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Pre-school will now close down in November
Three cheers for Graham! FRIENDS and colleagues of Lyme Regis resident Graham Turner give him a warm welcome as he arrives at a special reception to receive an award for more than 50 years of voluntary service to both the town’s lifeboat crew and coastguards. See page 7 for full report. Photo by Seb Cope
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ST MICHAEL’S Pre-School in Lyme Regis will close down on November 22 2019. The final decision on the future of the preschool was announced yesterday (Thursday) in a letter to parents from the governors and headteacher of St Michael’s Primary School, which runs the facility. Governors initially announced in July that the pre-school would close down the following week, as it had been running at a loss and was expected to have a £20,000 deficit this year. Following concerns from parents and discussions with Dorset Council, it was then agreed to re-open the pre-school for the new term in September and give further consideration to its long-term future. However, in their letter this week, headteacher Nick Kiddle and the chairman of governors, Betty Wood, confirmed they had taken the “difficult decision” to close. The letter added: “This has not been an easy time for all of those parents with children with pre-school, their families and the staff. We thank you all for your continued support during this time.” Lyme Regis Pre-School Fundraising Committee was set up to try and protect the educational facility’s long-term prospects, with their latest event, a harvest home auction, raising £2,600 last weekend (see page 7). The committee said they had been expecting yesterday’s announcements and are now intending to further investigate possibility of setting up a pre-school as a Charitable Incorpoated Organisation, which funds already raised will be put towards.
RESIDENTS CALL FOR SOLUTION TO LYME’S TRAFFIC CHAOS RESIDENTS of Lyme Regis have urged local councils to take note of their concerns and address the town’s increasing traffic problems.
Lyme Regis Town Council last year commissioned a £25,000 traffic survey by engineering company Hydrock, with hopes it would result in possible solutions to long-running traffic congestion and parking issues.
FRANCESCA EVANS francesca@lyme-online.co.uk But on receiving the report in March, councillors and the town clerk expressed “bitter disappointment” with its results, with one of the main concerns being that it did not include public consultation as promised. In light of this, LymeOnline turned to its readers to ask for their suggestions to Lyme’s traffic woes,
and has been inundated with responses over the past two weeks. Suggestions have included moving traffic lights in Church Street, an option which the highways authority has previously ruled out as unviable; banning large buses and coaches from the town centre; various one-way systems around the town; tighter restrictions on delivery vehicles; improved signage; and even pedestrianising Broad Street. Many residents have called for
the town council and new Dorset Council to take note of their concerns, saying it is now time for action after decades spent debating the issue with no real progress. One response from Margaret McLaren read: “There are solutions if only the powers that be would take definitive action and stop wasting money on surveys, which only told us what we already knew.” SEE ALL RESPONSES ON PAGES 16 & 17
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