Pump & Pound Issue 91 October/November 2026

What a summer – reportedly the hottest and driest on record.  Now, as we pass the Autumn equinox and the days get shorter and the evenings cooler, we look forward to a full autumn programme. We do hope you will take the opportunity to join in some of these events and activities with your friends and neighbours. The Editors

Chedington Village Hall

Our coffee mornings in Chedington Village Hall take place on the first Saturday of the month from 10:30am. The next ones are on Saturday 3rd October and Saturday 7th November. Tea, coffee and delicious homemade cakes are served and all are welcome. Donations towards Village Hall funds are appreciated.

Chedington’s Pub Club meets every Friday from 5:45pm to 7pm in Winyards Gap Inn. This is a great way to make new village friends and catch up with old ones too.

South Perrott Village Hall

The Village Hall hosts the SP Café on most Saturday mornings from 10am until midday. Everyone is welcome to come along, enjoy a coffee/tea and a cake, have a chat with your friends, use the internet (free of charge) and generally relax. PCSO Alex Bishop will be with us on 14th November.  Alex hopes to meet many residents so please come and enjoy a coffee and a chat with your local PCSO.  Please note that there will be no café on Saturday 17th October and Saturday 7th November

On Saturday 17th October, we will be hosting another of our quizzes. Entry is £10 per person. This includes a meal at half time and a contribution to the “pot” for the 3 cash prizes. There will be a pay bar all evening. Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7pm start. To enter a team (maximum of 6 people per team) please contact Dave on davemcskelly@gmail.com, 01935 891891 or 07837064011. If you are not a member of a team but would like to take part give Dave a call anyway – we will find a team you can join.

Finally, the village Xmas lunch is on Sunday 6th December. The cost will be £20 for a traditional 3 course lunch plus mince pies and complimentary drink on arrival (for families, a price of £5 for each child under 12 years old will be made). A £5 deposit is required. Bookings will be taken from the beginning of November. Please contact Hilary on 01935 891115 or by email to hilary.spvillage@gmail.com by Monday 30th November.

SPLottery – 2026/27

Winners of the August draw were numbers 36, 30 and 55 and for September numbers 40, 12 and 103. The next two draws will take place at the SP Café on Saturday 10th October and Saturday 14th November. If you’re not yet a member of the SPLottery and would like to join please let me know by 6th October; there are six months remaining of this financial year so the cost will be just £6 per number! Hilary, hilary.spvillage@gmail.com or 01935 891115.

Big Breakfasts

The winter season of Big Breakfasts in South Perrott Village Hall will be starting on Sunday 8th November (not 1st November), to be followed in 2027 on Sunday 3rd January and Sunday 7th March. We look forward to welcoming you with a Full English Breakfast, or why not try our popular Jumbo Big Breakfast or a healthy porridge alternative, and the opportunity to catch up with friends and neighbours.

South Perrott Coffee Club

The next coffee clubs are on Monday 5th October, hosted by Patsy and Peter in Pattens Cottage (01935 891292) and on Monday 2nd November hosted by Anthony & Dominie in Mohun House (01935 891601).

The Parrett Hotel

Charity Breakfasts in aid of Woman V Cancer will be held on 4th October and 22nd November from 10am -12noon 

Chedington and South Perrott Gardening Club

Our next event is a visit to Knoll Gardens on Tuesday 20th October from 1pm. Entry to the gardens is £7 per person (as members of an organised group). Knoll Gardens are specialists in ornamental grasses. If you like to join this visit, please let me know on davemcskelly@gmail.com, 01935 891891 or 07837064011.  We will be holding our AGM and Supper on Wednesday 11th November starting at 7pm in Chedington Village Hall. Everyone is welcome

Steel Band and South Perrott Choir.

STEEL BAND LESSONS ARE BACK! I’m up and running again and will be resuming Steel Band sessions in the Village Hall on Tuesdays, starting 29th September, from 11.00 – 12.00. If you are in any way interested, please get in touch and I’ll make sure there’s an instrument for you. If you are interested but can’t get there at that time, please let me know. All are welcome. There will be no charge for this first session. 

We need to get ready for Christmas. Details of Michelle’s plans for a Nativity in the church are shown below and the Choir will be playing a leading role in the production. We will start practices in the Village Hall on Tuesday 6th October from 6pm – 7pm. All welcome even if you’re not confident!

Mike; Singalong46@yahoo.co.uk, 07762 260582 or 01935 891034 

A Nativity for South Perrott – and friends

We are hoping to put on a Nativity this year. If we have enough interest, the performance will take place on Thursday 17th December at 6pm in the church, with festive refreshments in the village hall afterwards. We are looking for participants!. There will be an initial meeting for anyone interested on Saturday 7th November, at 12:30pm in the village hall. Rehearsals are planned for Thursday 19th November and Thursday 26th November at  6pm in the church. The dress rehearsal will be at 3pm in early December in the church on a date yet to be confirmed. If you are unable to attend that, but are interested, just drop me an email or message mgh62x@gmail.com, 07762260592, 01935 891034. Please see the enclosed sheet for further details

South Perrott and Chedington Millennium Green Trust

The Annual General Meeting of the Trust will be held on Thursday 12th November at 7pm in South Perrott Village Hall, to be followed by cheese and wine. Please come and join us to share the exciting news that we have received a very generous donation from the South Perrott Short Mat Bowls Club.

The 2026 Grand Christmas Raffle 

It’s Raffle time again! This year, as before, the Raffle will be drawn at Winyard’s Gap Inn at 7pm on Wednesday 16th December with thanks to Lucy and Bron.  Tickets are £5 and sold in books of 5, giving 5 chances to win! There are the usual fabulous prizes including £100 cash.  Tickets will be on sale throughout November and until the evening of the Draw in December. Contact Sue 07971979155 or sue.coutanche@btinternet.com.  This year the money raised will go towards the work earmarked as “urgent” resulting from our church’s recent Quinquennial (Architectural) Inspection, which is conducted every 5 years.

