Dorset Best Community Village Competition 2005 Child Okeford

We do not live in a sleepy backwater and as you read on you will understand what keeps this village vibrant and active.

Child Okeford has two village shops; a farm shop for organic produce; a Post Office, two pubs, an active Church, a Village Hall, Recreation Ground and a Community Centre. This is despite the modern trend to shop and entertain in a town. All the facilities are used and enjoyed. The Parish Magazine, The Hill, is published once a month, it costs £2.50, and is delivered to nearly every household in the village. It reports on all the activities in the village during the previous month and lists forthcoming events. Besides covering all the activities of the Church and the Ministry Team , it also gives an opportunity for villagers to voice their comments, write obituaries and expressions of thanks. The shops have Notice Boards outside them. The Parish Council has three Notice Boards . The Church has a Notice Board in its porch and there is a designated Notice Board for Home Watch at Cross Stores. There is a WI board outside the Post Office and they have recently dedicated a new board to one of their past members outside Cross Stores. The WI has also been given a grant to fund the writing of the History of Child Okeford WI. Child Okeford now has its own website , www.child-okeford.org.uk. This is gradually building up having only been running for a few months. Child Okeford has an ancient charity for helping people in need in the village. It is run by a Board of Trustees and funded by the rents from letting the allotments. There is a “loop system” in both the Village Hall and the Church . The Village Hall and Community Centre have licences to serve alcohol and have raffles at functions.

Disabled and elderly people are well served by Nordcat and Age Concern who run a mini bus service; this bus is also available for more able people to hire. The Hospital Car Scheme for the area is run from Child Okeford.

The Parish Council hopes to get support for a Fund Raising Committee when they have their Annual Meeting in May. The village has fared well without a committee having had several jumble sales, bingo, fund raising car washes, Gardeners Club Social Evening, Wives Group Christmas Party, Lenten Lunches, (now called Tuesday Lunches) many guided walks, annual club dinners, plant sales, the Church Gift Day, the Church 100 Club, the Harvest Supper, a play called “The Pious Pirates”; written and directed by a villager and presented in the Church, a visit to Ringwood Brewery, a Halloween Party at the Saxon, a Chocoholic Party for Muscular Dystrophy, a portrait painting morning in the Village Hall and several coffee mornings to name but a few of the events. The proceeds from these are usually for Village Funds. The village turned out in force for an impromptu coffee morning in January and raised over £3000 for the Tsunami Victims in two hours.

The Parish Council meets monthly; advertising the date and time in The Hill, on the Notice Boards and the website. One meeting caused a lot of interest as the Council invited the North Dorset Chairman of the Planning Committee and the Senior Planning Officer to an open meeting. All the chairs were taken and people were standing at the back of the hall. Questions were pertinent and both officers remarked that this was a new experience for them and felt that it was a productive meeting. The Parish Council also has an Annual Parish Meeting and invites an outside Speaker; this is always well attended. The Agendas and the Minutes for all meetings are displayed on the notice boards as well as the website. There is also a more informal report written for The Hill. The Parish Council welcomes the public to all its meetings and has time set- aside for Public Participation . When contentious issues are on the Agenda the meetings are always well attended. 

The Church delivers a Welcome Pack to new people coming to village. This includes the Child Okeford Village Directory 2004/5 that has a small map in the front, an introduction written by the Editor of The Hill and an alphabetical index. Information includes details of the Parish Council, the Parochial Church Council and the Church; there are blank pages at the back for notes and updating. It lists the School Governors and introduces St Nicholas School. The Directory is a mine of information and has been delivered to every household in Child Okeford. It lists all the clubs that are available for membership, namely:- Gardener's Club,Okeford Minstrels,St Nicholas Wives Club, Sequence Dancing, Short Mat Bowls, Table Tennis, Women's Institute, Badminton Club, Brownies, Cricket Club, Floral Group, Football Club, Youth Club; giving contact names and ‘phone numbers together with subscription information. We have recently had an evening of Scottish Dancing in the Village Hall and the Men's Luncheon Club still meets regularly.

