BH Living Summer 2021 by IMS Group

CONTAINING ESSENTIAL NEWS FROM YOUR LOCAL COUNCILS

Summer Get set for the is back! Interview with Dorset’s new Police & What will new council Crime Commissioner. - page 4 –look page like? 13

The ‘Transforming Summer Travel Plan’holiday

find out more – page 20 - page 8 ideas

Air Festival ‘18

Check out three Where go and what pages oftolocal events – page to see15 see pages 16 & 17

find us onlineFind at bhliving.co.uk us online at bhliving.co.uk

@bhlivingdorset The area’s most widely local magazine delivered Onedistributed magazine distributed to over 170,000 homes acrossBournemouth Bournemouth, Christchurch to bhlivingdorset 154,000 homes across and Poole and Poole

OUR EARTH ANGELS The darkness of the last few months has engulfed all of our lives in some way and it has been particularly difficult for those who are struggling with a terminal illness. Not being able to spend time with your loved ones when your time is limited and so precious, is heart-breaking. Here at the Mac Unit, our hospice team have, as always, been doing everything in their power to make last wishes come true and precious time spent doing what matters most for our patients. This is why, like Liz, our doctors, nurses and the rest of the team are referred to as “Macmillan Earth Angels.” Liz only had 37 days with her mum after her terminal diagnosis last year and her mum spent her final four days at the Mac Unit – four precious days when, despite the pandemic restrictions, Liz was overwhelmed by the care and support she and her mum received.

“I knew Mum had truly struck gold with the incredible team that was looking after her.” As our team continue to work through the ongoing changes and challenges presented by the pandemic, they need you to help them through. With your support, our hospice team can sew the seeds for the future of our Mac Unit and continue to provide our patients and their families the care and support they deserve at such a difficult and emotional time.

“My gratitude truly extends to the moon and back.” Please help more people like Liz feel that their loved ones had what matters most in their final days – kindness, compassion, peace and dignity. Thank you.

Text MCL to 70450 to donate £5 Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message and you’ll be opting in to hear more about our work and fundraising via telephone and SMS. If you’d like to give £5 but do not wish to receive marketing communications, text MCLNOINFO to 70450.

The Macmillan Unit, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch,Dorset BH23 2JX

Tel: 01202 477628 Enquiries: lin@macmillanlocal.org www.macmillanlocal.org

Registered Charity No. 268218

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ARTICLE TITLE

Hello everyone, Welcome to the summer edition of BH Living. For those of you wondering where the spring edition went, we unfortunately weren’t able to publish it because of Coronavirus restrictions. Because we are a free magazine delivered door to door, we rely solely on advertising to pay for production and distribution but unfortunately many of our advertisers were shut or not in a position to advertise. Some of them have now opened their doors again after what seems like an age and our very best wishes go to them for a successful recovery. As our beleaguered businesses emerge from the pandemic, we can all do our part to help our local economy bounceback. I’m doing my best to buy local and support local businesses where I can and have on a few occasions resisted the lure of Amazon and instead ventured onto my local high street. Every little helps as a well-known large supermarket tell us. On this subject, we’ve interviewed Cllr Philip Broadhead from BCP Council, who is in charge of Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning to get his take on the local economy. Cllr Broadhead was in shorts and helmet when we interviewed him as part our new series ‘The Beryl interviews’ Each edition we’ll be getting to know some of our councillors as we venture out on a Beryl Bike with them. Join us in our first interview on page 28 In May we saw the elections for a new Police and Crime Commissioner with Martyn Underwood stepping down after 9 years in post. Our new PCC is David Sidwick and so we took the opportunity for a coffee and chat to find out what his plans for the next few years are. Find out what he said on page 13. Many of you will have noticed, especially after the lifting of lockdown, how congested our roads are becoming. The powers-that-be have a plan and it’s called ‘The Transforming Travel Programme’. The idea is to change some of the local road layouts and pathways through parks to encourage more cycling and make it safer for pedestrians. Check out page 20 for details. And finally as we all emerge from hibernation and embrace what’s left of summer, we’ve got some fabulous events and festivals happening right on our own doorsteps. We didn’t have space to print them all but have selected a handful in our Summer Events feature on page 16 and our What’s On pages on page 30. Have fun!

