The 20th January meeting of the Executive Committee saw the distribution of the Winter Magazine to the street and area Wardens. If you have not got your copy yet, please contact the Secretary.

The meeting was told that the Appeal by Hall and Woodhouse, over the entertainment licence for the Stepping Stones had been successful, and costs had been awarded against Poole Council. The question was asked as to why the appeal was shifted to Wareham, where Magistrates did not know much about the area.

New parking arrangements had been approved for Moor Road, Tudor Road and Ridgeway, and would in due course be implemented. The Chamber of Trade had also asked for more time restricted parking in Kirkway, Grange Road and The Broadway. Extra short term parking was now in effect by the Leisure Centre.

The Council had still to replace uneven blocks on the footway in the shopping area.

Corfe Hills School is applying to become a Technology College, which would mean extra funding over the next five years, provided limited sponsorship could be obtained.

All the planning applications for the Siemens site have been approved, as has the major quayside development for the Poole Pottery site. This makes it extremely likely that Poole Pottery will move their works onto the remainder of the Siemens site. There is one new Planning Application for 113 York Road. The plan is to sever land from adjacent long back gardens, and put several small bungalows on the area. These properties are higher than, and would overlook, Lytham Road and Ribble Close dwellings. The Association will lodge a formal objection.

The speaker for next years AGM is likely to be Peter Pawlowski, head of Poole Consumer Services, talking about the current policy and problems of waste disposal.

The Association was still expecting to reach 3000 homes by the end of the year. Normally by this time of year, a date had been set by the Council to outline the budget for the next year and the expected rate of Council Tax. This year the situation will be different, and the Council are to hold a series of Consultation/Presentation Meetings early in February. The Broadstone meeting is in the Community Centre on Feb. 10th 6.00 to 8.00 PM The Agenda covers the Council Services and their Performance Targets (Brochure on this available in the Library), The level of Council Tax required to meet those targets, and finally a fairly extensive set of changes to the way the Council is Organised, and the way in which decisions are made. This latter is in response to recent Government Plans for a more open and accountable structure for Local Government. It all happens again on Feb 12th in the Dolphin Centre. Early indications are that Poole has done very poorly in terms of Government hand-outs, and we are in for a very hard year!

Dudley Hull

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