well in their new roles and look forward to working with them.
 

There has been more plans for an Incinerator to be built at Eco Sustainable Solutions at their Chapel Lane facility in Hurn. Eco Sustainable Solutions LTD wants to install the facility for the generation of electricity and heat through a “low-emission thermal process using residual waste” at their site in Chapel Lane. Developers say the energy generated would be enough to heat 6,000 homes a year and power 8,000 a year. The development will also include the recycling of 10,000 tonnes per annum of non-hazardous residual waste. However, the proposals have been met with 95 objections. Alasdair Keddie, co-chair of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Green Party, said: “Despite the glossy ‘carbon friendly’ PR, the Hurn Energy Recovery Facility is an incinerator project. “The word ‘incinerator’ is scrupulously avoided throughout the planning application and supporting information from Eco Sustainable Solutions Ltd. “Energy recovery from incinerating waste is not low carbon or climate friendly. It is essentially generating energy from dirty fossil fuel.” Poole resident Amanda Dilworth said: “I object to the proposed incinerator. Burning plastic is the same as burning fossil fuels. It is wasteful and polluting and breaks the council’s commitment to address the climate and ecological emergency. “The BCP area cannot provide enough waste to feed the incinerator which means waste will be trucked or shipped into the area, increasing traffic and pollution. The plume from the incinerator is a health risk to local residents. Has this long term risk been assessed? Do local residents know that birth defects have been linked to air pollution from incinerator plumes?” Grace Hamilton, from Ferndown, said: “Bournemouth and Poole’s air quality does not need to decline any further. It’s also an eyesore and I expect noisy too. How much more infrastructure can West Parley actually handle?”

As a Residents association we have already submitted our objection to this development.

Link to Bournemouth Echo Article

Weblink to application and to make an objection

Planning application: 8/21/0207/FUL
 

Works will begin next Tuesday 4 May to recycle existing beach material to adjust levels at Avon, Friars Cliff and Highcliffe beaches. The team will also be carrying out repairs to the existing rock groynes, and placing additional rock armour to reinforce the Steamer Point path. There will be compound in place at Highcliffe beach with heavy machinery in action. Please take care in the area, making sure to adhere to any signage in place and keep dogs and children away from any machinery.

Christchurch Beach Recycling and Rock Groyne Repairs, May 2021

 

BCP Council are trialling changes to the way some of our grass areas across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are managed by reducing their cutting schedules in certain places to allow grass and wildflowers to grow. This has the potential to reduce their carbon footprint. Although the cutting of some verges and other green spaces will be reduced, the edges of these areas will be mown to prevent any longer grass overhanging roads, cycleways and pavements. Approaches to junctions (sightlines) will also be cut so that road users can see oncoming traffic.

Grass cutting (bcpcouncil.gov.uk)

 

Our Park Cafés are doing their bit for the environment with their reusable, 100% recyclable Park Cups, which aim to reduce waste across our parks and open spaces. When you buy a hot drink from one of our cafés, you pay £1 extra for a reusable cup, which is refunded when you return it to any Park Café!

Over the last year, being able to go outside to our parks and green spaces has been so important for people's health and wellbeing. The Parks Foundation is asking residents to donate to their latest wildflower appeal, to help improve these parks and green spaces by helping to restore some of our country’s lost meadows and bring back wildlife.

 

If you're having a spring clean and no longer want some items, you can post them online for someone else to enjoy - after all, one person's trash is another person's treasure!

You can join your local group on websites including Freecycle, Freegle and Trash Nothing and list your items and see if anyone is interested in taking them away!

 

You can now get composting in your garden with a 220 litre or 330 litre compost bin for a subsidised price of £6 and £8 respectively. BCP have also secured multibuy special offers at Get Composting, so there's no reason not to transform your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden.

 

Did you know we can collect your old batteries alongside your fortnightly recycling bin collections? Just put your used batteries in an old carrier bag and place it on top of the recycling bin and the BCP collection crew will collect and safely recycle them.

 

All adults in England can now take a free, rapid lateral flow device (LFD) test twice a week. LFD tests are for people who do not have symptoms. LFD testing can be accessed by going to a LFD testing site, ordering a test online, or collecting from a test site or some local pharmacies. You can also take a test through a workplace/school/university testing scheme, if eligible. Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 should self-isolate immediately and book a PCR test online or by calling 119.

Twice weekly rapid testing to be available to everyone in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

Your local councillors

Christchurch Town Council

BCP Council Commons ward