Portland-based ceramic artist and retired art teacher Stephen Yates will be hoping for good weather when he embarks on the 250-mile walk to Yorkshire with his dog Jack. Family and friends will wave them off from Coronation Road on Portland for their journey inspired by Stephen’s late mother, Kathleen. The duo plan to walk 10 […]
Controversial plans to build a battery storage facility in Chickerell have been submitted to Dorset Council. Statera Energy is seeking full planning permission to build a 400MW battery energy storage system (BESS) connected to the National Grid near Weymouth FC. The plan is already attracting opposition from the Chickerell Action Group (CAG), with one member […]
Outline plans for up to 141 homes, a 60-bed care home and a gym, swimming pool and spa at a Weymouth beauty spot are going before planners after vehement objections from the town’s civic society among others. Juno Developments has previously applied for permission to build at Newtons Cove, on the site of the former […]
West Dorset MP Chris Loder has launched a campaign to ensure that access to cash is protected in his constituency in the wake of several significant bank closures in West Dorset. Bank closures in Dorchester, Bridport, Lyme Regis and Sherborne have left many vulnerable people and rural residents marginalised. Now Mr Loder is inviting residents […]
Campaigners have secured a water boss’s pledge to improve Lyme Regis’s sewage system ‘without delay’ after concerns were raised about poor water quality and an ‘ecologically dead’ river. The River Lim Action group met South West Water’s Chief Operating Officer John Halsall to discuss the thousands of hours sewage has been pouring into rivers in […]
It’s finally happening – the huge former Weymouth and Portland Borough Council building is to be razed to the ground, opening up a prime piece of land on the harbourside. Councillors on Dorset Council’s area planning committee have agreed to demolish the concrete building occupied by the local authority on North Quay for nearly half […]
First Bus has apologised to a holidaymaker from Oxfordshire after he was turned away for having a mobility scooter. Christopher Smith from Didcot was holidaying in Charmouth and was allowed to board buses to Lyme Regis and back with his class 2 scooter, which he relies on after suffering a stroke. But the next day […]
Campaigners fear the Bibby Stockholm asylum seekers’ barge could become a ‘floating Grenfell’ as it starts to fill up over the coming weeks – and their fears seem finally to have been heard after the arrival of 50 migrants was cancelled at the last minute today. The barge, which was built to house 222 people, […]
Steeped in history and pretty as a picture, Abbotsbury is a haven for its residents and a thriving hub for artisan businesses. Famed worldwide for its subtropical gardens and swannery, the village inspired author Ian McEwan to write On Chesil Beach, while director Thomas Vinterberg used it as a filming location for his adaptation of […]
Traders in West Bay say they are suffering badly after parking soared from £2 a day to £15. The little seaside community, where shops are mainly small independent traders, used to be a magnet for day trippers, who would stay all day, buying from the shops and taking their time at eateries. Now, Dorset Council […]