The Boundary Commission is reviewing parliamentary constituency boundaries and Dorset Council is undertaking a Community Governance Review of Parish/Town Council boundaries
18/07/22 : Letter to Residents - Successful outcome to Furzehill’s CGR proposal Nigel Allman, FRA Secretary, has written to each resident for whom we hold an email address - with the good news that, on 14 July, Dorset Council ratified the Community Governance Review recommendations. These include its recommendation 14, that the entirety of the existing Furzehill ‘lobe’ of Colehill Parish be incorporated into Holt Parish (effective from 01/04/24). Anyone without an email can find the text of his letter here.
22/05/22 : Letter to Residents - Response to CGR Draft Recommendation 14 Nigel Allman, FRA Secretary, has written to each resident for whom we hold an email address with: - a link to our response to the CGR Draft Recommendation - your committee's view of a last minute proposal by Colehill Parish Council (CPC) - final encouragement for residents to lodge their opinions on Recommendation 14 with the CGR and to add their opinions on CPC's latest proposal. Anyone without an email can find the text of his letter here.
17/05/22 : Letter to Residents - Extraordinary CPC meeting 20/05/22 Nigel Allman, FRA Secretary, has written to each resident for whom we hold an email address to encourage as many of us as possible to attend the above meeting at which Colehill Parish Council will decide its response to the Draft Recommendations of Dorset Council's Community Governance Review - as they affect the parish boundary that currently divides Furzehill. Anyone without an email can find the text of the letter here.
10/05/22 : Letter to Residents - Colehill opinion survey - deadline 16/05/22 Nigel Allman, FRA Secretary, has written to each resident for whom we hold an email address to encourage as many of us as possible to reply to Colehill Parish Council's survey of opinion on the draft recommendation of Dorset Council's Community Governance Review - that the 'Furzehill lobe' of Colehill Parish should be incorporated into Holt Parish. Anyone without an email can find the text of the letter here.
17/04/22 : Letter to Residents - Colehill Annual Parish Meeting - Friday 22/04/22 Nigel Allman, FRA Secretary, has written to each resident for whom we hold an email address to encourage as many of us as possible to attend this meeting (starts 6pm), to convince Colehill Parish Council of the strength of community feeling within Furzehill on the parish boundary issue. Anyone without an email can find the text of the letter here.
09/04/22 : Letter to Residents - CGR final public consultation Nigel Allman, FRA Secretary, has sent a letter to each resident for whom we hold an email address to encourage as many of us as possible to record our opinions on the draft recommendations of the CGR with the second and final public consultation. Anyone who has not received the email can find the text of the letter here, together with useful links and instructions on how to make a submission.
15/02/22 : CGR Recommendations ratified at Dorset Council meeting. The expectation is that they will be published on 28/02/22.
09/02/22 : Important Update : Draft CGR Recommendations published There is good news for those of us who wish the whole of the Furzehill area to be covered by Holt Parish.
Dorset Council has released the draft of its Recommendations under its current Community Governance Review (CGR). The section (text and map) covering Furzehill can be read/downloaded here. It recommends that the ‘Furzehill lobe’ (the approximately two-thirds of our area covered currently by the urban Colehill Parish) should be joined with the northern section within the rural Holt Parish. You will recall that this is the outcome desired by all 93 residents who replied to our email survey in October 2021, which informed the submissions by both Furzehill Residents Association and Holt Parish Council to the CGR. Thank you to all those residents who wrote to our parish councils and made their own submissions direct to the CGR.
The complete list of submissions for Dorset can be found here (full submissions by councils and community groups, including FRA) and here (all submissions - text only).
The draft is to be considered by the full Dorset Council at its meeting on 15 February but is unlikely to be changed radically at that point. When agreed formally, the CGR Recommendations will be published on 28 February. There will then be a second and final round of public consultation until 23 May. During this period we will need to submit letters of support for the recommendations to the CGR and convince Dorset Councillors to support them too. We will write again with advice on this
28/10/21 : FRA Proposal Our proposal, to change the boundary between Holt and Colehill parishes so the whole of the Furzehill area falls within Holt Parish, has been submitted to the Dorset CGR. The full text can be viewed/downloaded by clicking the above link.
27/10/21 : Minutes for Holt Parish Council meeting on 13/10/21 These are now published and can be accessed through this link. They demonstrate how important it was that so many residents responded to our parish boundary survey and so many of us attended the meeting. These expressions of opinion played a significant role in convincing councillors on the merits of our proposal, such that they decided Holt should itself issue a proposal to the same end - the text of which appears below. Thank you to all those who contributed to either or both.