South Perrott Parish Council (SPPC) Meeting – 1st September 2026

Below is an outline of the main topics covered in the meeting. Full details are available in the draft minutes which are posted on the Parish Council noticeboard and on www.southperrottparishcouncil.gov.uk. In attendance were four parish councillors, Clerk Mark Payne and Dorset Cllr. Craig Monks. Apologies were received from Cllr. Robin Ketteridge.

• Update on Application for 20mph Speed Survey: SPPC have submitted an application to Dorset Council (DC) to be considered for a 20mph speed limit on A356 through South Perrott. A response is not expected until late 2026/early 2027.  If it is accepted there will be a number of steps before implementation, the first being a public meeting.

• 5G/mobile – the site for a 5G mast in Mosterton has not been finalised yet.  This mast will also serve South Perrott. It will improve the outdoor signal in the village but may not impact on the indoor signal.

• Highways Issues: 

• Priority Signage on A356 at “pinch point” by Swing Gate Cottage: An emailed response has been received from Dorset Council’s Road Safety Team stating that given there was no history of serious accidents there was no justification for signage here. DC agreed to clear overgrown vegetation obscuring warning signs including “Road Narrows Ahead” and speed limit signs at either end of the village. This still needs attention.

• Dorset Council’s Road Safety Team said it would be extremely helpful if ALL residents who experience or witness vehicles meeting head-on along the A356 and particularly at Swing Gate Cottage, which result in near misses or damage-only collisions, to submit a report on
  Tell us about small collisions or near misses to help us target road improvements-Dorset Council.  Each report is viewed and mapped to identify locations where intervention is required.

• Chevrons at Hill Farm Bend: These are still waiting to be replaced. The Chairman encouraged all residents to report road issues to DC as it carries additional weight to the reports filed by SPPC.

• Cllr. Craig Monks updated the meeting on the following:

• Drain and Watercourse Clearance:  Cllr. Monks is encouraging DC to maintain drain clearance to prevent autumn and winter flooding. Cllr. Gillingham confirmed that the drains on the A356 outside Sarum had been recently jet washed. DC have also taken a video of the drains/culverts under the road.

• Traffic Lights at Beaminster Tunnel: A survey organised by Beaminster Town Council to gather the communities’ views on installing permanent traffic lights at the Tunnel, was still live. Details are on the Beaminster Town Council website or contact Cllr. Monks for more details.

• Junction A3066/ Lecher Lane: As reported in P & P Issue 90, Cllr Monks has contacted Dorset Highways and asked them to assess the feasibility of introducing a solid white line system at the junction with Lecher Lane. To date no action has been taken Cllr. Monks will chase up DC.

• The Boundary Commission: The Boundary Commission has opened consultation on proposed changes to Ward boundaries. Cllr Monks requested that the Council submit a response to this consultation. The changes if approved would mean that South Perrott would be removed from the Beaminster Ward and placed in a new ward called Broadwindsor. Cllr Monks was not supportive of this move as he felt that South Perrott was part of Beaminster which provided many of the local services. There was general support for this view. The Chairman agreed that SPPC will respond expressing the view that it is against this proposed change.

• River and Flood Warden Report:  Dorset is officially in drought and Wessex Water has introduced a hosepipe ban.  Dorset’s water comes from groundwater which flows through tiny cracks in layers of rock and sand; these are known as aquifers.  They are deep underground and are a result of water permeating porous, sedimentary rocks of the type found in this area. Due to the drought conditions, surface water i.e. rivers and reservoirs are drying up. Prolonged dry weather can increase the risk of flash flooding when it eventually rains! This is because parched, rock-hard ground may struggle to absorb water at first, so some rainwater may simply run off the surface instead.  It is, therefore, very important that riparian owners clear their river banks of foliage to prevent flooding before the rains commence. It was agreed that Cllr Gillingham on behalf of SPPC will write a note to all property owners with riparian responsibilities, asking them to ensure their river banks are cleared and maintained.

• Defibrillator: The village defibrillator, funded by The Community Heartbeat Trust in June 2017, has malfunctioned due to a severe internal hardware error. The Community Heartbeat Trust has supplied another defibrillator on loan, which has now been set-up and is functioning. The Community Heartbeat Trust will collect our malfunctioning unit to see if they can update the software. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that this will fix the problem, and they have suggested  purchasing a new defibrillator at a cost of £1,320 +VAT+ post & packing. It is understood that the British Heart Foundation are currently offering fully funded Defibrillators to Parish Councils. The Clerk will investigate this further and apply if possible.

• Plastic Free Community: Local businesses, including the Parrett Hotel, are being encouraged to reduce the use of plastics for example, using re-fillable bottles. Yvonne Sullivan reported that there are now plastic recycling bins outside Waitrose in Crewkerne. She is also inviting suggestions to increase promotion of the plastic free initiative within our local community. Yvonne was thanked for championing this campaign.

• Footpath Officer’s Report: No update this month.

• Finance: SPPC’s balance at 1st September 2026 was £7,846.29.
• Planning: There were no new applications during this period.

Full details of all applications plus public comments can be viewed at: www.planning.dorset.gov.uk/online-applications/ 

Date of next meeting: Tuesday 3rd November 2026 at 7pm in SP Village Hall.

South Perrott Parish Councillors

Clerk to the Parish Council

Dorset Councillor for Beaminster Electoral Division

Parish Champions

Editors – Pump and Pound