Child Okeford – Village website
Child Okeford is a picturesque village nestled amongst the captivating landscape of the Blackmore Vale in the heart of the North Dorset countryside. Hambledon Hill lies to the east , the River Stour to the west and the village is in easy reach of the market towns of Shaftesbury, Blandford and Sturminster Newton. Although we are a rural community there are lots of events going on and the village is home to a thriving artistic community.
On the pages of this website we have information on what’s on, where to stay, the village hall, community centre ,our local businesses, local artists, the numerous clubs and societies within the village and much, much more.
If you have a news item about the village that you would like others to know about, or if you are organising an event in the village and would like it publicised or for any other reason let us know by email [email protected]
Change of email address for the Parish Clerk.
Two pieces of a news from the Parish Council today. The first concerns a change in email address for the Clerk which is now [email protected] .
Improving Village mobile phone signal (4G & 5G)
Dorset County Council has recently informed the Parish Council that Child Okeford has poor 4G/5G mobile telephone signal. To solve this problem they have partnered with Atlas Tower Group who have worked in several rural counties to install and maintain modern mobile phone masts.
The need to improve mobile signal is becoming urgent for the following reasons:
- the analogue landline system will be turned off by January 2027.
- gas and electricity smart meters need 4G, as 2G is being switched off, to allow the supply of cheaper electricity at night and feed-in to the grid from solar panels. As more residents charge electric cars this will provide substantial savings.
- the Emergency Services currently use the WAVE network for communication. This will soon be replaced by the Emergency Services Network (ESN) which will rely solely on 4G signal – currently not available everywhere in the village.
- the increasing use of medical technology providing instant mobile communication with specialists and carers for those with potentially life-threatening medical problems.
Most villages in our area have an adjacent telecommunications mast to provide a 4G/5G signal. These cannot be further upgraded to provide a signal to Child Okeford. Our local topography means that a tower in fields somewhere to the west of Legal Lane is apparently the only viable option to get a connection to the majority of houses.
The Parish Council are exploring the ramifications of this situation and inviting the views of local residents and businesses based in the village before detailed site survey work and planning applications can go ahead.
The Parish Council welcomes your views. A leaflet drop through the village is being organised but you can also have have your say by completing the brief questionnaire which can be accessed using the QR code or weblink below:
