Tuesday, 2 October 2012

St Marks Church Hall - Closing?

Alarming rumours centre around the possibility of St Marks Church Hall being closed and sold. Home to the St Marks Mini Mice Pre-School, St Marks Scout Pack, the Brownies, a Dance Club, and numerous others the Church Hall is a popular and much loved local amenity.
A possible extension to the New Church Hall hasnt mollified concerned parents and users of the Old Hall. Quotes have been gathered for renovations - including a new heating system to replace the creaking old warm air unit - to see if it is feasible to keep the Hall going. It does seem odd that the Hall is apparently unable to pay its way. The loss of so many other Halls in and around Bournemouth over the last decade or so has made such places as rare as hens teeth!
Should the Church decide to offer the Hall for sale it does seem likely that Dave Wells is going to see the site as another golden opportunity to squeeze in too many small flats with no parking in an already crowded location. Local residents can look forward not only to the loss of a valuable indoor space but the subsequent loss of parking space in nearby roads. Its a lose - lose situation all round then.

A Bit of an Update....

Its been a long time since I last wrote anything on this Blog. A lot has happened. A new play park has been created near Slades Farm, we now have a splendid velodrome and even a dog exercise area! The fences have been removed from around the skate park and signs have sprung up reminding us that access to the woods is a privilege - not a right and can be removed at any time. Some footpaths have been improved and a new tenant has taken over the horse paddocks.

As far as development goes, well.....the Secretary if State has 'called in' the proposed development behind the University. The severed gardens adjacent to Alton Road remain undeveloped and the top horse paddock behind the graveyard, is, I am assured, absolutely safe from any development. I called the Planning Dept at Bournemouth Town Hall and was advised that a 'Local Plan' precluded any development of the paddock but did allow some other sites.

Savilles Proposed Development Sites in the Historic Talbot Village Area

Daily Echo - 1st Challenge to University Housing Development

Secretary of States Refusal - 2012



Thursday, 24 June 2010

Badgers?

Many of the locals are convinced that badgers live in Talbot Woods. I must admit to being a little sceptical until I saw a badger by the side of the road near the 1st bridge on Boundary Road from the roundabout. Unfortunately, like most badgers we see near a road - it was rather dead.

However, the sett remains hidden. Should it be found in the horse paddock adjacent to Boundary Roundabout there are implications for the 3 houses that the Trust intends to build on the site.



Saturday, 19 June 2010

NIMBY?

The letters page of the Daily Echo has been busy with missives from all sides recently and yesterdays offerings were of particular interest:

I wonder how many of the nimbys who are objecting to the dwellings on Talbot Heath green fields have actualy been homeless, or lived in B&B with a couple of children because of the lack of affordable housing?

All the guff about councillors doing this or doing that, traffic problems and so on is just an excuse.

Whatever councillors are in power will not make any difference to the fact that certain people put green fields, trees, insects, birds, other creatures and their back yards before the lives of people that dare to upset them by wanting somewhere to live.

Many years ago Talbot Village was just that – a village.

I bet they did not moan when their houses were built – which, incidently, I was involved in.

I never saw any protesters when I was working on those houses. Bournemouth and Poole have not been rural areas for many many years. If that is what people want then move!

Ken Cole, Moorside Road, Kinson


I think that the term 'affordable housing' needs to be clarified somewhat. In Bournemouth and Poole it seems to mean a block of 2 bedroomed flats with inadequate parking and little or no garden to be let out via Housing Association to the unemployed.

I am all for affordable housing if it means a 3 or 4 bedroomed house with a generous garden and parking for at least 2 cars at a price that an average hardworking couple with kids could afford to buy. I find the notion of a 'shared ownership' scheme with the Trust rather attractive.

Whatever 'Affordable Housing' means in the context of the massive development to the south of Wallisdown Road I'm concerned that the reality will be a dull, soulless and lonely place to live. With no attempt to create any kind of social centre for the inhabitants to meet each other they will continue to drive to school, supermarket, and work, sealed in their cars and utterly divorced from any feeling of 'neighbourhood'.

Apart from the increase in congestion that this will inflict upon the area, the result is likely to be small pockets of ugly flats with no space shoehorned into unattractive plots between resentful wealthy neighbours. This is already the reality on the New Talbot Village Estate and I see nothing in the Planners preliminary outlines that indicates anything better.


I welcome some aspects of the plans. I support student accommodation on campus and would not object to a larger number of student units. I also support the expansion of the faculty. I also support efforts to create affordable housing (as long as it is decent, spacious, high spec and different from the thousands of 2 bed flats already available via Dave Wells). I welcome suitable development in my 'back yard'. What I dont want is a vast tangle of narrow cul-de-sacs of executive homes with absolutely no realistic improvement to infrastructure that in no way fills the needs of the local community.


