Dorset

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A record number of parks and green spaces across the Dorset Council area have been awarded a Green Flag Award, representing the mark of a quality park or green space. Green spaces can be national nature reserves, picnic areas or an area of open space.

Avon Heath Country Park and Moors Valley Country Park, both near Ringwood, Durlston Country Park in Swanage, Thorncombe Woods near Dorchester and The Milldown and Stour Meadows in Blandford, have been recognised by the Green Flag Award Scheme as some of the very best in the world.

Thorncombe Woods, by Ian Metcalfe

Each of our parks and open spaces offer visitors a totally different experience. From the cliff-top nature reserve, teeming with life at Durlston to a bustling family friendly day out at Moors Valley Country Park and the history steeped Thorncombe Woods – Thomas Hardy’s birthplace – there is so much to see and explore.

These sites in Dorset are among a record-breaking 1,970 UK parks and green spaces and 131 in thirteen other countries around the world, that have received a prestigious Green Flag Award.

This international award, now into its third decade, is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.

Cllr Ray Bryan, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “In Dorset Council’s first year, it is wonderful to have been awarded so many Green Flag Awards. They are so well deserved, and the parks and greenspaces themselves are wonderful places to discover.”

Giles Nicholson, Dorset Council’s greenspace manager said: “We’re really proud of our parks, picnic sites and greenspaces and we know how much they matter to residents and visitors. We are absolutely delighted to receive so many Green Flag Awards for these sites, which reflects the dedication of our ranger teams, volunteers and apprentices.”

International Green Flag Award scheme manager Paul Todd said “Each flag honours the thousands of staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to maintain the high standards demanded by the Green Flag Award. We congratulate each and every winner on their fantastic achievement.”

The post Dorset Council celebrates prestigious Green Flag Awards appeared first on Dorset Council news.

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A new project at the Dorset Council run Durlston Country Park in Swanage is giving everyone the chance to share skills, make friends and come together through volunteering.

The Everyone Needs a Shed! project, offers a relaxed style of working and socialising, with gentle tasks like gardening, bird box making, green woodworking and more. Volunteers can come and go and the shed is open to all, including people with disabilities or long term health conditions, such as dementia.

The Shed is part of the Durlston Pleasure Grounds Project, which is working to enhance the Victorian landscape at Durlston for people and wildlife. It is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.

Ali Tuckey, Project Leader for the Durlston Pleasure Grounds Project, explained: “This is such a great way to help look after this fantastic place, with no commitment or experience needed – just come along and we’ll put you to work, or just pop in for a cuppa and a chat.”

Cllr Ray Bryan, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “The Shed is not only located in a beautiful setting, but it also offers a brilliant way for people to share or learn new skills, meet like-minded people, take gentle exercise and be a part of the wider community of volunteers.”

The shed is open on Mondays between 10:00am-1:00pm, Wednesdays between 1:00pm-4:00pm and most Saturday mornings.

To find out more, visit www.durlston.co.uk or pop in for a chat.

The post Durlston’s new Shed offers volunteering and socialising opportunities appeared first on Dorset Council news.

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Our surface dressing highway fixers are still in north Dorset reviving tired, rural roads by improving skid resistance and protecting them from water damage.

Work completed week ending 12 July:

• Barnes Close – Station Road to end, Sturminster Newton
• D31407 – from B3091 to High Street, West Orchard
• High Street – from D31408 to D31405 at Orchard Water Bridge, West Orchard
• High Street – from B3091 to D31407 at Vale Farm, West Orchard
• Village Road – from D31405 at Orchard Water Bridge to C138, West Orchard
• B3091 East Orchard School to Winchells Farm
• Stocky Lane – B3091 to Village Road at Bowling Green Farm, East Orchard
• Penn Hill – C52 crossroads, Bedchester to parish Boundary at Pen Copse

Our works schedule for the next two weeks, starting on Monday 15 July:

• The Corner – from The Cross to Courtney Close, Shroton
• D31305 – from Paynthouse Farm to B3091, Guy’s Marsh
• D31305 – from Green Lane to Paynthouse Farm, Guy’s Marsh
• Green Lane – Stour Row to Guy’s Marsh turning, Shaftesbury
• Green Lane – from Guy’s Marsh turning to B3091, Hartgrove
• D31301 – from Lymburghs Farm entrance to Higher Farm, Margaret Marsh
• C14 – Moorhayes to Ram’s Hill at D30916 / D31301 crossroads, Todber
• Angel Lane – Scotchy Lane to Stour Lane, Stour Provost
• D30902 – from The Church to Trill Bridge, Fife Magdalen
• D30902 – Trill Bridge to B3092, Fife Magdale
• Great Down Lane – Love Lane to B3092,  Marnhull
• Fillesymead – C15 to Fellowsmead, Marnhull
• Fellowsmead – Fillesymead to C15, Marnhull
• Common Lane – loop from C15, Marnhull
• Jct C107 to Jct C021, Westbrook
• Kendall Lane – from C142 to B3092, Milton-On-Stour
• School Lane – from B3095 to adoption end, Milton-On-Stour
• The Butts – Church Hill to Breach Lane, Shaftesbury
• Foots Hill – from B3081 to A350, Cann
• Chapel Hill, Compton Abbas

As we head into more rural areas, and work on lesser-known roads, please remember you can check where we are working by using the online roadworks map.

About the work

Our surface dressing gang is working 9am to 4pm in urban areas and 8am to 4pm in rural areas.

Surface dressing doesn’t take long and the road can be driven on as soon as it’s finished. Depending on the length of the road you live on, the road will be closed for around 1-2 hours while the treatment takes place.

