Areas of Responsibility

Areas of Responsibility

Buildings, recreational land, open spaces, planted areas and play areas maintained by the Town Council include the following:-

The Town Hall - The Town Council purchased the former Magistrates Court in 2002 at a cost of £150,000-00p. The building provides a reception area, four offices and a Council Chamber, together with a self-contained letting area consisting of the Civic Hall, a Conference room and kitchen.    

High Street Public Conveniences - transferred from North Dorset District Council during October 2008 following refurbishment.

The former Public Conveniences at the Chantry Fields Car Park - The freehold transfer of the former Public Conveniences, at the Chantry Fields Car Park, from NDDC, was  completed in 2010 with a capital sum contribution of  5,000-00p, from NDDC, towards the cost of  conversion for community use. Construction work was completed in December 2010 and the building will be available for occupation from April 2011.  Prospective users of the facility have been contacted to establish their needs and the items of equipment, and furniture, they already have available, to offset the fitting out costs. The Credit Union intends to use the main room of the building on a Saturday morning.   The Gillingham Car Link Scheme intends to use the main room of the building each weekday for approximately four hours a day.  Dorset Community Action intends to use the small office during weekdays.  Blackmore Vale Tourism intends to use the main office as a Community Information Centre. Opening hours are envisaged to be between twelve noon and three o’clock, Monday to Saturday, depending on the availability of volunteers.

Hardings Lane Recreation Ground - Purchased by the Parish Council in 1935 for a sum of £800-00p.  The Recreation Ground provides a home for the Gillingham Cricket Club. The main children’s play area for the town is also located here together with a public shelter and a temporary pavilion, with separate external access to the public conveniences. Daily litter clearance and visual inspections of the play equipment are carried out, together with a weekly-recorded inspection. A new sports pavilion has been included in the planning approval for the refurbished Leisure/ Community facility. The construction of the sub base and connection of drainage and services will  go ahead as part of phase one of the refurbishment programme.      

The Garden of Remembrance - The Gillingham Burial Board purchased land at Rolls Bridge in 1860 to provide a burial ground for the town following the closure of St Mary’s Churchyard. A brick perimeter wall was erected to enclose the cemetery, with wrought iron gates erected at the entrance. The cemetery was full by 1890 when further land was purchased on the opposite side of the road.

The Old Mortuary Building - located at the rear of the Garden of Remembrance has recently been restored for operational use including repairs to the roof and external painting.

The Cemetery was opened for burials in 1890 with the present average annual rate of interments it will be full by  2016.  

The Chapel is located in the grounds of the Cemetery. The floor has recently been replaced due to dry rot and the interior has been redecorated. The chapel is open during normal working hours to provide shelter and a place for quiet contemplation for visitors to the cemetery.   

St Mary’s Closed Churchyard - The last full interment was in 1864. The churchyard has been maintained by the Town Council on behalf of the Parochial Church Council since 2006.

Wesley Garden - in Queen Street was the burial ground for the former Wesleyan Chapel. After many years of neglect the Town Council took over the area in 1999 and restored it as a millennium project.

Cemetery Road Allotment Gardens - 25 plots are located at the rear of the Garden of Remembrance at Rolls Bridge.

Shaftesbury Road Allotment Gardens - In the spring of 2009 Mr and Mrs Clark kindly offered the Town Council a plot of land, adjoining the Orchard Park Garden Centre, for allotment provision. A water supply was connected and 15 plots were allocated to local residents on the waiting list. A further 2 plots will be available for the 2010 season.  

Saxongate Shaftesbury Road - The recreational land, planted areas, play area and a surface water balancing pond at the Westbury Homes (Now Persimmon Homes) Development at Saxongate, are maintained by the Town Council, on a cost recovery basis, as the first stage in the transfer process.

Downsview Drive Peacemarsh - The freehold transfer to the Town Council of recreational land at Downsview Drive was completed in 2009.

Maple Way West and Maple Way East Open Spaces - The freehold transfers of these areas of open space land, from NDDC to the Town Council, was completed in 2009.

Campion Close, Ivy Close, Somerset Way, Sorrel Way - The freehold transfers of these areas of open space land, from NDDC to the Town Council, was completed in 2009.

Gyllas Way - The freehold transfers of planted areas at Gyllas Way was completed in 2009.

Ham Farm Development - The freehold transfers of the play areas, open spaces and nature conservation areas at the Ham Farm Site at Shaftesbury Road, from Taylor Wimpey to the Town Council, was completed in the spring of 2009. 

