Leigh

REPS: Philippa Toulson philippa.toulson@gmail.com Eddie Upton upton.eddie@gmail.com DISTRIBUTOR: Judy Tuke

Although, sadly, we are not quite at the stage of numerous events happening in the village, it doesn’t mean that nothing is going on! Work is progressing on the Village Green, so please consider helping them out by donating towards a bench if you possibly can. There is talk of an updated village map and some young artists are already being commissioned to draw special village features. Leigh also has a new WhatsApp Free and For Sale group to help everyone continue their brilliant Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle habits (read on for more details on all those things).

In addition, the last few months have yielded a bumper crop of new arrivals; Sue and Lindsey at Yew Tree House, Jacky at Birch Cottage; Charli, Carl and Alexander at Wyedean; Canon Claude and Liz at Brookfield Farm; Vicky, Tom, baby Jemima and Ruby the dog, opposite the Goodfellows; Jessica and Bos and also Amy in South Street; and Michael and Carol at Droveside. Wow! We welcome you all and hope you will be very happy in the village.

Philippa Toulson and Eddie Upton

St Andrew’s Church, Leigh

Services in the Three Valleys Benefice continue to be held online, but at last we feel we can at least tell you our hopes for Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

As last year, we plan to erect a cross in the churchyard on Good Friday (2 April). This will be on the south side of the church, at the site of the old stone cross.

Subject to government and diocesan rules and directives, for Easter Day (Sunday 4 April), we hope to have a short open air Easter Communion service at 10.00am. Last year, the area around the cross was decorated with spring flowers, messages and other beautiful things, and we hope the same will happen this year, both during and after the service.

We need to ensure that everyone is appropriately distanced for the service and don’t know at this stage if masks will be required for outdoor events – so, be prepared. We will need to keep a check on numbers so if you plan to come, please let us know before Good Friday upton.eddie@gmail.com 07813 089002. Ideally bring a garden chair.

Michelle and Philippa will be putting together Easter Activity bags for any children that would like one. Please contact Eddie to book a bag and a named bag will be left in the church on Thursday 1 April.

On Saturday 20 March we will have our spring churchyard tidy up. There will be plenty of grass to cut and numerous other jobs so do please come and help. If possible, please bring your own tools, gloves etc. though we have some available so do not let that put you off. As always, it is helpful to know if you intend coming (so we know how much cake to bring).

In some churches the 31st of the month is commemorated as a memorial day. At the time of writing, we have remembered Holocaust memorial day, sadly passed the 100,000 mark of Covid-19 deaths and had two funerals in the church. Now seems a good time to embrace this pattern ourselves.

On Wednesday 31 March we will have a short outdoor memorial service by the stone cross and for the rest of that day anyone who wishes to remember someone specific or people in general may leave a token of their own. The next month with a 31st will be May.

Finally, please make a note in your diary for a St. Andrew’s Fish Supper in the Village Hall on 1 December.

Date for your diary

St Andrew’s Church fundraising Fish Supper, Leigh Village Hall Wednesday 1 December at 7.30pm

Alaistair Cumming and Eddie Upton

Churchwardens 21

You will have seen that some small trees have now been planted in various positions on the village green. We received a generous donation from the Leigh Lottery Fund as well as numerous donations from generous villagers.... thank you so much.

As spring is now approaching, we thought it would be a good addition to the Village Green to have a few benches. The benches that have been selected are a sustainable Swedish Redwood. The cost, per 5ft bench, is £358.00. This includes protection oil, anchor kit and fully assembled. Eventually we would like to have six benches on the Green, but we are aware that due to lack of funds this may take a while. If you are interested in sponsoring a bench, please do get in touch.

Annabel Ward

annabel@totnell.co.uk or 07810 753112 Having a spring clear out? Anyone in Leigh wanting to get rid of clothing, accessories, shoes, toys, bric-a-brac, kitchen/household/ gardening items (basically anything), can offer them up for free or for sale by advertising on the Leigh Whatsapp group: “Leigh Free and For Sale”.

Please give your name and number to Emma Harris email: emma.harris27@ btinternet.com or 07721 646260 and you will be added to the group of currently around 25 other Leigh residents doing the same. You then make your own delivery/ collection arrangements privately with the other party concerned.

You can remove your contact from the group afterwards at any time.

Leigh Parish Council update

In January, Dorset Council published a draft ‘Local Plan’ regarding development across the county for the next 17 years (see: dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildingsland/planning-policy/dorset-council-localplan.aspx). To meet the Government’s ‘Housing Requirement’ during this timescale, Dorset is directed to build at least 30,481 houses (the requirement for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council is in addition, and entirely separate to, this figure).

Dorset Council’s strategy is to concentrate most of this build on the Tier 1 and 2 towns i.e., Dorchester (Tier 1); Sherborne, Gillingham and Shaftsbury (the Tier 2 towns in the ‘North Dorset Functional Area’). In addition to these large-scale developments, the Tier 3 larger villages (i.e., Yetminster, Thornford, Bradford Abbas) ‘typically with a population of 500 or more’, and associated facilities that allow ‘at least some day to day needs to be met locally…. are considered appropriate locations for small scale infilling to meet their local needs’. Leigh, with a population of fewer than 500, is classed as a Tier 4 smaller village; as such, ‘it will not be the focus for growth’.

