News Archive

COVID-19 cases in the Dorset Council area: 365 cases in the last 7 days, 96.4 rate per 100,000 in the last 7 days, trend in cases is decreasing slightly. Public Health update on COVID-19 cases in Dorset New national restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have been in place for a week. It will take a ...

Businesses in the Dorset Council area which have been ordered to close from 5 November 2020 due to the current national COVID restrictions may be eligible for financial support through the government’s Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG). Dorset Council is administering the grant on behalf of the government. An online application form and further information is ...

Prince of Wales first School raised over £400 today in aid of Children in Need. Headteacher, Gary Spracklen, told KeeP 106: “It’s been a year like no other and at The Prince of Wales School we have all been moved when talking to charities about the challenges they have faced as they have lost vital income ...

NHS Blood and Transplant is appealing to blood donors to make appointments to donate blood at the following venue: Rembrandt Hotel, 12-18 Dorchester Road, Weymouth, DT4 7JU on Tuesday, November 17. The sessions run from 12:30am – 3:30pm & 4:30pm – 7:30pm. Currently this session is 76% full. Blood donation saves lives. Patients at local hospitals rely on people ...

Working closely with Dorset-based company Event Security Southern LTD, the Council is using recently awarded government funding to fully train and deploy dedicated staff to work with the public and business owners in specific local areas to ensure they are “COVID-19 secure”. Dorset Council has spent most of the year supporting local businesses with their COVID-19 ...

The Member of Parliament for West Dorset, Chris Loder, removed the Extinction Rebellion protest wreath depicting the words “climate change means war”, from the Cenotaph on Whitehall yesterday evening (11Nov). The MP, who laid a wreath at the Cenotaph yesterday morning on behalf of his constituents who were restricted from attending Whitehall over the last few ...

Detectives investigating two reported knifepoint robberies at shops in Weymouth and reported burglaries have arrested a fourth person. Investigations remain ongoing into reported robberies at the Hidden Gem Kebab takeaway shop in Littlemoor Shopping Centre at 6.53am on Sunday 8 November 2020 and the Co-op store in Preston Road at 9.20am the same day. Detectives from Weymouth ...

A team of dedicated volunteers is on hand to help hundreds of Dorset residents stay connected during lockdown. Dorset Council’s Digital Champions, who used to hold regular surgeries in libraries, have continued offering their expertise throughout the Coronavirus crisis via the Digital Hotline. Now with another lockdown underway and winter just around the corner, the ...

Anyone struggling to pay their bills or worried about money is urged to get help straight away. Dorset Citizens Advice has a team of advisers ready to talk through the options available for managing debt and unpaid bills. Daniel Cadisch from Citizens Advice Dorset said: “It’s important you get help straight away if you are already ...

A man has been jailed after being convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl in the Dorchester area in the 1980s. Eric Alan Amey, now aged 92 and of Puddletown in Dorchester, was convicted at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday 1 October 2020 of four counts of indecent assault of a child aged under 12. The ...

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Prince of Wales First School were not able to take part, as normal, in Dorchester’s Remembrance Sunday Commemorations yesterday (Sunday 8 Nov). Instead, four Year 4 children and two members of staff conducted a small and socially distanced Act of Remembrance at the war memorial in Dorchester this morning (Monday 9 ...

Every year, thousands of older people call on Age UK NSWD for practical and emotional support. Before the outbreak of coronavirus, we were already facing a loneliness epidemic amongst older people. But as a result of the pandemic, this crisis has intensified, and this Christmas will be the loneliest yet for the older people most in ...

“Can you help us find a fly-tipper?” is the plea from Dorset Council Waste Services after waste was dumped in two locations in the West Stafford area last Thursday night (29 October). One was on a farmer’s land and the other in the middle of a public road, putting road users and local horse riders at ...

Detectives investigating two reported knifepoint robberies at shops in Weymouth have arrested two further people. Dorset Police was called at 6.53am on Sunday 8 November 2020 to reports of a break to the Hidden Gem Kebab takeaway shop in Littlemoor Shopping Centre. It is alleged a man smashed a window to gain entry. He was confronted by ...

