Archive for April, 2010
30/04/2010 4 Comments

Dorchester town centre plans submitted. Waitrose to anchor £60 million scheme

A PLANNING application has just been submitted for the controversial £60 million redevelopment of the Charles Street site in Dorchester.

Waitrose has agreed terms to relocate from its current store in Tudor Arcade and is now in detailed discussions with the project’s developer Simons.

Waitrose's current Dorchester branch could be replaced. Photograph copyright Nigel Mykura, reused under Creative Commons licence.

The full application includes a range of new shops comprising over 146,000 sq ft of retail space, a new public car park with 484 spaces, a 60-bedroom hotel, affordable housing, new public toilets, new offices for West Dorset District Council and a proposed new library and adult learning centre for Dorset County Council.

The scheme would bring £60 million of private investment into the area.

Mark Newton, Development Director at Simons said: “The submission of this application is a significant milestone in the history of this project.

“As everyone in Dorchester knows, this site has been earmarked for redevelopment for many years, and now we move one step closer to making this a reality.

“The plans have undergone extensive public consultation, and we were delighted with the amount of people who attended our public exhibition in December and returned our feedback forms.

“We are arranging to set up an information kiosk in Dorchester for people to find out more about the planning application, further details of which will be released shortly.

“We have submitted exciting plans that represent a significant investment in Dorchester, and will create a new retail and leisure destination that will benefit the whole town centre as well as the surrounding area.”

West Dorset District Council Chief Executive David Clarke said: “Receiving this planning application is a landmark step forward for the district council’s plans to enhance the vibrancy and economic well-being of Dorchester town centre.

“The planning application will now be checked and registered. This will take a few days.

“Once the application is registered, people can then come in and view the planning application at the council offices in person, look at them on the council website and submit their views at www.dorsetforyou.com/planningapplications/west or visit Simons’ information events.

“The application will be considered by West Dorset District Council’s development control committee following public consultation.

“You can have your say by telling the council what you think of the plans during a consultation period.

“Those that comment will be invited to speak at the development control committee.

If planning permission is granted, work would start on phase one of the scheme early in 2011.

Simons recently won an award for Best Regeneration Partnership for its work with West Oxfordshire District Council on a mixed-use development scheme in Witney.

Editor’s Note: This is a slightly edited version of a press release issued on behalf of Simons. As has been said before on this site, there is sometimes a merit in seeing exactly how businesses and local authorities choose to present their case. They can spend a long, long time thinking how to do so.

Here, four sentences at the top have been condensed into two, and the word “controversial” has been added by me to the first line; here are some links to some other stories and comments to show why.

Dorchester voters reject plan for new district council HQ

Dorchester town centre debate: “Beware West Dorset’s white elephant” 

Dorchester town centre plans move a step closer

(The last link above sets out in some detail arguments for the redevelopment of Dorchester town centre, and includes a West Dorset District Council video)
29/04/2010 8 Comments

West Dorset General Election: Not 1, not 2, but 3 doctors

THE VOTERS of West Dorset will be faced with a positive cornucopia of erudition when they make their final choice next Thursday.

Three out of the five, a massive 60%, of the candidates have the title Doctor before their name. Can any other constituency in the land boast of such an educated bunch set before them?

For a start there’s the workers’ best friend, Red Steve Bick, a local GP and a man who claims he can cure all of the ills of the nation. If pills and potions could do the trick he ought to win by a landslide, sadly…

As it is he could sort you out from top to bottom from alopecia to haemorrhoids, any ailment – he can do the trick.

The other two docs are not the sort you would want checking your blood pressure, giving you a swift flu’ jab or gazing up your rectum but doctors they remain nevertheless.

Auntie Sue Farrant holds a PhD which she gained at London University. It is in Rural Sociology and Gender Studies, neither have I, not a clue. I can only assume that she knows a wattle and daub peasant’s shanty when she sees one and can spot the difference between a bull and a cow at 10 paces.

Then there’s Big Ollie. He also holds a PhD, his was awarded at the London Business School so obviously he’s not just a bit of a banker but a highly qualified one at that. How reassuring.

Smiler Chisholm is just plain mister but, no doubt, knows his onions, provided that they are not Spanish, of course.

The Green Susan Greene is also undoctored but most probably holds qualifications in cycle maintenance, knitting with yoghurt and goat husbandry.

My word, it is going to prove a difficult choice on the day, so far I am undecided. I can’t ever remember being faced with a selection of worthies like this at election time before. Almost mind boggling. Perhaps I should lie down in a darkened room and see a doctor. Any recommendations?

Editor’s Note: Candidates standing for West Dorset in the 2010 General Election campaign are Dr Oliver Letwin (Conservative), Dr Sue Farrant (Liberal Democrat), Dr Steve Bick (Labour), Oliver Chisholm (UKIP) and Susan Greene (Green).
28/04/2010 1 Comment

West Dorset General Election: Will that be all, Sir?

NO SOONER do I post a piece mentioning the shortage of literature from Big Ollie’s lot than one turns up on the doormat.