Jason Harris Editor

Contents 4-8 Local News 10-11 Business News 13-15 Interview - David Sidwick 16-19 What’s On this Summer 20-22 Transport News 24 Book Review 26-27 BH Living walks 28-29 Beryl Interviews 30 What’s On

BH Living Magazine, both in print and electronically, is produced, published and distributed by IMS Group who are an independent magazine publisher with no affiliation to any council or political party. All views and comments expressed in editorial content or by advertisers do not necessarily reflect the views of IMS Group. BH Living is distributed door-to-door in Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole to over 170,000 households. It can also be found at selected pick-up points across the three towns. All content is copyrighted by IMS Group and may not be used or reproduced wholly or in part without the written consent of IMS Ltd. Published & Produced by: IMS Group Distributed by: IMS Group Editor: Jason Harris Editorial Assistant: Oliver Wall Graphic Design: Dan Bartlett For editorial enquiries contact: editor@bhliving.co.uk For advertising enquiries contact: sales@ims-group.co.uk For distribution or subscription enquiries contact: distribution@ims-group.co.uk

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NEWS

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: Lighthouse Poole aims to be ‘ creating the right environment for change’ Lighthouse is ‘a very welcoming, professional place’ where staff ‘feel very supported by each other, almost like a family.’ That’s according to creative change maker consultant Nastasha Player who has recently submitted her draft final report after conducting an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) review to help Lighthouse reflect on its diversity and equality as an organisation and learn how it can become more inclusive. “I was invited in by the organisation to consider its approach to diversity, specifically ethnic diversity,” she explains. “What I found was based around very open conversations with external stakeholders as well as staff and the Board about the understanding and perception of diversity.” The review was triggered in response to Let’s Create, Arts Council England’s ten-year strategy to make sure everyone can access culture. Artistic programmes should reflect the national profile of ‘protected characteristics’ under the Equality Act that

cover age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity. Lighthouse is already committed to addressing its lack of ethnic diversity with training and positive recruitment and is seeking to embed the findings of the EDI review in future strategy. “What I’m interested in is creating the right environment for change to land most effectively,” says Natasha. “It’s not just Lighthouse, many organisations within the arts and cultural sector are looking at how they approach diversity. Issues around inclusion have been brought to the fore and discussions are happening around diversity in performances and programming, in engaging with audiences, and in the staffing of organisations. That Lighthouse is beginning to put structures in place at Board level to tackle this is very encouraging.”

AFC Bournemouth return to Dorset care homes to give residents some cheer As part of Care South’s partnership with AFC Bournemouth Community Trust, residents at many of the Group’s care homes were delighted to welcome the team back recently, with everyone keen to put their footballing skills to the test after all their Zoom practice sessions during lockdown. The team made their way around the homes, making sure everyone got involved, using specially designed seated football games to bring out the competitive streak in residents. The team then treated the residents to some expert demonstrations, talking everyone through the intense training and exercise regimes that the Cherries players must go through to reach the very highest level. After working up an appetite, everyone sat and swapped footballing stories over a cup of tea. The residents loved reminiscing about their sporting heroes from days gone by and their own exploits on the field and in the stands. The coaches

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really enjoyed hearing about the history of the game they love, and the residents were equally interested to learn how the game has changed since they last put their boots on. Care South’s CEO, Simon Bird, commented: “It’s great to welcome the team from AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust back to our homes. “The residents absolutely love interacting with the coaches and getting involved in the activities – many residents are lifelong Cherries fans so they are always delighted when the team visits. The football sessions that AFC Bournemouth run are an important part of our activities at the home, helping to keep our residents engaged with the local community.”

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NEWS Rt Hon Secretary of State Robert Jenrick MP visits Boscombe to hear of ambitious regeneration plans

Mr Jenrick went on a walking tour of the area accompanied by BCP Council Leader Councillor Drew Mellor and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Regeneration Councillor Philip Broadhead. They were accompanied by Chief Executive Graham Farrant, local MP Tobias Ellwood and AFC Bournemouth Chairman Jeff Mostyn who spearheaded the successful multi-agency My Towns Fund Board bid for £22 million announced earlier this year. During the visit he was shown key sites such as the Royal Arcade and precinct, informed about how the ambitious plans for the area will be delivered and discussed the council’s bigger ambitions for the Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole area as a whole. Government and Local Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “I was delighted to be in Bournemouth to hear first-hand their impressive and innovative plans to spend its £21.7m Towns Fund investment to regenerate the local area. “The government funding will help breathe new life into Boscombe with a five-year cultural programme and transformation of the landmark Royal Arcade into a new workspace. It will help boost skills and opportunities locally while making the area a more attractive place to live and visit, delivering long lasting change to the region. This is part of our commitment to level up all areas of the country.” Council Leader Drew Mellor said: “We were delighted that Mr Jenrick took time out of his busy schedule to come down and learn all about our ambition for the BCP area, understand our vision and see the opportunities that we are working

