News
Free digital advice sessions at Charmouth Library
Do you know someone who needs help with their digital device? Do you or a friend have a technical issue you’d like solved? Want to learn more about online services such as booking GP appointments or applying for benefits online?
Then Dorset Council’s volunteer digital champions are ready to help you in Charmouth.
They hold FREE face-to-face sessions at Charmouth Library on Mondays from 2.15pm to 4.30pm.
You can book an appointment by going into the library or calling the Digital Hotline on 01305 221048. You can also call the hotline if you prefer to receive digital advice over the phone.
There won't be an election for the Parish Council in Charmouth this year - 9 people have stood for 11 seats.
There will, however, be an election for the Dorset Council Ward of Lyme Regis and Charmouth where 4 people have stood for 1 seat.
Rapid Response Catchment Flooding
Flooding is the most common and widespread natural hazard in the UK. One type of flooding that can occur is flooding from river levels or surface water rising exceptionally quickly in response to very heavy rainfall, known as ‘flash flooding’. These types of events are rare but can be very dangerous.
Across Wessex there are many communities where this type of flooding could happen. Most major flash floods occur in places where it hasn’t happened in living memory, so it’s vital that even if there hasn’t been flooding in your community for a long time, you know what to do and how to stay safe.
What can you do now?
· Although the Environment Agency won’t always be able to issue a flood warning in time, it’s worth checking if you’re at risk and signing up to receive a flood warning if one is available for your area: Sign up for flood warnings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
· Register to the Met Office’s Severe Weather Warning Service: Weather warnings guide - Met Office
· Check the Environment Agency’s 5-day Flood Forecast: Check for flooding in England - GOV.UK (check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk)
· Check if your insurance covers flooding
· Know how to turn off gas, electricity and water supplies.
Round 4 of the Household Support Fund (HSF) will reopen for applications at 10am on Tuesday 6 February 2024 for low-income households in the Dorset Council area.
The support will be in the form of supermarket vouchers. Citizens Advice will be allocating this fund on behalf of us and vouchers will be issued to residents who meet the eligibility criteria within 6 to 8 weeks.
Round 4 of the Household Support Fund reopens for applications - Dorset Council
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FREE THERMAL CAMERA PROPERTY SURVEY
Community Energy Champions are currently carrying out free thermal camera property surveys for local residents (as well as residents in Uplyme & Charmouth) to identify where energy savings might be possible. Please contact Philip May on 07740 974304 or email energychampslyme@gmail.com before the end of March 2024 to book your survey.
Energy saving tips:
- Control your thermostat – keeping it at a slightly lower temperature when possible and/or switching off the heating when you are out (or in bed)
- Make sure all your lightbulbs are energy saving LED ones
- Keep your curtains/blinds drawn at night (to keep heat in), but open to let the sun’s energy in during the day
- Don’t boil more water than you need in your kettle
- Take shortish showers rather than baths
We also know that properties typically lose heat, as follows:
25% through the roof – addressable with good loft insulation at least 270mm thick
35% through walls (harder to deal with although wall insulation products are available)
10% through windows and doors (double glazing and good door insulation will help here)
At least another 15% is lost through draughts
Lyme Regis now has a new tool to help us reduce heat loss from our properties – the thermal imaging camera.
This clever little gadget can help you find cold spots in your property where heat is getting out and the cold is getting in.
It works best in autumn/winter when your house is (hopefully) warm and it’s cold outside.
It looks a bit like a gun with a screen. You point it at the area of your house you’d like to investigate and instantly you get a colour picture of the temperature of that area.
Basically white (very hot), red (hot) and orange indicate warm spots (therefore areas of potential heat loss), and blue through to dark purple show the cold areas.
Once identified you can decide whether more insulation, better glazing or draught proofing is required to prevent unwanted heat loss.
Lyme Regis area energy champions have two of these thermal imaging cameras that we can offer to survey your property.
The first was sponsored by Lyme Regis Town Council while the second was purchased with a grant from Dorset Community Energy.
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Oak Tree
On Friday 8 December, a new oak tree was planted at the Playing Field to commemorate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The tree was kindly donated by Lyme Regis Rotary Club and John McCallum of LR Rotary can be seen in the photo along with Cllr Jane Bremner, Chair of Charmouth Parish Council.
New Play Equipment
The Parish Council has recently installed some new play equipment at Charmouth Playing Field. A new tower replaces the old wooden equipment which was donated by the Fayre Committee back in 1995 and had unfortunately come to the end of its safe life. In addition, a basket/sensory swing has been installed to provide deep pressure and proprioceptive input to the body through its swinging motion. It can also help improve balance, coordination and body awareness. The swing is made to accommodate children of varying ages and with the design and size of the basket swing seat offering extra security, this swing is also a great idea for children with additional physical needs or those who need for assistance.
