the community news that matters

Dorchester will come up against their former striker, Shaquille Gwengwe, at the Avenue Stadium on Saturday. The former Magpie now turns out for Southern Premier League high-flyers Poole Town and tops the league’s scoring table with 21 goals so far.
However, apart from Tuesday evening’s reverse at Chertsey, Dorchester have ...

by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
A former building society in Dorchester town centre could become the town’s latest café/bar.
A planning application for the site, between the County Museum and Holy Trinity church in High West Street, has won favour ...

by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
An appeal has started over Dorset Council’s refusal to allow a combined home and workshop on the edge of a Dorchester industrial estate.
The council decided the combined unit in a corner of the Casterbridge ...
‘Arts for Impact’ Doubles Donations in Dorset

Now in its 36th year of partnering with volunteers to present a variety of events in the heart of communities across the county, Dorset charity Artsreach is proud to have been selected to be part of the 2026 ‘Big ...
Council responds to record number of flood-damaged roads

Priority repairs to flood damaged roads are set to go ahead later this year, as Dorset Council responds to a record number of highway issues.
From December 2025 to February 2026, the council recorded a 92% increase in reported potholes, ...

A 29 year old mum-of-two from Dorset who was facing homelessness shares her experience of relationship breakdowns with her partner and subsequently her landlord and her journey to finding the right family home.
Teila is one of 785 households Dorset ...
Special constable recruitment is now open

Dorset Police is launching a new special constable recruitment campaign and is encouraging people looking for a volunteering opportunity and the chance to learn new skills to apply.
Special constables are an integral part of the Force – they are ...
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Is your organisation running an event which the community needs to know about? You can promote a charitable or non-profit event on our popular What’s On page, FREE OF CHARGE, to boost interest.
Below are the next 5 upcoming events. There’s much more in the Local Events Diary…
Mon 9 Mar
An afternoon of table top games
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Location: PIP Cafe, St John Way, Poundbury, DT1 2FGCome and join us for an afternoon of table top games. Come and play or learn to play: Rummicub, Scrabble, mah jong, canasta and much much more. Refreshments available. This is a free event.
Contact: The Loyal Hand in Hand Lodge of Oddfellows | 07788436797 | Email | MapThu 12 Mar
Closing the Somerset and Dorset Railway: 1951-1967
Location: Dorset History Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RP7:00 pm. Join us at DHC for a talk by Colin Divall, Professor Emeritus of Railway Studies at the University of York, to mark the 60th anniversary of the closure of the Somerset and Dorset Railway in March 1966. Tickets are £8 for DAT members or £10 for non-members. Please book via Ticketsource as per the web link below.
Contact: Dorset History Centre | 01305 250550 | Email | Web | MapFri 13 Mar to Sat 14 Mar
Jazz with Mike Denham (piano) & Tom 'Spats' Langham (guitar)
7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Location: Tincleton Gallery, The Old School House, Millom Lane, Tincleton, DT2 8QRFirst music 8.00 pm. Tom “Spats” Langham is a leading UK jazz entertainer. He has performed 1920s and ‘30s jazz all over the world, as a soloist and with top bands including The Pasadena Roof Orchestra and Chris Barber. He is renowned as one of the finest banjo and guitar players, with superb vocals. And Mike on the piano !
Contact: Tincleton Gallery | 01305 848909 | Email | Web | MapFri 13 Mar
Three Cane Whale at Powerstock Hut
7:30 pm to 10:00 pm
Location: Powerstock Hut, School Hill, Powerstock, Bridport, DT6 3TBThree Cane Whale is a multi-instrumental acoustic chamber-folk trio based in Bristol, featuring members of Spiro, Get The Blessing and Scottish Dance Theatre. Their eponymous debut album was chosen by Cerys Matthews as one of her Top Five Modern Folk Albums.
Contact: Powerstock Hut | 07775590579 | Email | Web | MapSat 14 Mar
A Fascinating Talk On Stained Glass in the Church & Concert
Location: St. Nicholas Church, Dorchester Road, Broadwey, Weymouth, DT3 5DN2.30pm (doors open at 2pm). Masterpieces in light illuminate ecclesiastical buildings with vivid colourful images. John Drabik, retired lecturer & stained glass artist will talk about the windows in our beautiful church giving you the opportunity to appreciate these gems & see them in a new light. Followed by a concert by local guitarist Adrian Wood.
Tickets £10 p.p. Children Free. Includes Tea/Coffee & Homemade Cake.
On demand, at your convenience
Countryside Matters 56, 16.02.26

In this programme:
Managing Director of the Gardens Group Mike Burks talks about the amazing and ancient tree species, the Wollemi Pine, from Australia, a specimen of which is growing in Sherborne’s Pageant Garden – and this particular one carries ...
Woke! The Opera – a new musical on the horizon by local folk

Woke! The Opera is a powerful new musical following a mixed-race family from the 1950s to today. Meet Eric, a cheeky Londoner, and Florence, who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean as part of the Windrush generation. Guided ...
At last construction of 15 flats for social rent begins in Dorchester at Old Tennis Courts

Having been proposed for nine years, building work has at last begun on fifteen social rent flats on land which was formerly the old tennis courts in Dorchester. Instrumental in this project has been the Dorchester Area Community Land ...

A taster of David Taylor’s Saturday show on Keep 106 called DT@1 which is broadcast on Saturdays at 1:00 pm. (for the uninitiated DT1 is the post code for Dorchester….see what we did there 🤦♀️) Enjoy the show…
see more and listen to this audio ►
Countryside Matters 55, 02.02.26

In this edition we hear about the recent Strategies & Priorities Day held in Dorchester Town Hall by the Dorset Climate Action Network • a member of the River Lim Action Group updates us on the status of that ...
Memories of Dorchester in the 1950s

In this programme John Wareham made a welcome return to the Keep 106 studios. On this visit, he took us back to the late 1950s in Dorchester, sharing his memories of growing up near Maiden Castle and what life ...
