Credit: Kelly Reynolds

Future regeneration plans for Boscombe took centre stage in a visit recently by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP. Left to right: Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood MP, Cllr Drew Mellor, Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP

hard to deliver for Boscombe. He was very interested in what we had to say and complimentary about the plans we are turbo charging across BCP. As part of our Big Plan commitments, we want the whole BCP city region to be world class – one of the best coastal places in which to live, work, invest and play.” Under the ambitious plans the Sovereign Shopping Centre would be replaced by a contemporary mixed-use neighbourhood of streets and high-quality commercial units and homes. There will be a brand new purpose-built public square where a dedicated programme of festivals and events would bring people together. Unique heritage assets such as the Royal Arcade would be brought back into use by combining contemporary new workspace, skills and learning as well as arts and culture in this historic yet under used building. In addition, around 560 new homes, 6,700sqm of retail and leisure floor space and 4,800 sqm of commercial, community and health floor space have been earmarked as part of the long-term plans which aim to strengthen the local economy of Boscombe and revitalise the area.

Morebus has created a versatile new app to improve public travel that features favouriting journeys, bus tracking software and instant online ticket purchases Bus travel has always been a big part of life across BCP, there is always a bus travelling across the area taking passengers from one place to another. This is routine for many in their everyday lives and they know well the struggles of dealing with a lost ticket, route confusion and even just missing the bus entirely, resulting in many complaining about the inconvenience or completely switching to car journeys making the roads more congested. Morebus has created a new app with hopes of solving these issues and convincing the public to use their services and reduce the need for car travel. The app is said to have a feature allowing commuters to save their journeys and

favourite their routes to reduce confusion and planning time for each trip, they can also track their desired buses to keep aware of how long until they will arrive. One of the improved features is the ability to buy tickets instantly through the app itself, removing the need to visit the Morebus website first and wait for the ticket to load on their system before it can be used via the app. This will reduce waiting time for commuters in a rush and possibly make it more convenient for the public to take the bus instead of cars and reduce the amount of traffic on the roads.

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NEWS Summer Drink-Drive crackdown begins “If you are drinking, don’t drive and if you are driving, don’t drink.” That’s the message from Dorset Police as lockdown restrictions are lifted and more people are expected to be heading out to pubs and clubs.

“During 2019 Dorset Police prosecuted 763 drivers for drink drive-related offences and a further 643 in 2020, despite lockdown restrictions and the closure of licenced premises for extended periods.

The Force is urging people to take responsibility for their actions and not to risk lives by getting behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol. As part of the six week-long campaign officers will be carrying out breath tests with those they suspect of drink driving, with offenders facing a minimum 12-month driving ban, an unlimited fine and a criminal record. Dorset Police will be carrying out intelligence-led checks, which target road users who pose a risk on the roads with officers urging members of the public to get in touch to report anyone they suspect of driving under the influence. Inspector Craig Tatton, of the Dorset Road Policing Team, said: “Despite long-term reductions, drink driving still contributes to over 200 deaths on our roads nationally each year and around 6,000 collisions where drivers were over the limit.

“There is no typical drink driver in Dorset – in the last three years the oldest person arrested for drink driving was 83 years old and the youngest was 16 years old. “Alcohol impairs many of the functions necessary for safe driving; reaction times and spatial awareness are affected significantly and this is often still the case the morning after, depending on how much alcohol a person has consumed the night before and when they stopped drinking. “It’s not just the driver who’s at risk, you could kill or seriously injure another person. Drink driving destroys people’s lives and those of their families. Avoid this happening by planning ahead; leave your vehicle at home, travel by taxi or public transport, or agree a non-drinking designated driver to get people home safely.”

Local libraries team up with WWF for Summer Reading Challenge Wild World Heroes launched across BCP libraries on Saturday 10 July and runs throughout the summer. It’s fun, free and easy for children to take part by signing up at your local BCP Library

As you read books for your Challenge, return to the library to receive stickers to add to your map – some of them even have smells!

Take a trip to Wilderville, where the Wild World Heroes are learning how to make their town a cleaner, greener place for all the people and wildlife that live there. As you read books for the Challenge, you’ll get to go exploring all over Wilderville, from the woods to the farm and even the beach!

Collect all the stickers to complete the Challenge and transform Wilderville. You’ll get a special Wild World Heroes certificate too!

