Thursday, October 27, 2005

Sea Court Latest

With the agreement of the developer it was decided to defer a decision until 24th November after a site meeting. It was agreed specific points only (overlooking mainly) would be discussed after consultation with the Council's Solicitor. All members would get a copy of the Inspectors decision.
Strange that the Planning Board should have voted so many times before on this site, when so many Board Members claimed not to know the area.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The Mowlem

Why is the Mowlem not a membership organisation run by a committee elected by the members?When the outgoing Swanage Urban District Council set it up as a semi-secret society all it cared about was its childish obsession with preventing the new District Council owning assets in Swanage. Isn't it about time the trustees got their act together and modernised the way it is organised instead of running it as a personal empire? Like every other organisation here it is so inward looking it is in danger of disappearing up its own.....and they are so pleased with themselves!Agglestone

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Posted by Anonymous to swanage view at 10/26/2005 02:30:39 PM

Ye olde councille websitte (oyez)

Has anyone checked out the Swanage Town Council website? Here are a few things that are wildly out of date, there must be more!! apparently,under Disability Info, Randalls still exists in Station Road and Emmanuel Baptist Church still has a step, long gone. Electric wheelchair hire is available in Wareham at St Johns Hill. Under Churches they should be aware that the Brethren Chapel closed several years ago. What else is wrong, out of date and or misleading? Have a look and see!

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Posted by Barnacle to swanage view at 10/25/2005 08:06:19 PM

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Protect our trees

Swanage has had a visit from the tree surgeons courtesy of the County Council. They seem to go about their craft with much the same mentality as surgeons in Nelson's navy. If in doubt chop off a limb or three!Trees in other places manage to survive without this treatment. I was in Westborne and Branksome this morning and there are large numbers of beautiful trees there which are allowed to grow to maturity without being butchered. If the ones in Victoria Avenue and at the station are such a danger that they need to be uglified why not remove them completely and plant new ones? Mature trees, proper big ones that is, make a huge positive contribution to the appearence of the town but a row of giant limbless stumps?If they are a danger why is every other large tree in the land not lopped just in case it falls over?

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Posted by Keith Roker to swanage view at 10/25/2005 03:43:40 PM

Monday, October 17, 2005

Fisherman's Catch fire

As I watch (6pm Monday 17 October) a great cloud of white smoke is still shooting out of the'Fisherman's Catch', the ancient stone building next to the Tourist Information Centre, on the main beach. Three fire engines in attendance, men in breathing apparatus have been in and now men are on the roof trying to contain the fire. Let's hope this old building can be saved. No injuries apparent when I was there. No frying tonite though.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Celebs?

How do you locals feel about Jonathan Ross purchasing a proprty in Swanage?

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Posted by Anonymous to swanage view at 10/13/2005 10:55:37 AM

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Restaurants

Where are the top class restaurants in Swanage or in the local area? I am often disappointed after dining out. Plenty of Pub food, plenty of holiday makers fast food outlets. But where is the top class restaurant, with excellent cuisine that would please your wife, or Lady friend? The classy place?Sadly, I know of none. I am sure there is a great need for a place of that quality, for there are still restaurants that have waiting times. But not here in Swanage.Dancing Ledge

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Posted by Anonymous to swanage view at 10/11/2005 09:22:44 PM

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

NEW SUBJECT

If you want to raise a new topic, post your comment in this section — just click first on Comments (bottom right), then on Post a comment (bottom left of the next window), and a new heading will soon be set up, allowing others to see and add their own comments. It seems it's sometimes easier to click on 'Post anonymously' than to open an account in your name - you can always add your name to your message.

Please help people with mental troubles

TORCH is a vital, specialised service provided for people who suffer from mental health problems or severe learning disabilities. There is a real danger of this valuable service being lost and your help is needed. There is more information below, and on the special website: http://www.freewebs.com/savetorch/index.htm