Dorset Museum has today launched a campaign to raise the remaining funds needed to finish its two-year £16 million redevelopment project. Supporters of the museum are being asked to give what they can to enable the team to tick the remaining items off their shopping list. Since 2018, builders, architects, electricians, gallery designers, and curators have ...

Detectives investigating two reported knifepoint robberies at shops in Weymouth have made an arrest. Dorset Police was called at 6.53am on Sunday 8 November 2020 to reports of a break to the Hidden Gem Kebab takeaway shop in Littlemoor Shopping Centre. It is alleged a man smashed a window to gain entry. He was confronted by a ...

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue service sent crews from Poole, Weymouth and Wareham to an incident at Lulworth Cove earlier today (Sat 7 Nov). They responded with other services, which included the coastguard helicopter, and rescued a male who got in to difficulty climbing up one of the cliff faces. The fire and rescue service explained ...

With winter upcoming, and a second national lockdown now in effect, loneliness is a growing problem for older people. To keep local older people connected, Age UK North, South & West Dorset (NSWD) is launching a new online ‘café’ next Friday, 13 November at 11am. The new virtual café will be held via Zoom twice a ...

Officers investigating a series of break-ins at commercial premises in Weymouth are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. The incidents occurred in the early hours of Friday 6 November 2020. At around 2.50am Dorset Police received a report of a break-in at Hair Moda in Marsh Road. It was reported that a man ...

With local agencies now playing a lead role in identifying and responding to local coronavirus outbreaks, Public Health Dorset (PHD) are publishing weekly updates on their website to keep residents, businesses and partner agencies informed of the latest COVID-19 situation in the county. The updates will include the number of cases in both the Dorset Council and ...

Dorset Council is appealing to the public to take personal responsibility in line with the latest national restrictions, which are set to last until 2 December. The public has been asked by Government to stay at home, avoid non-essential travel and go out only for food, medical reasons, exercise, education or work. Leader of Dorset Council, ...

The supermarket is planning to cut costs – and posts will go at Argos, which it bought in 2016. It says it will try to find new roles for those affected – but admits they may not be in the right location or at suitable hours. It’s understood, from their statement, that the 120 standalone Argos stored ...

For this year’s Guy Fawkes Night, Litter Free Dorset have collaborated with Litter Free Coast and Sea, the Urban Heaths Partnership and Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, to launch the ‘It’s Not Rocket Science’ social media campaign. This campaign aims to encourage residents and visitors to Dorset alike, to have a fun but ...

All 10 of Dorset Council’s Household Recycling Centres (HRCs, or “the tip”) will remain open daily during the latest lockdown period, but restrictions will apply on site. Latest government guidance puts strong restrictions on travel to help reduce non-essential journeys. Therefore, householders should only take waste to a HRC if it cannot be stored safely at ...

This week some members of All Saints Church Choir, Wyke Regis, got together to record some carols for Christmas in advance of the lockdown, so some carols could be used on the church’s live stream if the lockdown is not lifted on 2nd December. To let parishioners know what they were up to a short video ...

Following the Government’s announcement of a second national lockdown, Marwell Zoo in Hampshire had no choice but to temporarily close again from 4:00pm on Wednesday 4th November 2020. For The Prince of Wales School in Dorchester, this meant a last minute change to their plans. The school had been planning a COVID-aware visit to the Hampshire ...

Dorset Highways is continuing its move towards a greener way of working, with a new winter gritting routine underway This year, a route-based forecasting system will be used to decide when and where to salt the gritting network – down to the exact routes needing treatment. Route-based forecasting will more accurately consider local conditions. Using weather forecasting ...

Weldmar’s charity shops are set to lose an estimated quarter of a million pounds through the second national lockdown. The chain of charity shops and outlets in Dorset have closed their doors until the second national lockdown is lifted at the start of December. Director of Retail Gavin Anderson-Terry says the closure of the shops over the ...

Officers are appealing for witnesses or anyone with relevant dashcam footage to come forward following a road traffic collision in Weymouth. At 8.06pm on Friday 30 October 2020 Dorset Police received a report of a two vehicle collision involving a blue Nissan Juke and a silver Mercedes C220 on the A354 between the Veasta roundabout and ...