Reading books for the Challenge

With your help, the heroes will transform Wilderville into an even cooler place to be, and will discover lots of brilliant books along the way!

Fact, fiction, poetry, graphic novels, joke books – the choice is yours!

Meet the Heroes Journey through the woods with Willow and Hazel Travel along the river with David and Webster Get creative with gamer Faiza and Mouse Get down to the beach to meet Callum and Shelby Make some noise with activist Carys and Doug Take a trip to the farm with Marcus and Charlie

Taking Part in the Challenge

You can choose any books you like to count towards your Summer Reading Challenge.

eBooks and audiobooks count too, so you can read wherever and however you like! Children can collect nature themed stickers and incentives as they read six chosen books across the summer holidays. Complete the challenge and you will receive a certificate and medal.

You can take part in the Challenge by signing up for free at your local library. Your library will give you a special Collector Poster map of Wilderville and help you find books to read.

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Find out more: https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

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NEWS

New initiative to help rough sleepers through contactless giving points To date over £10,000 has been raised by kind donations to a new fund called ‘Change for Good’. Local people across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole have given because they want to help individuals who have been sleeping rough to make a positive move off the street and access the support they need. ‘Change for Good’ is run by the Homelessness Partnership for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole made up of local charities, businesses and public sector organisations. Donations can currently be made via the Just Giving page but the partnership are raising the profile of the scheme and making it even simpler for local people to be able to make a donation whilst out and about in town.

The Old Granary crowned best pub in Dorset The Old Granary in Wareham has been named the ‘Best Pub & Bar in Dorset’ by The National Pub & Bar Awards. The pub is part of the Hall & Woodhouse family and won the award for its diverse and creative approach to hospitality. Additionally, the pub has been praised for the way the team navigated the past 18 months in light of the pandemic and for the stringent safety measures that have been in place to keep guests safe. Tristan O’Hana, editor of Pub & Bar magazine, which organises the awards, said: “I’ve never been prouder of this industry. The entries for this year’s awards demonstrated the undeniable value that communities place on their beloved pubs and bars. To be able to acknowledge the hard work and diligence of venues across the UK is an absolute privilege. These outstanding venues deserve this recognition now more than ever.” Chris Chapman, Head of Managed Operations at Hall & Woodhouse, said: “The Old Granary is loved by locals and tourists alike. With its iconic location on Wareham Quay with views over the Purbeck Hills, this beautiful pub is a very special place to relax with friends and family. I am so proud of the team for achieving this accolade after such a difficult year.”

Work is underway to set up ‘giving points’ across Bournemouth and Poole town centres where local people can simply tap a payment card at a designated donation point to be able to make a set donation of £3 to help local people off the streets and prevent rough sleeping. The whole 100% donation is guaranteed to help homeless people locally. Contact points are already being installed at town centre locations across Bournemouth and Poole thanks to help from local firms such as Premium Event Productions (PEP). CEO of PEP, Richard Marshall said “I’m passionate about empowering people who have fallen on hard times, to be able to pick themselves back up and start to feel positive about life again. It is why PEP got involved - we’ve been using our knowhow and contacts to make contact-less giving a reality and really start delivering change to these people’s lives” More than 400 people over the last year, who were rough sleeping or precariously housed have been helped into emergency accommodation by the council and its partners through the ‘Everyone In’ initiative. The partnership has also supported 118 people make positive moves from temporary emergency housing into more secure longer-term housing. The funding raised by ‘Change for Good’ goes straight to local charities who work directly with people who are escaping homelessness, complementing the statutory support by the council. Alistair Doxat-Purser, chair of the Partnership Forum, said: “As COVID-19 restrictions ease and the high streets open up, the partnership is raising the profile of ‘Change for Good’ to give members of the public an alternative way of helping those who are seeking to escape homelessness. Contactless Giving points can be found at the following locations as part of the pilot scheme: Central Library YMCA, Westover Road Hope & More, 171 Seabourne Road, Southbourne HSBC Bournemouth More points being rolled out over the coming months. Businesses or organisations interested in hosting a contactless giving point can make contact by emailing: bournemouth@ Streetsupport.net Residents and visitors can donate to ‘Change for Good’ here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/changeforgoodBournemouth

