Have your say on the future shape of local government in Dorset. There are currently nine local authorities providing council services in Dorset. Proposals to reduce this to two are currently being considered to enable a more cost-effective approach for the future. A public consultation has just been launched and your views are needed, get involved at – reshapingyourcouncils.uk

Dorset County Council have purchased the RunAClub platform and will offer a free licence to community groups who would benefit from access to the system. RunAClub is an online management platform allowing you to run your club in the cloud. It provides the essential tools, guidance and support you need to set up and manage your own club or network of clubs – any activity, any age, any community. The free licence will run until 30 April 2017 and it might be that DCC fund it fully for a further two years, but this cannot be guaranteed at the moment. If you are interested in finding out more about RunAClub, a workshop is being held on Wednesday 14 September 2016 to give you a chance to speak to RunAClub staff and organisations currently using RunAClub. Please contact Charlie Naerger c.naerger@dorsetcc.gov.uk by Friday 19 August 2016, leaving your contact details, name of organisation you are seeking a licence for, type of organisations (eg charity, unregistered voluntary org etc,), annual financial income of the organisation and type of activity the organisation delivers. www.runaclub.com

On 6 September a new national phone number “105” will be launched by electricity network operators for customers to call should they need to report or get information about a power cut in their area. 105 will be free of charge. The powercut105.com website will be live for the launch, providing people with more information and signposting them to their network operator.

Over the coming months, a series of closures of the A3066 are planned to allow for necessary road improvements. The Council will post temporary traffic notices on this site as soon as they have been received. Work on the stretch of A3066 from Melplash to Beaminster will now be carried out at night and the road will be closed between 10pm and 7am from Monday 1 August 2016 until Friday 19 August, on weekdays only. This will minimise disruption to the local community, residents and businesses.

Mike Sanders has recently resigned from his position as Councillor for the Drimpton ward due to ill health. The Council extends all good wishes to Mike and his family and thanks him for his dedicated service. There is now a vacancy for Drimpton – look out for notices around the village and further information will be posted online shortly.

You can now download the Agenda for the BGPC Meeting on 11 July 2016. Members of the public and press are very welcome to attend.

In partnership with Broadwindsor School, a proposal to install a Multi-Use Games Area in the grounds of the School close to the Community Stores, is currently being considered. Please come along to an evening of information, open discussion and questions and answers on Tuesday 5 July at Comrades Hall, commencing 7.00 pm. Representatives from the Council and School will be available to discuss the proposal and listen to your comments and feedback. You can view all project plans here.

The Parish Council has been asked for its corporate view on two new planning applications, these will be on the agenda for the next Meeting on 11 July. Please refer to the Planning page of this website for further information.