Flooding
Flooding incidents should always be reported via https://swim.geowessex.com/glos/ or by calling the national Floodline number 0345 988 1188 (normal call charges apply). In an emergency, dial 999 if life is in danger.
Many of the current issues are in the west of the county, around the Beaminster, Bridport and Broadwindsor areas. But they are also managing other localised problems across the whole Dorset Council area.
- For emergency highways issues, call us on 01305 221020 or visit our website at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roads-highways-maintenance/report-a-problem/highway-emergencies
- For emergency issues on the A31, A303 and A35 west of Bere Regis, please contact National Highways.
To report other weather-related incidents, telephone:
- 24 hour Wessex Water line: 0345 600 4600
- 24 hour floodline: 0345 988 118
- Environment Agency National Incident Hotline: 0800 80 70 60
For details regarding sandbags, please visit https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/flooding/sandbags-and-local-flooding-advice
You can find details of flood warnings and alerts at https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/location?q=Dorset
Changes to Post Office Services
From 20 November 2023 the Post Office will no longer operate from the Library and the Holland Room.
Instead a mobile van service will be at St Andrews Community Hall on Lower Sea Lane from 11.30 to 2pm every Thursday
and outside the Holland Room on Bridge Road from 2 - 4pm every Thursday
A boost to the Green and Blue Economy
“The Great South West, a coalition made up of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, has been named as the country’s ‘Marine and Maritime Launchpad,’ recognising its ongoing leadership in the field.
As a part of the programme, £7.5m in funding has been allocated to help bolster further growth and innovation in marine and maritime sectors across the South West.
This funding aims to support The Great South West in unlocking the potential of the region’s sustainable green and blue economies, boosting the economy by up to £45 billion and creating 190,000 new jobs by 2035.
UK-registered small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can now apply for between £25,000 and £1m in funding to help deliver outstanding nautical projects and innovations in the region, supporting the government’s Levelling-Up objectives…
… The competition opened on 23 October and applications can be submitted until 11am on 6 December 2023.
Successful projects should last between six and 18 months, start no earlier than 1 April 2024 and complete by 30 March 2026. Projects will also help ‘contribute to the South West’s net zero targets’ and ‘support key regional strategic marine and maritime markets.’
Vacancies for Parish Councillors
The Parish Council currently has three vacancies which can be filled by co-option.
Please contact the Clerk if you are interested in finding out about how you can make your voice heard by becoming a Councillor.
A35 Verge Management Update
We have recently been informed of a revised programme entailing ‘cut and collect’ in May on the roundabout at the entrance to Charmouth. This will remove the docks and other vegetation. In the summer and autumn there will be two visits to apply spot treatment of a herbicide designed to eliminate the undesirable weeds, notably docks, ragwort, hemlock and nettles.
The Parish Council will retain regular contact with officers of National Highways so that we are aware of any variations to the programme, we can give relevant feedback from the community and let you know the results of the annual surveys.
iNaturalist APP and Website
The iNaturalist app and website (https://uk.inaturalist.org/) has a global reach and a local focus for monitoring wildlife.
The Parish Council would like to encourage as many as possible to use it to record sightings of wildlife in Charmouth. This important information could then build up a picture of what is here, which would be useful to both residents and visitors.
Dog Restrictions
The Parish Council is now part of the Dorset Council Dog related Public Space Protection Order and as such dogs should be on leads at all times in all car parks and footpaths around the beach. Dogs are permitted off leads on East Beach (east of the River Char) at any time of the year, however, dogs are not permitted on West Beach (West of the River Char to level with the end of the promenade) from 1 May-30 September.
Council staff have authority to issue fixed penalty notices for breach of these restrictions, for dog fouling offences and general littering.
Polite Notice
If you walk at Charmouth Foreshore with your dog you should be aware that the whole area is part of the Dorset Council Dog Related Public Space Protection Order. This means that in line with this map, although dogs are allowed to be off leads on both beaches during the winter, they should still be on leads all year round when in the car parks and surrounding footpaths (yellow areas). This is for the safety of the dogs as well as for hygiene purposes. Unfortunately, people are not following these rules and this is causing Parish Council staff to suffer abuse when they try to enforce them as well as a big increase in dog fouling. Parish Council staff are able to enforce the rules by the issue of a fixed penalty notice and although this is the last resort, and none have yet to be issued in Charmouth, we will have no choice for this to be the next course of action with repeat offenders.
HEDGEHOGS
Hedgehogs are in decline….can you help?
Did you know that hedgehogs can travel up to 2 miles a night? Gaps in fences and walls link gardens and allow hedgehogs to forage. Charmouth Parish Council has a number of Hedgehogs R Us Highway Surrounds which are available free to Charmouth residents to help raise awareness and frame a fence gap.
Please contact the Parish Council office to arrange to collect yours today and create your own hedgehog highway!
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