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NEWS New legislation makes it illegal to keep dangerous weapons at home New legislation that came into effect on 14 July means that from Wednesday 14 July 2021, all weapons banned in public by the Criminal Justice Act 1988, including zombie knives, shuriken or death stars and knuckledusters, will now also be banned in private, meaning people can no longer even keep them at home. Other sections of the act that have come into effect include an updated definition of flick knives to reflect changes in weapon designs, and the banning of private possession of flick knives and gravity knives. The new legislation also affects specific firearms, such as rapid-fire rifles. Anyone unlawfully possessing a firearm covered by the ban will face up to 10 years in prison and those possessing one of the other weapons can be sentenced to up to six months imprisonment or a fine, or both. In 2020 the number of knife crimes reported to Dorset Police increased by 10.3 per cent from 262 in 2019 to 289 with a quarter of victims aged under 25. The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is four years in prison and an unlimited fine. Prison sentences are normally handed out if someone is convicted of carrying a knife more than once. Chief Superintendent Mark Callaghan, Dorset Police’s strategic lead for violent crime, said: “The harm caused to families and communities through the tragic loss of life relating to knife crime is devastating and that is why knife crime remains a top priority for Dorset Police. We are committed to reducing knife crime offences in the county. These new measures will go some way to taking weapons off the streets and make it more difficult for people to get hold of knives and other dangerous items in the first place. “Early intervention is key to making our communities safer and we work closely with our partner agencies to ensure that messages about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife reaches children in schools and colleges.

Refurbished Kings Park Athletics Centre reopens for summer of sport It’s not only the Olympics that have got local athletes and runners buzzing with excitement this summer. Kings Park Athletics Centre has recently reopened after seening £452,000 worth of improvements by BCP Council. The Centre, which reopened to the general public on Monday 26 July, has seen a number of improvements including a brand new running track with additional works to the ground under the track, new pathways providing better accessibility for all users, enhancements to the long jump area and modern LED lighting which help with the council’s commitment to make its operations carbon neutral by 2030.

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“We want to provide support and advice to those who know a knife carrier and for parents, carers and bystanders to be able to spot the signs and speak out if they know someone is carrying a knife. We would encourage anyone with concerns to contact Dorset Police so we can take action and if appropriate put safeguarding measures in place to protect anyone who may be vulnerable. “As part of the #KnivesRuinLives campaign we want to share the message that ‘You matter, lives can change’.” Councillor May Haines, BCP Council Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, said: “In light of the rising cases of knife crime across the BCP area, I welcome and support the legislation that is due to come into effect. I echo our police colleagues view that education and early intervention are key to helping keep our communities safe. Losing a loved one is heart-breaking but losing them to a violent crime makes it even harder to bear. Greater knowledge of how knife crime can negatively impact and take away lives, will prevent even more lives being lost.” Incoming Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: “These weapons have no place on our streets or in our schools and colleges and so I welcome this new legislation. “We need to get the message out, particularly among young people, that there is no reason for anyone to carry a knife in Dorset and that there are serious consequences for those that do.” If you believe someone is in immediate possession of a knife or offensive weapon the police are encouraging you to dial 999. If you would like to report your concerns about a knife carrier or need some advice, you can email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or visit dorset.police.uk and report it online. Unwanted knives can be disposed of at local recycling centres or safely packaged in your household waste.

Councillor Mohan Iyengar, Portfolio Holder for Tourism, Culture and Leisure, BCP Council commented: “I’m delighted these enhancements are now complete and Kings Park Athletics Centre can open up once again. This facility is an important community asset with thousands of schoolchildren using this venue every year, as well as being the home of the Bournemouth Athletics Club, so I’m looking forward to welcoming them all back to use this enhanced facility. “We’re want to helping people lead active and healthy lifestyles, and the reopening of this facility reinforces this commitment.”

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NEWS

Bournemouth’s SEARCHING FOR

HEALTH & BEAUTY FANS

Are you passionate about health and beauty? Do you have your finger on the pulse of the latest products and techniques? Does your family love big brand bathroom essentials?

How to apply: If you’re interested in taking part, send an email to reviews@bodycareonline.co.uk with the

One of the UK’s top high street retailers is on the lookout for 100 people in the Bournemouth area to make up a panel of local product reviewers ahead of its online launch this September.

title Bournemouth’s Bodycare Review Panel and tell us why you’d be an expert reviewer in 250 words or less.