The Baker Arms is the longest established public house in the village, situated at the Cross it provides alcohol, sandwiches, quizzes, league Crib; league Darts and Pool, also at league level. The other pub, the Saxon Inn , is in Gold Hill and also has a loyal band of customers who are entertained with home cooked food daily, a large garden, league Crib, Pub Quiz League and parties and other special occasions are catered for. The Post Office and shop provide a very useful service and the Cross Stores , having recently changed hands, has emerged as a thriving business catering for most of our needs. It seems that the motto here is “you ask for it we will endeavour to provide it!”

The older people in the village live active lives. The retired faction of Child Okeford supports most of the clubs enthusiastically. The Church has a group pf people who visit the elderly in their homes. Cases of need are quickly noted and the problem sorted out. All the services mentioned before in this presentation are open to the elderly. There is a tea party for older residents of Child Okeford held at the Manor on a regular basis. When the Village Hall or Community Centre advertise a coffee morning or any other group activity the villagers rally round to ensure that those who wish to attend are given lifts by car to the event. Voting day turns the Village Hall into a hive of activity when cars ferry the elderly people, who cannot walk down the hill, to place their vote. Members of the Rotary Club are always willing to help and encourage the elderly. The Doctor's Surgery sets aside days for mass ‘flue injections; at one time we actually had a traffic jam in the village due to this event. The Surgery keeps a close eye on the older generation, the Receptionists are always pleasant and prepared to listen and the nurses give their time unstintingly. It seems, though, that people don't just retire here in order to live out their days quietly. They run many of the clubs and participate in any new venture in community life with the same enthusiasm that had previously driven their business and professional lives.

There is a Babies and Toddlers Group that meets every Monday in the Village Hall. The Youth Club meets weekly in the Community Centre and numbers fluctuate between ten to over twenty boys and girls. They play table tennis on a new table subsidised by the Parish Council. The portable football nets are in regular use and various fund - raising, including car washing mornings, activities are enjoyed. The notice board at the back of the Community Centre shows their posters and paintings and gives colour and life to the room. A large box containing all their equipment is also very colourful, painted by the Youth Club. The Football Club and Cricket Club make good use of the Recreation Ground and Community Centre facilities and will soon have new showers and kitchen to enjoy. Decisions concerning these clubs are made by the organisers and by the club members. The new affordable housing scheme on the Manston road has been finished this year and to date the houses are either occupied or, in the case of the shared equity houses, about to be occupied. The Parish Council had to express itself very forcibly to North Dorset District Council concerning the allocation of the rented properties as they knew that some younger people, born in Child Okeford, were being overlooked. The NDDC and the Housing Association managed to include most of the young families needing houses. Now we have an application in for a further social housing scheme for six houses more central to the village. It is hoped that those younger members of the community needing housing will now be accommodated.

Child Okeford is very conscious of the need to protect the environment. We are privileged as we live a very beautiful situation, close to the ramparts of Hambledon Hill and overlooking Blackmore Vale. We make every effort to ensure that the roads and hedges are kept tidy and the drains are in good working order. There are ten litterbins in the village and five brightly coloured “Doggy Bins”. Every household takes advantage of the kerbside recycling. The Recreation Ground has had its hazel hedge professionally laid this winter and a hedge of ‘common' trees; including hawthorn, spindle and crab-apple; has been planted. The Village Hall intends to provide a new car park to the front of the building specifically designed to direct water away from the fabric of the building. The Church Pound/Car Park is maintained by a volunteer who controls weeds organically while keeping it neat and tidy. The Church has put aside a space in the Church Yard for the second year running specifically for wild life and plants ; this is only mowed once a year. One family of birds used the boxes placed in the Church Yard last year; it is too early to assess the uptake of the eight boxes this year. The Footpath pamphlet has proved very popular and the last few coloured Millennium Maps have now been sold.

Child Okeford is a lively village. Not sleepy. Not drowsy. We work hard and play hard, too.

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