A man who raped a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint in Dorchester has been jailed for 15 years. Adrian Cordery, aged 33 and of Dorchester, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court to be sentenced on Tuesday 3 November 2020. He was previously found guilty of the rape following a trial at the same court. As well as being sentenced ...

Dorchester’s Brewery Square has announced later openings, delivery, Click and Collect, and online services to accommodate shoppers ahead of the closure of non-essential businesses, set to come into force from Thursday 5th November 2020. From Monday to Wednesday this week, various businesses will be extending their hours to ensure they can safely accommodate as many of their loyal ...

Hall & Woodhouse (H&W), the leading independent family-owned brewer, has raised over £9,000 this summer through its charity dish initiative and Unlock’d lager campaign, in aid of local charities across the south. The 52 pubs in H&W’s managed house estate have included a charity dish on the menu since re-opening to the public after the nationwide ...

As the clocks have gone back, Litter Free are asking people to make sure their habits don’t slide back too. Anti-littering campaign, ‘Don’t Poop and Run’ will remind dog owners that no matter the time, size, or place, they should always responsibly bag and bin their dog poo. The campaign will also raise awareness that ...

Feria Urbanism has been appointed by Dorchester Town Council to help reimagine and redesign the Town Pump area of Dorchester. They will be working alongside Winchester-based landscape design practice UBU Design, Bournemouth-based lighting designers Michael Grubb Studio and Bournemouth-based creative agency Storiie. The combination of skills, experience and enthusiasm amongst their team helped them secure the ...

Joe Button, 23, from Dorchester will be completing 3000 press-ups as well as other activities, through-out November, to raise money for a charity that is close to his heart, the Teenage Cancer Trust. Joe has told KeeP 106: “Welcome to the madness” “3000 press-ups through November. 100 a day for 30 days. Waxing legs and armpits, drinking ...

Come Dine With Us, the black-tie fundraiser in your own home, takes place on Saturday 28 November at 7pm in aid of Dorset’s disability charity, Diverse Abilities. In place of its annual Gala Ball, Diverse Abilities has launched a black-tie event to encourage people to get dressed up while social distancing within the government guidelines. For ...

A change coming into effect this weekend will have a devastating impact on thousands of people in Dorset, and many more across the rest of the country. The Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, better known as furlough, which has kept many people going throughout the pandemic, comes to an end on Saturday. Dorset’s PCC Martyn Underhill ...

Damers First School pupils were among the winners in a regional Eco-Schools competition, which took young people on a 12-week virtual journey around the South West coastline. The pupils had the chance to explore and connect with their local environment, learn about microplastics and how their choices can make a real impact on where they live. Between ...

Dorset residents are being asked for their views on a new parking permit. The permits would provide a money-saving, convenient and cash-free way to park in Dorset Council-owned car parks around the county. Residents in the former West Dorset District Council area have been able to purchase permits for several years. All Dorset residents are now being ...

Dorset Council has launched a consultation, asking people to let them know what they think about their recently published draft Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy. The strategy presents eight key areas for action to ensure that the Council’s services and estate become carbon neutral (i.e. they save more carbon than they produce) by 2040, and across the whole ...

Dorset Police has seen a 5.1 per cent drop in recorded crime, according to new figures released today, Wednesday 28 October 2020. Data released by the Office for National Statistics, shows the Force has continued to see a drop in overall crime. In early 2020 Dorset received a ‘Good’ grading from HMICFRS for accurate crime recording, which ...

The Alcohol Education Trust (AET) reports that they have been successful in raising all the funds needed to complete the capital build of The Pavilion in the Park (PiP’s) on The Great Field on Poundbury. The eco friendly pavilion style building includes a community space, public loos, a café and office for The Alcohol Education ...

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is warning people to not let Halloween become scary for all the wrong reasons. Whilst this year’s Halloween celebrations will look a little different due to the Covid-19 restrictions, the fire risks remain the same. Every year on 31 October, children and adults are injured in accidents where candles or ...

A new film that captures the images, words, music and sounds that make up our rural landscape from Dorset to Northumberland. At a time of isolation, rural touring schemes up and down the country had to work creatively to continue their connection with rural communities including Artsreach, Dorset’s own rural touring charity. The enforced pause to ...