There will be an advisory 20mph speed limit after the work while the loose stones ‘bed down’ into the bitumen. Travelling at this reduced speed will prevent skidding on the loose chippings, help ‘bed down’ the material and will save your paint work!

We sweep the road one to two days after the work to get rid of excess stones.

White lining reinstatement will follow on from this and is generally a week or so later.

Sorry for the inconvenience

We cannot work overnight as surface dressing relies on the evaporation of water from the bitumen binder (glue) for it to set, and it needs traffic to travel on the new surface for it to ‘bed down’ and lock onto the old surface.

We also cannot work in wet weather – any amount of rain or surface water dilutes the bitumen and so doesn’t hold the chippings in place – which is why our surface dressing programme runs from April through to September.

As this treatment is so weather dependent, dates are subject to change.

The post North Dorset surface dressing continues appeared first on Dorset Council news.

A new CCTV centre has opened in Dorchester to improve safety.

Superintendent Caroline Naughton speaks to the BBC at the opening of the new CCTV centre

Dorset Council, Dorset Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset have worked together to deliver the new £375,000 control room, which will help prevent, detect and reduce crime, as well as improve traffic management.

Helping to prevent, detect and reduce crime

The new centre features upgraded technology, including new digital radio systems, touchscreen control panels, interactive mapping software, upgraded monitors and better facilities for reviewing footage.

Representatives from Dorset Council and Dorset Police visited the new centre on Tuesday (16 July) to see it in action. Those visiting included Cllr Graham Carr-Jones, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Housing, Martyn Underhill, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner and Superintendent Caroline Naughton from Dorset Police.

Cllr Carr-Jones said: “It is an impressive facility with better technology that will improve public safety. It’s a good example of public services pulling together efficiently to deliver improvements.”

Superintendent Caroline Naughton of Dorset Police said: “This is a fantastic example of all partners involved in community safety coming together to develop a CCTV system that is fit for purpose and meets all of our needs.  CCTV systems are vital for the prevention, detection and prosecution of crime and I am pleased that Dorset is now at the forefront of using the latest technology.”

Martyn Underhill, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “This represents a crucial modernisation of Dorset’s CCTV infrastructure and I am confident this important investment will enable agencies including the police and council to work more closely together to help keep people across the county safe.

“This state of the art centre will hopefully expand to enable other areas of Dorset to benefit from this innovation in the future.”

“State-of-the art centre will hopefully expand”

The digital radio system in the new control room can link to council staff on patrol including parking officers, Weymouth Town Council beach staff and uniformed patrol officers who tackle anti-social behaviour under the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme. It also links direct to Shop Watch, Pub Watch and Taxi Watch schemes. This means shopkeepers, publicans and taxi drivers can contact the CCTV control room direct. The control room is also connected directly to the police via the emergency services Airwave radio system.

The cameras also help to monitor traffic, dealing with any problems and supporting safe travel across the network. This is particularly useful during special events such as Weymouth Carnival, Weymouth IRONMAN 70.3 and the veterans’ parade.

The Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office contributed £263,000 to the project, while Dorset Council contributed £110,000. Apart from the Highways cameras, which operate across Dorset, the CCTV centre currently covers Bridport, Dorchester and Weymouth. Other parts of Dorset have separate CCTV systems, operated either privately or by town councils. The new centre could be expanded in the future to cover other parts of the county.

The operation of the CCTV centre is carefully managed and is governed by the Surveillance Camera Commissioner.

The post New CCTV centre opens appeared first on Dorset Council news.

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A Dorset sheep farmer has been prosecuted and fined after failing to adequately care for her animals and leaving dead sheep on her land. 

On 15 July 2019, at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court, Karen Harper (aged 51) of Charlton Marshall, near Blandford, Dorset, was today sentenced with a Community Order to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £2278 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £85.

Thin sheep found on Harper’s land

She had pleaded guilty on 24 June 2019 to nine offences under animal health and welfare legislation following investigation by the trading standards team, now part of Dorset Council.

Miss Harper pleaded guilty to three offences under The Animal Welfare Act 2006 of causing unnecessary suffering to her flock of over 75 sheep by failing to follow veterinary advice or provide appropriate care and treatment. She also pleaded guilty to two offences under The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 of failing to care for sick animals and record the number that died; three offences under The Animal By-Products (Enforcement) England Regulations 2013 for failing to dispose of the sheep carcasses without undue delay and one offence of failing to tag sheep as required by The Sheep and Goats Records, Identification and Movement (England) Order 2009.

The court heard that in December 2018 a trading standards officer visited land near the village of Affpuddle in the Purbeck area of Dorset where Harper kept sheep. The officer found more than 25 sheep carcasses littering fields. Many of the remaining 75 sheep were very thin with little grass to eat and no additional feed.

The sheep were later examined by a veterinary officer from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) who found 54 to be unacceptably thin and one sheep so thin and weak it had to be put to sleep. In addition 43 of the sheep were found not to be ear tagged which is a legal requirement to provide traceability of livestock and helps disease prevention and control.

Harper received a formal caution from trading standards for similar offences in 2017 but failed to follow the advice on caring for her animals given at that time.

Councillor Anthony Alford, Portfolio Holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services at Dorset Council said:

“Our Trading Standards team work with farmers and other livestock keepers to improve the welfare of their animals but where advice is ignored formal action is considered. All livestock keepers have a clear responsibility to ensure conditions they keep animals in and the care they are given is adequate and does not cause unnecessary suffering.”

For health and welfare advice on keeping farmed animals or to report an animal welfare problem Dorset residents can call the Trading Standards animal health line on 01305 224475, or email tradingstandards@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.

The post Sheep farmer sentenced for animal cruelty appeared first on Dorset Council news.

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