Each person selected will receive a monthly box

Bodycare is an independent retailer established in 1970 that specialises in offering leading

of Bodycare goodies completely free of charge. Hand-selected from its range of 3,500 branded lines across health and beauty, cosmetics, fragrances and household essentials, Bodycare will send the box of product picks directly to the door of each Bournemouth reviewer to enjoy and will then capture and share their feedback.

health and beauty brands to customers who want to buy trusted, quality products for less. It has a network of 135 high-street stores and is launching its online offer bodycareonline.co.uk in September. You can discover more about Bodycare here @bodycare.uk and facebook.com/bodycare.uk

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BUSINESS NEWS

Dorset experiencing above UK average skills shortages It’s been well documented that the business community across the country has been hit hard by the global pandemic but as the economy emerges from the shadows of the pandemic, there is a new threat to British business – the skills shortage. Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) have recently published their ambition that by 2038, Dorset’s workforce will be ‘highly productive, aspirational and agile so that the talents of all contribute to prosperity, well-being and innovation’ but how exactly will that plan take shape?

How can Dorset address the skills shortage?

The continuously emerging effects of the pandemic on local employment, business recovery and availability of skills has made this ambition more of a priority than ever for business leaders. Dorset LEP’s own research through Insight surveys demonstrates an exponential growth in employer demand over the second quarter of this year when the economy opened up with over 20,500 vacancies advertised in Dorset. However, as reported recently by the BBC, employers widely complain of significant recruitment challenges and skills gaps, stifling their recovery at this critical time. Yet even more puzzling is that ‘out of work’ levels in Dorset are stubbornly twice as high as those seen prior to the pandemic. The Local Skills Report, published earlier this year by the Local Enterprise Partnership highlighted that despite having world-class educational providers at their fingertips, businesses in Dorset experience serious skills shortages, creating barriers for local economic growth: Dorset ranked among the top three LEP areas for the proportions of hard-to-fill and skills shortage vacancies reported by employers, with 61% of Dorset employers having had at least one vacancy that was hard to fill (national average 44%) and 50% of all vacancies being hard-to-fill (national average 36%).

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Dorset Skills Advisory Panel & Board, which brings together key stakeholders from business, local authorities and learning providers in Dorset. This will help shape the future skills solutions required for Dorset’s local economy to recover, aspire and thrive in the future.

Dorset Careers Hub has been pivotal in continuing to bring employers, schools and colleges together to transform careers education. As one of the leading careers hubs in the UK, Dorset Careers Hub is now supporting over 75 schools across the county including special educational needs schools. Working with a growing number of cornerstone employers, Dorset Careers Hub has recently managed to deliver a successful virtual work experience programme providing over 1000 students with much needed exposure to the world of work throughout the pandemic. Through a series of Dorset Careers Live events it is helping young people to navigate their career options including apprenticeships, work experience schemes and graduate programmes within key local sectors.

One-third of all vacancies were related to skills shortages, with manufacturing and engineering, healthcare, chefs and other hospitality and professional services roles, i.e. accounting, finance and legal, all highlighted as hard to fill. Only a quarter of Dorset employers engaged with colleges and even fewer (14%) worked with universities to meet their skills needs. Local employers reported issues with accessibility and responsiveness of educational provision and barriers to productive collaborations.

There are already a number of initiatives in place to try to stem the skills shortage in our area and Dorset LEP have committed to continue to facilitate and encourage productive business-education collaborations such as;

Labour Market Information (LMI) Workshops – these tailored workshops explore labour market demand in Dorset and reveal industry, occupations, salary, automation and education trends in Dorset and its key established and growth sectors. They are designed with training providers and showcase the Dorset LEP Labour Market and Skills Research interactive dashboards and tools and help to align skills provision with the employer needs in Dorset. Workshops were well received recently by Job Centre Plus work coaches and Skills & Learning Adult Community Education tutors.

Staying Local Workshops – these workshops are aimed at students from local universities and colleges that are about to enter the job market and provide fresh insights into the currently available job opportunities in Dorset and the skills needs of local employers.

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BUSINESS NEWS Developing future growth skills as a strategic priority for Dorset Dorset LEP are pursuing ‘growth cluster’ collaborations and business – education links to: Understand and resolve skills mismatches at local level. Remove barriers for businesses and make high quality educational institutions, talent and skills they need more readily accessible. Provide clear and attractive labour market information and local career pathways to attract and retain talent in Dorset. As well as the workshops mentioned previously, the LEP are also organising shows and events to showcase Dorset as a desirable place to work. Examples of this include:

The Careers and Apprenticeship Show 2021 Organised by Dorset LEP and its careers hub in partnership with 12 organisations across Dorset, Hampshire and Surrey, the virtual show attracted 60 exhibitors and over 20,000 students to their virtual booths to benefit from 20 live careers talks, 30 pre-recorded careers sessions and hundreds of downloadable resources highlighting local careers.