Age UK North, South & West Dorset (NSWD) invites older people to an online art class taster session on 10 November at 11am. The free taster session will last for an hour and will give older people the opportunity to meet the tutor, and see if they would like to take part in a further six, ...

A nine-year-old boy from Dorchester has been named regional winner in an annual contest designed to help young people consider a career in the NHS. Aaron Miah, a pupil at Leweston Prep School near Sherborne, was inspired by the NHS staff who helped his little brother, and used his creativity to write a heartfelt poem saying ...

Dorset Police is to be become one of the first forces in the country to use new technology to remotely transfer fingerprints for analysis directly from crime scenes. This new technology is one of a number of projects being run by the Forensic Capability Network (FCN), which is a new national network dedicated to improving forensic ...

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) is reminding people about how quickly thatched roofs can catch fire, following an incident last night that affected two homes. Fire crews from across Dorset were mobilised to Poxwell, near Weymouth, at 6.43pm last night (22 October) after a kitchen fire in a semi-detached cottage spread to the ...

BBC nature documentary filmed at Dorset school. For four months during the summer of 2019, cutting-edge night vision cameras and ultrasonic detectors from the BBC were focussed on a greater horseshoe bat roost at Bryanston School near Blandford in Dorset. The remarkable journey into the secret world of one of the country’s most endangered animals ...

Leading doctors and nurses are making a joint appeal for help to stop the spread of COVID-19, save lives, and protect each other. All local medical directors and nursing directors across Dorset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are making the call in a new open letter. The letter is also signed by the Director for Public Health. In their ...

The Coroner for Dorset is seeking the assistance of the public to find the next of kin of a man who died in Weymouth. Mark Haylock, who was 59 years old, died at his home address in Cromwell Road on Saturday 17 October 2020. The coroner’s office is making enquiries into this matter, which is not being ...

Three more ‘cultural gems’ have been awarded support through the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, making that eleven organisations, charities and tourism destinations, and a total of £865,000 in grants, announced in the past week. Chris Loder MP, who lobbied the Government in particular on behalf of Bridport’s iconic Electric Palace, built in 1926 by local ...

Protesters rallied and marched through Dorchester on Saturday (17 Oct) demanding higher pay for NHS staff. The protest which was covered by BBC reporter Edward Sault and a film crew and saw them urging the Government to reconsider the current pay offer in light of the rising pay for MPs. Prior to the demonstration NHS dietitian and ...

Changes are being brought in across the Dorset Council area to make car parking charges more consistent. From early next year, drivers using any Dorset Council car park will be charged for parking 8am to 8pm, Monday to Sunday. This extends the chargeable period by two hours in most areas and introduces paying to park on ...

Grant funding and technical support for Dorset organisations to reduce their carbon emissions will continue for another two years thanks to additional funding of over £5m secured by Dorset Council. The funding, provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will extend the Council’s existing three-year Low Carbon Dorset programme by a further two years until ...

Dorset Council will be broadcasting live online from 5pm on Thursday, 22 October, to give the latest update on COVID in Dorset and to answer residents’ questions. Sam Crowe, Director of Public Health Dorset, and Matt Prosser, Chief Executive of Dorset Council, will host the event. Sam Crowe will give a briefing on the latest number ...

For the past 32 years volunteers have been called into action to collect, sort and deliver around 30,000 Christmas cards throughout Dorchester and West Dorset! This has been a major fund-raising activity for our District and the village groups which participate in the Scout Post scheme, with volunteers walking through rain, wind and snow to get ...

People in Dorset are being urged to act now to reduce the likelihood of a future major spike in cases and the need for more local restrictions. The warning has been made by Sam Crowe, Director of Public Health for Dorset and BCP Councils, following the recent increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Dorset. Sam ...

Allied Health Professions (AHP) day takes place on 14 October, celebrating the work of AHPs across the country and their contribution to care. This year local partners will be marking the day by sharing comments from those working in AHP roles about the work of their colleagues, and highlight the range of opportunities available in AHP ...

As part of the Fire Kills campaign, fire and rescue services across the country are asking people to take care this Candle Fire Safety Week (12-18 October) and snuff out the risk of fire in their homes. With winter fast approaching, a few candles scattered round the room can lend a warm glow to an evening ...