Below are the 30 latest news items
Dorset Museum’s Thomas Hardy Collection Receives Prestigious Arts Council Designation
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery has announced that its Thomas Hardy Collection has been awarded Arts Council England (ACE) Designation status.
This prestigious recognition acknowledges the collection’s outstanding significance and its vital importance to national cultural heritage.
The museum owns the ...
The world’s best Olympic windsurfers are heading to Weymouth & Portland for the Musto iQFOil World Championship for a high-speed showdown on one of world sailing’s most iconic stages.
Expect epic, head-to-head battles featuring Olympic medallists, World Champions and rising stars – ...
Medal Glory for Sam and Jake at the Special Olympics
Andy Senior reporting.
In June 2026 Sam Craddock visited the Keep 106 studios to tell us about how he had qualified to take part in The Special Olympics at Birmingham.
Sam and his teammate Jake have returned from the Special Olympics ...
Community invited to hospital’s Annual Members’ Meeting
Dorset County Hospital is inviting members of the local community to its Annual Members’ Meeting (Annual General Meeting) on 29 September from 5pm to 6.30pm.
The meeting is being held in the hospital’s Education Centre at the Williams Avenue site ...
Free activities across Dorchester with weekend to celebrate towns heritage
Every September thousands of venues and volunteers across England organise events to celebrate our fantastic history and culture. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore. Dorchester ...
Two of our three senior local Non-League Football teams will go into the draw for the next round of the FA Cup following victories on Saturday
Dorchester beat Brixham away, and Weymouth travelled to Twerton Park to lock horns with ...
The Marsh Sports Festival coming soon
After years of wishing to spread his passion in sport, Weymouth Town Councillor Alex Fuhrmann says he has found the time to organise the Marsh Sports Festival with a range of sporting activities planned for Sunday 20th September at ...
Appeal for information and dashcam footage following report of spiking in Weymouth
Police officers investigating a report of a spiking in Weymouth are appealing to anyone with information to come forward.
Dorset Police received a report that a woman aged in her 20s had been spiked at a venue in The Esplanade ...
Stinsford ‘extraordinary’ omission
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Objectors to the 500-homes planned at Stinsford Hill say it is “extraordinary” that the North Dorchester Consortium have not mentioned in their application that the proposed development area is covered by the Stinsford Neighbourhood plan.
A ...
Local community urged to have its say on proposed new home for Dorset Studio School
People across Dorset are being urged to act now and have their say on proposals for a new home for Dorset Studio School, with the current pre-application consultation closing on Sunday 13th September.
The consultation is now open, giving parents, ...
The world’s best Olympic windsurfers are heading to Weymouth & Portland for the Musto iQFOil World Championship for a high-speed showdown on one of world sailing’s most iconic stages.
Expect epic, head-to-head battles featuring Olympic medallists, World Champions and rising stars – ...
Rowan Atkinson to headline Purbeck Film Festival’s 30th anniversary autumn season
Rowan Atkinson will join Purbeck Film Festival in person this autumn for a Jacques Tati day at the Mowlem theatre, Swanage, honouring a filmmaker who shaped his own comic sensibility – one of the standout events in a season ...
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Stinsford Parish Council say the 500-home development on 24 hectare of farmland withing its parish could cause significant harm to the countryside, wildlife, heritage assets, water supplies and an already overstretched road network.
It also argues ...
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Neighbour opposition to plans for nine homes on a site near Weymouth have led to it being rejected.
Some claimed they had not been directly informed of the impact of some of the homes proposed for ...
Idris Martin reporting.
Dorchester Town Football Club is saddened to learn of the passing of former manager and goalkeeping coach Alan Knight MBE on Tuesday.
A hugely respected figure within the game, the Portsmouth legend – who spent 22 years playing ...
Dorset Council secures £1.1m to help prevent homelessness
Dorset Council has secured £1.1 million in government funding to strengthen local efforts to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping across the county.
The funding will be used to help people access safe accommodation earlier, improve homelessness prevention services, and deliver ...
Home‑waters world championships do not come around that often. September’s iQFOiL Worlds will be staged in Weymouth and Portland.
With the world’s top windsurfers heading to the 2012 Olympic waters, the organisers hope the championships will become a focal point ...
Just a week to go to comment on the proposed 20mph limit for Dorchester
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
With little over a week to go for public comment on plans for a blanket 20mph speed limit on Dorchester roads – the idea seems to have split opinion.
Dorchester Town Council’s consultation is due to ...
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
A life-saving heart machine could be installed on the outside wall of a Grade II listed community building on Portland.
The Island of Portland Heritage Trust has applied to Dorset Council for listed building consent to ...
Chickerell Library extension approved
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
An extension has been approved for a Dorset community library – adding floor space and a disabled loo.
The Friend of Chickerell Community Library in East Street say the works will create a fully accessible disabled ...
Motorcyclist sustains life-changing injuries in crash near Dorchester
Police officers are appealing for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to come forward following a serious collision near Dorchester.
The incident occurred on Old Sherborne Road between Charlton Down and Buckland Newton at around 7pm on Tuesday 25 August ...
Prolific offender jailed for breaching criminal behaviour order
Efforts by Weymouth and Portland Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) have seen a man jailed for breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).
The NPT had secured a five-year-long CBO for 44-year-old Nicholas Gardner following a number of incidents in Weymouth town ...
Care home advertising sign refused
A large roadside advertising sign for a Chickerell care home has been refused planning consent.
The sign, which would be lit at night, was for the Queen Charlotte care home at 432 Chickerell Road, which has recently undergone improvements.
Dorset Council ...
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Changes to a Weymouth town centre building to create bedrooms for young people leaving care has been refused – because of the risk of flooding.
A private social work company had requested changes to the upper ...
Warriors and Witches event coming in October
Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
A tattoo festival featuring combat sports, cage grappling, axe and knife throwing and a witch’s market is being planned for a countryside Dorset site in the autumn.
The event is being advertised as taking place between ...
Appeal for witnesses following suspicious fire in Weymouth
Police officers are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward after a fire was believed to have been started deliberately in Weymouth.
The fire started at around 10.20am on Sunday 23 August 2026 near to B&M in ...
Women DARE to BARE participants raise £24.5k for the Air Ambulance
Women from across Dorset and Somerset came together at Vobster Quay on Sunday 23 August for DARE to BARE, a topless sponsored swim supporting Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, while raising awareness that women are less likely to receive ...
All three of our local non-league football teams that entered Saturday’s Preliminary Round FA Cup competition will go into the hat for next week’s Second Preliminary Round Draw.
In total, they scored 11 goals and conceded only 1. Weymouth took ...
Fire breaks out near Weymouth relief road
Idris Martin reporting.
On Saturday afternoon (22nd August) at around 3:00pm a fire broke out between the Weymouth Relief Road, A 354, and a cycle track by the Littlemoor Roundabout.
The smoke generated by the fire drifted across the road almost ...
Dorset marks Ukraine Independence Day
The Ukrainian flag will be flown over County Hall in Dorchester on Monday 24 August to mark 35 years since Ukraine declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The annual occasion provides an opportunity to celebrate Ukraine’s rich culture and heritage while recognising the resilience ...