Advancing Dorset’s Defence, Security and Innovation A virtual preview of Dorset’s Defence BattleLab at the Dorset Innovation Park, this event also offered its over 70 attendants an overview of a range of business support initiatives for Dorset’s SMEs working in the defence and security sector, funding opportunities and industry engagement programmes from Bournemouth University and Arts University Bournemouth.

Looking for Talent for the Future? A partnership event between Bournemouth University, BCP Council and the Dorset Engineering and Manufacturing Cluster, this virtual experience sharing meetup, aimed at Dorset-based businesses looking to provide placement opportunities and retain highly skilled graduates locally, gave an insight into the shared experiences of employers, students and engagement officers offering work experience stories and perspectives.

Find out more and get involved Local businesses willing to collaborate for skills in Dorset and who are interested in finding out about apprenticeships or building relationships with one of Dorset’s further or higher education establishments/training providers, can visit www.dorsetlep.co.uk/business-education-links to explore local opportunities or visit Dorset Gateway www.dorsetlep.co.uk/dorset-gateway and make an enquiry at the top of the page. The enquiry form allows you to tell the specialist skills brokerage service about your requirements and the challenges you face and they will put together an action plan to support your needs. Educational providers interested in a LMI workshop and learning more about the labour market, needs of local employers and future skills developments, get in touch with Dorset LEP’s Skills Analyst by emailing mkoseva@ bournemouth.ac.uk.

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INTERVIEW INTERVIEWS

David Sidwick

Dorset’s new Police and Crime Commissioner. On Thursday 13 May of this year, Dorset (including those of us in BCP) saw a new Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) take up his role after winning 70,353 votes. David Sidwick (Con) took over from outgoing Commissioner Martyn Underhill, who had been in the post for nine years. So we decided to meet Mr Sidwick our new Police and Crime Commissioner to see what his plans were for policing in our area over the next four years. At the time of conducting the interview in June, Mr Sidwick had only been in the role a few weeks but gave some fascinating insights into how he sees his role and the role of policing develop in the coming months and years. BHL: So David, congratulations on your election as Dorset’s new Police & Crime Commissioner but some reading this interview won’t really understand the role. What are your responsibilities? DS: The very simple answer is that you are the elected voice of the people to hold the police to account. It’s my job to create a plan called the ‘Police and Crime Plan’ which has priorities, and that should be based on the needs of the people I represent. So when I was running for election, I conducted a very engaged campaign, which was basically asking the people what they wanted/expected. The PCC also has a responsibility to set the Police budget. There are 2 elements to that: there is a national funding element and also a council tax element called the Precept. So, we need to make certain that there is enough money available. BHL: Dorset has traditionally not had such a generous deal from central government compared to other police forces, why do you think that is? DS: Yes, when you look at the percentage that we actually have coming from the precept (from council tax paid by local tax payers), it is much higher than it is in other areas. From memory I think there is one force that has 80 percent funding from the National Funding Formula and we have less than 50 percent funding from the National Funding Formula. So, this is on my agenda to address that. But it’s also on a lot of other PCC’s agendas too! BHL: James Vaughan, Dorset’s Chief Constable recently announced his retirement. Was it something you said? Ha! No not at all. It’s been something I think James had been considering for a little while and it seemed an opportune time for him to step down and hand

over the reins to somebody new. it’s our responsibility to make that transition work. We are going to be working to make certain we get the best possible candidate. There is a process in place that’s already moving forward. James has announced his retirement but he won’t disappear immediately, he’ll be working with me on the development of the Police and Crime Plan and on a smooth transition to the new Chief Constable going forward. BHL: Why do you think people in Dorset voted for you? What sort of feeling were you getting on the doorsteps when you were campaigning? DS: I think I got a good grasp on the doorsteps of what really matters to people in Dorset. The nature of the campaign that I ran wasn’t about saying ‘Vote for me I’m conservative’ it was about ‘Vote for me because I see the same issues as you do’. I spent two years connecting with local people as part of the campaign. There were over 50 face-to-face meetings and the audience varied between 6 to 300 in a hall. I also spent those 2 years working with the police. I went out with neighbourhood policing teams and the Rural Team and spoke to the Major Crime Investigation team; So, I tried to understand all the pieces of policing in Dorset before getting here. I also did 3 surveys. Over 1000 people answered the Residents Survey and 70 businesses answered the Business Crime Survey. So, I really tried to do what it says on the tin: Be a representative of the people. BHL: So, from those surveys, what do you think are the priorities of the people in Dorset? What do you think they are expecting of their police force? DS: Ok, so let me pick on the two things which came out. One was, very clearly, antisocial behaviour is an issue and that was only slightly less in Dorset but it was top of the tree in BCP. It was closely followed by issues around drugs and vehicle theft, things that are directly linked to the bigger issue. In the rural area there was farm theft, hare coursing, poaching, that sort of stuff. But again, there was antisocial behaviour, there were drugs beginning to creep into our market towns causing concern. So, apart from the rural crime factor, a lot of it is very similar. That is helping me shape priorities, that’s why my first priority is: cut crime and antisocial behaviour. Second priority is something which virtually everybody told me across the whole patch, they want to feel more