A pretty rum offering it is too. On the front there are no less than five photographs of Little Dave Cameron. Stuck on the back is a single shot our very own Big Ollie wearing an apron and serving behind a grocer’s counter. I knew that the expenses troubles have come as a bit of blow to some of our legislators but I had no idea that he is so strapped for cash that he has taken a part-time job. He’ll be delivering the bacon by bicycle next.

Anyway none of us can cast a vote for Little Dave ‘hog-the-limelight’ Cameron next week, he is standing in Witney in Oxfordshire. Those wishing to see a boy in blue returned will be sticking their crosses against the box for Big Ollie ‘will-that-be-all-sir?’ Letwin.

None of the other parties have a photo of their leader on them. Modesty perhaps? In some cases probably wisdom. Susan Greene, appropriately enough, the Green Party candidate, does manage to get a shot of her bike in though and very practical it looks. She is standing, amongst other things, on the principle that Sherborne needs more allotments. Laudable enough but does it exactly catch the present mood of the nation?

Smiler Chisholm opts for the smallest illustration of the lot although his left lapel is adorned by a rosette bearing the £ symbol; is he already seeing the dosh in his mind’s eye and working out just how much he can claim in train fares to Westminster? Nice try Smiler but a bit premature I feel.

The Doc from Dorchester has a whopper on the front of his, photograph that is. At least he is managing a half-hearted and rather enigmatic grin. What else could he do in the present circumstances?

Then there’s everybody’s favourite auntie, Sue Farrant of the Liberal lot. There are no less than 13 pictures of her on her leaflet. Many show her with a gathering of local people, often Lib Dem councillors. Even the mayor of Bridport managed to get in on the act and, no, he doesn’t appear to be standing on an empty beer crate this time

So judging by the picture count it’s Clogger Cleggy’s lass and her cohorts to win with Little Dave Cameron’s ego coming second. Let’s see what actually happens on the day. Thankfully it’s only a week away.

Editor’s Note: Candidates standing for West Dorset in the 2010 General Election campaign are Dr Oliver Letwin (Conservative), Dr Sue Farrant (Liberal Democrat), Dr Steve Bick (Labour), Oliver Chisholm (UKIP) and Susan Greene (Green).
27/04/2010 1 Comment

Four out of every ten West Dorset workers are public sector. So who faces the chop?

WEST DORSET has a higher percentage of people working in the public sector than anywhere else in the South West, according to the Office for National Statistics.

18,100 people are employed by bodies such as Dorset County Council, West Dorset District Council, Dorset Police and the NHS.

That’s 40 per cent of the district’s working population – which is not just the highest percentage in the South West, it’s one of the very highest rates nationally.

The number of public sector workers in West Dorset jumped from 15,100 (36% of the total number of people employed) to 18,100 (40%) between 2005 and 2008.

The sources for these figures are the ONS Annual Business Inquiry employee analysis (expressed as UK LA employment by sector) and the Dorset Data Book 2008.

Commentary

With the General Election now just days away, these figures seem to me to pose one overwhelming question.

What on earth is going to happen to West Dorset’s economy after the election?

Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats – whatever party, or combination of parties, ends up in Government – they are all going to have make enormous cutbacks.

Do people in West Dorset have any idea what they could be in for?

Surely, if the district has a disproportionately high number of public sector employees, cutbacks may hit unusually hard?

David Cameron has been talking about the undue dependence of places like the North East and Northern Ireland on the public sector.

But what about here?

Or am I missing something? Is there some reason why West Dorset is going to escape being too badly affected?

Will – actually – Dorset County Council, West Dorst District Council, and Weymouth & Portland Borough Council all still be able to exist as separate authorities?

Will West Dorset District Council persuade people that it is sensible to spend £10.7 million on a new HQ?

Will the vast majority of people keep their jobs?

These are big political questions, and yet writers like The Red Bladder, on this site, report the West Dorset election campaign barely rousing people even to apathy.

Even though the stakes here are unusually high, because of West Dorset’s large public sector.           

All parties should tell us what they really intend to do

The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the Conservatives will need to slash the budgets of unprotected Whitehall departments (such as health, and overseas aid) by £63.7bn by 2014-15, in inflation-adjusted terms. So far only 17.7% of the necessary cuts have been spelled out.

Labour has specified measures totalling 13.3% of what’s required to axe spending by £50.8bn, the Liberal Democrats 25.9% of the £46.5bn their plans imply. (The totals vary because the parties all have different plans to raise taxes as well).

One of the reasons that Real West Dorset was set up was to argue that this part of the world is actually at the forefront of various political and social developments.

When the cuts begin, we’ll find out how true that is.
27/04/2010 1 Comment

An owl called Bob has had the wit to woo

A BARN OWL called Bob, who’s been living in a box by himself for several years, has found a mate called Brenda.

Bob was the solitary occupant of an owl box at Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve, near Weymouth.

Now he’s been joined by Brenda, it’s reckoned that five or more eggs may soon be laid.

Incubation would then take about 30 days.

However, only two owlets may survive, because barn owls, like other birds of prey, frequently eat some of their offspring.