Notwithstanding this, in Appendix 2, Leigh has been designated a requirement of 19 new properties during the period. Leigh Parish Council feels this figure is much too high, on the basis that it does not accord with the policy laid out for Tier 4 villages in the body of the document and would significantly transform the character of the village. It will therefore endeavour to have this requirement reduced during the consultation period; a small extension to 18 March has been negotiated, as the next Parish Council meeting is on 16 March. Residents are encouraged to attend this meeting; no doubt it will have to be ‘virtual’ again, but you can participate by contacting the clerk Beverley Harrison leigh@dorsetaptc.gov.uk a few days beforehand.

More information can be found in the draft plan; Chapter 2 and Appendix 2 are particularly pertinent. Comments should be sent direct to Dorset Council as detailed in the plan, but a copy to Leigh PC would also be appreciated.

At the turn of the year, you will remember we experienced a cold snap; during this, the untreated roads through Leigh remained frozen for several days, and at least three accidents occurred within the village. The Parish Council has since persuaded Dorset Council to review its road treatment policy for Blue route community links. We have also requested to have the existing designated Blue route (that links us to the Red route running through Chetnole) extended to the A352 at Longburton.

At its January meeting, the Parish Council agreed to a 3% increase to the parish charge for FY 2021/22. This is larger than we would have wished but was mostly driven by an unexpected 2.6% reduction in the parish’s tax base, and the costs of the fingerpost refurbishment programme (until recently, these were maintained by WDDC).

Alan Bennett

arcbennett@hotmail.co.uk

Leigh Climate Group

‘The river of flowers’

I am sure that most people are aware that bees are vital to our existence through the mutual relationship that they have with plant life. Not only do they contribute to human needs through crop pollination of food, medicine and fibres but they also aid the survival of many eco-systems through the pollination of flowers, shrubs and trees.

Of approximately 270 species of bee in the UK, only one is the honeybee, about 26 are bumblebees and the majority are solitary bees. Wild bees have been declining at an alarming rate due to loss of habitat, food sources, pesticides and climate change so they really do need our help!

The global movement River of Flowers has been growing during the past decade. The principle is to create bee pathways flowing through cities with pollinator-friendly wildflowers providing them with food, shelter, protection and healing. In 2015 a river of flowers was created from Manchester to London!

I have been wondering whether this principle could work through Leigh? With the pandemic still upon us, I can imagine that many will be looking forward to gardening again and perhaps with a new challenge.

Other articles to follow this will focus on wildflowers, native plants and the perspective from a local beekeeper; here, guidance on beneficial garden flowers, shrubs and trees will be listed. The general idea is to ensure there are at least two species of plant available to bees from March to October. Open petalled, single flowers are appreciated by bees although some bumblebees favour tubular shaped flowers.

Winter

Solitary bees make an early appearance in the year.

Flowers: snowdrops, hellebores, primroses, winter aconites, crocuses and Pulmonaria

Shrubs and climbers: mahonia, Viburnum Tinus, heather, sarcococca, goat willow and clematis cirrhosa

Spring

Flowers: grape hyacinths, forget-menots, euphorbia, bergenia, flowering currants, wallflowers and honesty

Shrubs: chaenomeles, which can be trained up a wall or fence, and ceanothus

Trees: bees love the common hawthorn and crab apple blossom

Summer

Herbs such as borage, oregano, rosemary and chives are only a few.

Flowers: lavender, scabious, foxgloves, penstemons, nepeta, cosmos, perennial geraniums and Verbena Bonariensis

Climbers, shrubs and trees – cornus, jasmine, honeysuckle, Boston ivy, buddleia, shrub roses, bay trees and hydrangeas

Autumn

Flowers: Japanese anemones, dahlias, Michaelmas daisies, rudbeckias, sedums and heleniums. The thornless blackberry is also a huge favourite.

The RHS website has an extensive list ‘Plants for pollinators’ on their website.

As solitary bees live and make their nests alone you might like to build a bee hotel for them. March is an ideal time. The Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB and Gardener’s World all have information on how to do this with the correct materials, the optimum location and where to store them during winter to avoid mildew and infection. Please take photos of your bee friendly plants and bee hotels to share at a later date.

Rose Roberts

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FEBRUARY WINNERS.

Winners for the February draw:

1st Ball No 89 Mr M.Stevens £40 2nd Ball No 123 Mr M. Gover £20 3rd Ball No 31 Mrs L. Garrett £10 4th Ball No 142 Mr T. Cooke £5

If you would like to take part, please contact: Julian Turnbull on 01935 873846 or Alastair Cumming on 01935 872401. It is only £1 per month

David Stanton IAC ICPT ISOCS ISSUP

Senior Psychotherapist/Counsellor. Mental Health Consultant. Trainer. Counselling for individuals, couples, children, adolescents, families and groups. Face to face and online. 40+ years’ experience. Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, Self Esteem, Relationship problems, Family Dynamics, Bereavement, Eating Disorders, Substance/Alcohol Abuse, Addictions. Isolation, Loneliness, PTSD, Bi-Polar, OCD, Fear, Sexual/Physical Abuse, Self-Harming, Death Anxiety, Sex Issues. Lack of Meaning & Purpose, Anger, Phobias, Gender, Sexuality, Social Justice. Conflict Resolution. Crisis Management. Available for Mental Health and Emotional Wellness Workshops, Retreats, Seminars, Training and Talks. CONFIDENTIALITY ASSURED.

www.tatvacenter.com www.edas-addictionservices.com or telephone – David 07584 711488