TORCH Services at Hahnemann House, BournemouthDorset MPs will meet today (Friday 14th) in a closed meeting with the board of the Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust in order to hear the Trust’s latest decisions and opinions on how best to remodel the existing services provided by the TORCH facility at Hahnemann House, Bournemouth.Relatives and carers are extremely concerned with proposals and moves made by the Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust to conduct what the Trust describes as “reshaping” and “modernising” the services provided by the Treatment, Outreach and Rehabilitation Centre (TORCH). The carers are further concerned that such closed meetings give a one-sided perspective on the situation to the MPs. They have asked the Trust for full open and frank public consultation and are to date they are far from satisfied. And they are not alone. They have the support in principle of a number of local MPs and back in July at Bournemouth Town Hall, councillors from across the area meeting as the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee unanimously showed their disapproval of the Trust’s actions to date and made certain recommendations. The carers consider that these recommendations have by and large been ignored.Dorset HealthCare NHS Trust has about 4,000 people in their care who live across Eastern Dorset (Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, Wimborne and Purbeck) and who suffer from mental health problems or severe learning disabilities. TORCH is a vital, specialised service provided by the Trust and it’s dedicated team of trained clinical NHS staff and is offered to individuals who are at a vulnerable stage of their treatment and road to recovery. It is open every day and provides care and support for many people who have severe and enduring mental illnesses, notably schizophrenia, psychosis and bi-polar disorders. It gives these people a reason to get up and go somewhere 365 days of the year. It provides grass roots, hands-on care as part of individual and group treatment programmes to encourage and support independent living in the community. It also provides help with finding and arranging accommodation and work, and gives relatives some respite in the confidence that their loved ones are being looked after professionally by trained NHS staff. TORCH does so much more than just provide a valuable social and drop-in centre. Carers fear that many of these services, and the structure and stability provided by the centre will effectively be replaced by voluntary and charitable workers and institutions, with home visits and with a much fragmented organisation. This in turn will lead to many of the vulnerable people cared for at TORCH losing their already slight foothold in the real world and relapsing into hospitalisation.In addition, the carers consider that so far they have been treated very unprofessionally by the Trust, with a lack of consultation, consideration and discussion. The Trust has now made some steps to remedy this situation, but the carers and service users consider that the Trust is still paying no more than lip-service, due to the publicity that they have generated, appearing in the media, with considerable local press coverage and with the support of a number of local MPs.A petition of over 5,500 signatures was delivered to the Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, but once again carers consider that so far this has just been passed over, as the real reason for the changes are cost cutting measures forced on local Trusts by central government.

The carers ask that anyone concerned please read their petition and see other details on their website at

http://www.freewebs.com/savetorch/index.htm

and if you support their actions, please endorse this by making a statement at the “Your Comments” page.

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Posted by Anonymous to swanage view at 10/11/2005 12:45:19 PM

Council blues?

3 weeks ago my 2yr old daughter and i were tourists in your town.We payed parking.Bought in shops.Ate in restraunts.Rode the train.went on a boat.We raved about having a fab time.until we got a £60 parking ticket for the ticket dropping on the car floor.I wrote to explain and presented our ticket.i am now charged £10 for admin fees? A piece of paper,an envelope and a stamp? Outragious. I phoned the council and quieried the fees.To be told by a bolshy woman."you are wasting my time". We will not be a tourist in your town again.

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Posted by Anonymous to swanage view at 10/11/2005 10:41:03 AM

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Street parking charges?

Parking charges for people to park outside their homes !
Purbeck towns set for pay-and-display plan by Paula Tegerdine

Purbeck Community Plan

Is this Purbeck Community Plan old news to you?

(Apart from anything else, it seems there's £50,000 available for community projects)

http://www.purbeck.gov.uk/services/category.asp?strareano=22_45


‘A Community Plan is a long-term vision for an area. We want the Community Plan for Purbeck to be a living document that is both proactive and reactive to the changing priorities of its residents.’
Steve Mackenzie, Chief Executive Officer, Purbeck District Council

If you would like more information about the Purbeck Community Partnership please contact Tracy Moore Community Planning Co-Ordinator on 01929 557 303 or email purbeckcommunitypartnership@purbeck-dc.gov.uk

Monday, October 03, 2005

More councillors?

The vote from Swanage residents present at the second annual parish assembly was very firmly in favour of the town council holding all its meetings in the evening.Some of the arguments put forward by town councillors against this were rather laboured and irrelevant.One was that with only 12 town councillors - and all the outside activities within the community involved because they are town councillors as well as council work - they have little time free in the evenings.

Well why aren't there more councillors?
Wareham (population under 6,000) has 16 town councillors.Arne (population under 1,500) has seven parish councillors.So why does Swanage (population just under 10,000) only have 12 town councillors?As it happens there is currently an opportunity for some review of that.Purbeck District Council has written to various parish and town councils to confirm that they still want various changes of boundaries - and in the case of Arne, two more councillors - which were put forward four or five years ago.

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Posted by Anonymous to swanage view at 10/03/2005 03:06:43 PM