Whatever happens, it’s all watchable by owl box webcam.

Dorset Wildlife Trust’s People & Wildlife Officer, Sam Dallimore, says: “The prospect of being able to follow the breeding of a barn owl family from start to finish is really exciting and will provide all sorts of data that will prove useful.  That the viewing is available for everyone to enjoy is both informative and a real insight into the day to day activity of one of our most charismatic native birds.”

Many wildlife enthusiasts have begun watching Bob and Brenda. In another nest box at the same reserve, where last year a pair of kestrels took up residence and produced a family, a comparable webcam attracted thousands of viewers from as far afield as South Africa.

Watch the barn owls at http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/raptorcam.html

Lorton Meadows nature reserve is open daily at Lorton Lane, Upwey, Weymouth, DT3 5QH (pictured below)
26/04/2010 2 Comments

General Election 2010: Goodnight Dorset

AS FAR as West Dorset voters seem to be concerned just a couple more notches on the excitement scale and they could work themselves up into a state of apathy.

The candidates all seem to have all adopted profiles so low that they really should take to bandaging themselves from head to toe. That way we might, at least, have a chance of spotting them when they are allowed out to roam the streets without restraint.

I had thought of voting tactically in order to keep a boring candidate out but I’ve got no chance with that one. As a bunch they are about as exciting as a row of Brussels Sprouts on a supermarket shelf.

Things just haven’t been the same since the old Raving Loony Party changed its name to UKIP. Judging by his photograph their candidate is never going to earn the nickname ‘Smiler’. Still, he tells us, that he finds expenses cheating “contemptible”. UKIP would know all about that in view of the shenanigans of their MEPs. I expect that Monsieur Farage feels exactly the same.

The sitting member, Big Ollie, seems to have given up the ghost completely and run to ground. The Tory party have sent this household just the one leaflet – it was addressed to my 17 year old daughter who will not be qualified to vote until some four months after the polls close. Money to burn eh? The pair of us that actually are enfranchised have yet to hear a word from the lad.

So far even that crooner who lives in Burton hasn’t intervened with a scheme that would prevent the invisible, yet very well connected, Tory candidate from keeping his tennis court in the style to which it has become accustomed. Still there’s time yet.

In the rather vain hope of re-naming his house Duncurin a sawbones from Dorchester is standing on behalf of the Red Menace. In this neck of the woods he has even less chance of being returned than I have of being nominated for the Abstainer of the Year award.

Still things might be looking up, the Greens are due to hold a mass meeting in the telephone box outside Bridport Post Office, one or two Liberal activists have bought new sandals for the hustings and at the merest hint of a scent of power and UKIP have taken to driving around in a very old and battered van playing a piece of music that could be anything from the National Anthem to Roll out the barrel the reproduction is so bad it really is impossible to tell.

So election fever has given West Dorset a miss this year, thankfully. We can all sleep on regardless, there’s not much going on around  here.

Editor’s Note: Candidates standing for West Dorset in the 2010 General Election campaign are Dr Oliver Letwin (Conservative), Dr Sue Farrant (Liberal Democrat), Dr Steve Bick (Labour), Oliver Chisholm (UKIP) and Susan Greene (Green).
26/04/2010 No comments

West Dorset: Vandals damage village cricket and football pitches

VILLAGERS near Bridport are looking out for vandals who have churned up a cricket pitch used by schoolchildren.

Eight times over the last 18 months, at irregular intervals but always on a Tuesday night, one or more cars has been driven over the cricket and football ground at The Weir in Nettlecombe.

Steve Hibbs, chairman of Powerstock Junior Cricket Club, said: “The last time was the worst because the ground was wet and where they were turning, the wheels dug in, and they put grooves in the wicket.”

Dorset police have now been informed and residents have been asked to report any suspicious activity, and note number plates.

Powerstock Junior Cricket Club has 35 members, including boys from Loders, Bradpole, Bridport and Beaminster. Five have played for Dorset. The pitch they use is carefully maintained by volunteers and parents. Mr Hibbs said he had so far spent eight hours repairing the damage caused at the end of March.

Pitches at Nettlecombe are now looking better, after hours of hard work.

He did not believe that vandals had a vendetta against sporting clubs using The Weir.

“I think it was just an available field to go and be silly in.

“But it’s disrepecteful and inconsiderate.

“It’s deliberate and it’s unnecessary.”

Now locked: The Weir at Nettlecombe.

Earlier incursions were not so bad because the ground was much harder, but the gate to the playing fields has now been chained and padlocked by Victor Crutchley of Crutchley Farms, who own the land. Nobody liked barring access, said Mr Hibbs, but action had to be taken to stop the forthcoming season from being ruined.

“Luckily the first game of the season is away. Our first home game is not until Thursday May 6 against Lyme Regis Woodroffe.

“We’d welcome any residents who want to pop along and have a look. We want people to be involved. It enhances the village community.”

Mr Hibbs, who lives near West Milton, started the cricket club five years ago, partly because he believes it’s good to keep old traditions like village cricket teams going.

Locally, he is also chairman of Bridport Market.