Campaigners opposed to plans to build 4,000 houses on green fields north of Dorchester are organising a protest march through the town centre on Saturday, April 2nd.
And to highlight the threat to the town’s cultural legacy, they are recreating one of Thomas Hardy’s most memorable scenes – the Skimmity Ride from The Mayor of Casterbridge. Organisers say the ride will draw attention to Dorset Council’s plans to “desecrate” the very countryside which inspired so much of Hardy’s writing. Sometimes referred to as a Skimmington Ride, this rural tradition was intended to heap shame on adulterers or other miscreants. Effigies of the offending couple would be strapped to a donkey and paraded through the village. In the novel, effigies of Lucetta and Henchard are tied back-to-back on the donkey. Effigies of a property developer and a town planner will feature in Saturday’s march.
Dorset Council’s draft Local Plan envisages a massive new development in open countryside between Charminster and Stinsford. STAND says the houses will blight the environment and change the character of the county town for good. Jane Ashdown, who chairs the group, said: “These fields are the green lungs of Dorchester. The landscape is of huge historical, environmental, and cultural significance. Dorset Council needs to rethink the Local Plan so that it gives us the homes we need rather than chasing government housing targets.”
When the council invited views on the draft plan last year, there were 60,000 mostly negative comments. The plan proposes building a total of 39,000 houses across Dorset over the next 17 years. It’s opposed by Dorchester Town Council, Dorchester Civic Society, CPRE and a network of 54 campaign groups including STAND.
STAND (Save the Area North of Dorchester) is inviting the public to meet at Maumbury Rings at 10am on Saturday, April 2nd, and march through the town centre. “All are welcome,” says Jane. “Anyone who cares about the environment and the future of the county town should think seriously about making their voices heard.” There’ll be music, speeches and, of course, that Skimmity ride.
Listen to this interview with Linda Poulsen, a local tradition expert, who also updates us on the campaign
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