25/10/21 : Update on Dorset Community Governance Review (Dorset CGR) At its meeting on 13/10/21, Holt Parish Council changed its position from supporting the FRA proposal to including the whole of the Furzehill area within its parish by deciding to make a proposal to this effect itself. This was in large part in response to the weight of opinion expressed in our email survey: • 93 responded (29 from our Holt Parish area and 64 from our Colehill Parish area). • All supported inclusion of both areas within Holt Parish. • None supported the status quo or bringing both areas within Colehill Parish. Thank you to all those who contributed.
Holt Parish Council's proposal, which it submitted on 21/10/21, reads as follows: —————————— "Holt Parish Council proposes the realignment of the parish boundary between Colehill and Holt at Furzehill to incorporate the village of Furzehill wholly into Holt Parish. Holt Parish Council has received a large number of written representations from residents of Furzehill and who have been in attendance at our meetings. The Furzehill Residents Association has supplied additional evidence to demonstrate the strong support for this proposal. Residents feel that Furzehill is more connected to the parish of Holt and this proposal will retain the strong rural character and identity of the village which will be served well by Holt Parish Council. Holt Parish Council understands the need for community cohesion in this setting and formally requests Dorset Council considers this proposal in the current review." __________
There remain just a few days to make a personal submission to the Dorset CGR: by email by clicking on: cgr@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or online by following this link: Dorset Community Governance Review or online by navigating to the CGR pages on the Dorset Council website
08/10/21 : Update on Dorset Community Governance Review (Dorset CGR) Thank you to the 33 residents who expressed an opinion to Holt Parish Council on the proposal to unify the Furzehill area under Holt Parish by bringing the current Furzehill 'lobe' of Colehill Parish within the rural Holt Parish (see explanation and map). All supported the proposal, so no-one expressed an opinion against. It is hoped that you also submitted this proposal to the Dorset CGR, which is easy to do online by following the link.
At its meeting on 08/09/21, Holt Parish Council (HPC) agreed to support the principle of this proposal by writing to the Dorset CGR. However, it decided against making the proposal itself.
Then, at its meeting on 30/09/21, Colehill Parish Council (CPC) decided to make a counter-proposal to Dorset CGR that, instead, Furzehill should be unified under the urban Colehill Parish by bringing the area north of Smugglers Lane and Grange under its control. It does not appear to have sought residents' views on this. There is doubt about whether the proposal is viable under parliamentary and Dorset ward boundary constraints. The text and map of Colehill's proposal can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the link.
In view of these two proposals, as well as the option of leaving the parish boundaries unchanged, it is very important that as many of our residents as possible express an opinion to the two parish councils and to the Dorset CGR, and also if possible to Furzehill Residents Association. Remember to be clear about which section of Furzehill you live in and on whether you want the Furzehill area to to fall wholly within Holt, wholly within Colehill, or to continue the current division between the two parishes.
The simplest way to make your submission to the parish councils and to the FRA is through this website by completing this SIMPLE ONE STEP SUBMISSION FORM. Alternatively, you can write separate emails by clicking as follows: Clerk, Holt Parish Council (Lisa Goodwin) Clerk, Colehill Parish Council (Zoë Caddy) Secretary, Furzehill Residents Association (Nigel Allman) At the same time you can indicate whether or not you intend to attend the Holt Parish Council meeting on 13/10/21 and/or the Colehill Parish Council meeting on 19/10/21.
03/08/21 : Update on Community Governance Review Holt Parish Council agreed at its 28/07/21 meeting with the principle of extending its boundary to include the whole of Furzehill. Accordingly, it is seeking the views of Furzehill residents. Please read this report by Geoff Chopping on the issue to be decided and on how to submit your view before the next council meeting on 08/09/21.
16/06/21 : Improved potential for including the whole of Furzehill under Holt Parish Council instead of it's current division between Colehill and Holt Please read this assessment by Geoff Chopping, who organised the 2017 petition for a Community Governance Review. His points are clarified by referring to the Boundary Commission's interactive map (also linked in the previous notice).
15/06/21 : Boundary Commission review of parliamentary constituencies Prior to its formal recommendations due in 2023, the Boundary Commission has published an interactive map of its initial proposals for alterations to parliamentary constituencies. The map can also display current constituency, local authority and ward boundaries. Comment on the proposals can be submitted through the website but needs to be made by 2 August 2021, the closing date of the statutory consultation period.