Lodden Fields - The freehold transfer of the Open Spaces land from the developer was completed in January 2011, with responsibility for ongoing maintenance of lighting and the tarmac footway transferring to NDDC.  

Cresscombe Peacemarsh - The freehold transfers of the play area, and adjoining land at Cresscombe, from a residents management committee and Matthew Homes respectively was completed in 2009. 

Barnaby Mead Open Spaces and Play Area - The freehold transfer of the play area, from NDDC to the Town Council, was completed in 2009.  The freehold transfer of the open spaces land is in progress. In the meantime it is being maintained by the Town Council on a cost recovery basis.

King John Road Play Area and adjoining land - The freehold transfer of the play area and adjoining land, from the Management Company to the Town Council, is in progress.

Church View - The Town Council is ready to accept the two open spaces, having agreed a commuted sum with the developer, and signed the transfer document. Following the economic downturn the developer has put a hold nationally on all transfers of public land to local authority control.   In the meantime the developer is responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the land.

The Hyde Road, Gillings and Lodbourne Local Play Areas were upgraded in 2007 with the Big Lottery fund providing two thirds of the cost.   Weekday visual inspection and litter clearance is carried out together with a weekly recorded inspection.

Le Neubourg Way verges and planted areas - The Town Council maintains these areas, on behalf of DCC Highways. DCC has notified the Town Council that they will not be contributing towards the cost involved from April 2011 onwards.  

In addition to the above the Town Council has responsibility for the following:-

Town Ward Street Cleaning - The Town Council employs a Town Orderly whose duties includes street cleaning and litter clearance in the Town Ward, together with the daily cleaning of the public conveniences, emptying of litter bins, and keeping the area around the recycling bins at the Chantry Fields car park clean. 

Public Seating - A total of 51 public seats around the town are maintained by the Town Council.

The High Street Bus Shelter was erected in 1955, by the Parish Council, at a cost of £107-14 shillings, with the permission of the Rector at the time Canon Segar.

Withy Wood – Leading from the bottom of Drove Lane, Common Mead Lane through to the Brickfields Industrial Estate.  Currently maintained by Gillingham Action For Nature Group.

Public Footpaths - The Town Council maintains the following definitive footpaths in the town on behalf of Dorset County Council:-

Footpath 42 - Rear of Fairey Crescent- From Bay Road to Lammas Close.
Footpath 84 - Chantry Fields - Between the Waitrose car parks through to the Square.
Footpath 55 (part) – Wyke Road to Stuart Lane.
Footpath 55 (part) – Common Mead Lane to Laburnum Way.

The following areas of open space land have been identified for transfer from NDDC to Gillingham Town Council.

Addison Close (Riverside) is currently maintained by the Dorset Countryside Rangers.

Barnaby Mead is currently maintained by the Town Council on a cost recovery basis.

Rolls Bridge Way (Either side of Cemetery Road) is currently maintained by the Dorset Countryside Rangers. 

Chantry Fields (Rear of the car park) is currently maintained by the Dorset Countryside Rangers.

Hawthorne Close is currently maintained by the Dorset Countryside Rangers.

War Memorial – The town’s War Memorial was erected in 1920, in the corner of what was at that time the vicarage garden, next to the Town Bridge. The dedication of the War Memorial took place on 18^th November of that year when it was unveiled by the Earl of Shaftesbury. In the summer of 1983 the War Memorial was dismantled and transported to Salisbury Cathedral for cleaning and restoration. It was then reassembled in its current position, on the right hand side at the rear of the High Street public car park.

The War Memorial is now in need of cleaning and restoration. As the memorial is a listed monument the work has to be carried out by an accredited conservator. A Working Party has been set up by the Town Council, including representatives from the Gillingham Royal British Legion and the Devon and Dorset Regiment Association, to establish the costs to clean, repair, and possibly relocate the memorial. A sum of £1,000-00p was included in the precept for the current financial year for surveys to be carried out and detailed reports containing recommendations, and costs, produced for consideration by the Working Party.    

Quotations are being obtained for the following options – a. Clean and restore the memorial and leave in its current location.  b. Clean and restore the memorial and relocate it to a more prominent position in the middle of the High Street car park. c. A new memorial, to be located at the entrance to the High Street car park, where the D flower bed is now situated.  A public consultation survey form will then be prepared, identifying the various options, and the approximate cost for each option.