Tuesday, 15 June 2010

Willful Neglect?



The cost of fencing has obviously gone through the roof recently - despite the recession those greedy fencing contractors insist on pricing themselves out of the market. Even £28M in the bank is not enough apparently. The Talbot Village Trust has gathered a number of quotations but 'cannot afford' to replace the dilapidated fencing to the top horse paddock adjacent to the footpath by St Marks Church graveyard.

time to get a new fence?

Or maybe the Trust sees little point in spending any money whatsoever on land that they hope to cover in yet more executive homes as soon as possible?

The Trust acquired an extra 3 metres of land from the St Marks graveyard, widening the track to the 3 top paddocks. Although the graveyard is almost full and the land will be needed for local burials in the near future it seems obvious that its the trusts intention to use this wider access for a road to new development in the future.


The original track with the extra 3m to the right
From Alton Road


The top horse paddocks do occupy an enviable position, sited on the crest of a small hill its possible to see the New Forest in the far distance. Visitors are always surprised to find such a tranquil and rural scene in the middle of a conurbation as large as Bournemouth. Its an integral part of the character of Talbot Village. If houses are built here the view from the footpath and graveyard will be entirely lost.


Looking north towards Ensbury Park


Looking East towards the Woods

Monday, 14 June 2010

Where Are They?

For the 1st time in 5 years there seem to be no Ring Necked Parakeets living in Talbot Village. The hard winter may have driven them elsewhere, or perhaps they simply didn't survive?

Huge numbers of these tough blackbird-sized birds live in London and their characteristic call has become part of the recognised soundtrack to sitting in a West London garden. Bright green with a red beak and a black collar around their neck these fast-flying sociable birds from India are easily recognisable even in silhouette with their narrow wings and long tail. They are expert fliers, fast and manoeuvrable they call to each other often and loudly, roosting in family groups or even vast flocks as in a Richmond playing field in London.
A flock has been resident in Studland near the Bankes Arms for many years and can often be seen from the pub garden. They are an established resident bird from as long ago as the 1950's in the British Isles, but the St Marks flock are the only ones I know of in Bournemouth.

I have seen up to 5 of these birds at once here, they have often flown over the house but have never visited our bird tables or landed any where near, although I have seen them high up in trees in the woods around St Marks Church and School area.

This year, alas, they are either very shy, or they have gone.

The Blue and Gold Macaw that flew over our house early last summer and then landed in the tree in the Vicarage front garden in Alton Road, apparently is a free-flying pet belonging to a 'bloke in Kinson', whoever he is, he is to be applauded for allowing such a valuable animal to enjoy such freedom. Anyone who has ever seen parrots and parakeets flying will know how much they revel in flight, carrying out elaborate displays and manoeuvres at high speed with huge exuberance and flair. Its great to see such a bird flying around in Talbot Village - it drew quite a crowd in front of the vicarage.



Dog Bins.....!!


"Natural England', the quango in charge of so much of our countryside, seems to dislike conveniently sited Dog Bins for the disposal of dog faeces, apparently if there are no dog bins the owners of dogs will go elsewhere. Therefore, it appears that access to the Talbot Heath from the new development may not feature any dog bins. This might seem staggeringly naive and stupid from an organisation that is usually regarded as foremost authority on all things natural, but its not the only thing that they have got wrong in the last 10 years.............More on their other daft ideas and notions later.

The Conservation Area to the North of Wallisdown Road is extremely popular with dog walkers but dog bins are scarcer than hens teeth and with one exception are poorly located. There used to be a bin at the foot of the woods below St Marks School on the corner of the playing fields. For some reason it was moved last year to behind the goal on the middle football pitch by the high chainlink fence. This resulted in an explosion of dog droppings on the gravel footpath running alongside the graveyard and the top horse paddock. On a Sunday morning when games are being played it can be quite irksome to walk behind 2 goalmouths with a dog to deposit a bag of poo so most people dont bother.

The footpath from Alton Road is one of the main pedestrian access points to the Woods and most dog owners will be familiar with a dogs natural inclination to do its business within minutes of being released. It might make sense to place bins to reflect this fact.

Of course some dog owners will never clean up after their dogs no matter how conveniently bins are placed. Others will feel they are doing the right thing by bagging up the mess and then hanging it from a tree!
Yet another bag of poo in a tree

Placing bins in a helpful position is a great leap forward to those of us who do like to behave in a responsible fashion. Offering free poo bags is simply excellent - the National Trust seems able to do it without going bancrupt - perhaps our local Councils should give it a try?

Its more likely unfortunately, that they will simply follow Natural England's thinking and remove them all completely.