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INTERVIEW connected with their police force, they want to see visible community policing. That is something I’m really keen to work with the police in order to address. BHL: The messages we hear from police officers is that they have to spend too much time filling in paperwork rather than being out on the beat. Is that something you can help to change or is that just the system we’ve got to live with? DS: No, it’s not just the system and we don’t have to live with it. I remember going out with a PCSO and she said that when she started the job 10 years ago, roughly 70% of the time was in the community - now it’s 30% of the time. It’s something I have already discussed with the Chief Constable. There are initiatives which are emerging but we have to transform how the frontline operates, learn from other places and make certain we always embed this practice early in Dorset. BHL: Last year we heard about the extra police officers being recruited. Are those new police officers going to be utilised effectively to make them a more visible police force? DS: You have just put your finger on the main plank of the first part of the Police and Crime Plan in development. I have already started discussions, I said it clearly in the campaign “There is no point in having new police officers unless we bear down on prevention and we have them visible in the community” and I’ll be working with the police going forward to ensure that happens. I want to see a larger neighbourhood policing team and I want to see a larger rural crime team. BHL: Feedback we’ve had from readers is that Dorset Police can be difficult to contact. I know the police conducted a survey last year asking the public how they would like to communicate with the police force in the future. Will the police will be implementing changes to improve communication? DS: So, the answer to that is: yes, but it’s not going to be taken in isolation, there are other surveys, as you know I have done my own. So, we are going to be taking information from the public from a number of different sources but the point is very clear, this is about being community connected; I would like everybody to know who their police officers are, I would like them to be able to connect to them swiftly and we have some technological solutions which we are moving forward with, which should transform that. There is also an element of consistency that we have to address as well. So, for example, we have to make certain everybody knows the best ways to contact the Police depending on the issue and that is something I’m wanting to address.

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But there is also a secondary element to it: Who to communicate with in order to get the issue they have addressed. Let me give you an example: you have an issue with rowdy or noisy neighbours. So, in the OPCC Antisocial Behaviour Survey we conducted last summer, 50% of people said they would contact the police while 45% said they would contact the local authority. Actually, that one is the local authorities’ responsibility. I’ll give you another one: begging is a concern to a lot of people, particularly in the centre of BCP, 45% said they would contact the council, 39% said they would contact the police. With that one, it’s the police. So, there is a communication element that we’ve got to get much better at, which is to help our residents understand where to go. So, that is something I’m really interested in and we should, if we get that right, improve things considerably. BHL: Many BCP residents are of the opinion that antisocial behaviour seems to be on the increase. I was looking at the figures recently and it was down during lockdown but has now started to increase again since the restrictions have been lifted. Obviously, that is a concern for local people, how are you going to be addressing antisocial behaviour? DS: So, to a certain extent you are asking me to reveal my Police and Crime Plan before we’ve fully developed it, I don’t really want to do that! But let me say this about antisocial behaviour, it was one of the core reasons I decided to stand, because I saw in the paper it was 1-week Somerford, 1-week Poole bus station then it was the centre of Bournemouth. It wasn’t a key priority within the Police and Crime Plan that we had then, it will be front and centre now. It will be a priority in the plan. The Coronavirus pandemic has actually seen partnerships work much better already and that is something they are continuing with. We can already see examples of joint multi-agency work tackling crime and antisocial behaviour; We have the hub, the Multi-Agency Control Centre which is set up on the beach in order to help monitor and control antisocial behaviour in the summer. So, I see that as going in the right direction, I think there is more that can be done and a plan will come forward with measures to address antisocial behaviour specifically but we’ve also got to get up-stream as well. We’ve got to talk about how we address it with our young, how we stop them from starting down that path which can lead to more serious criminality. BHL: In my last interview with the Chief Constable, we touched upon the merging with Devon and Cornwall, which was a hot topic a couple of years ago. He said at the time that this idea had been “shelved” Would you say it’s something you support?

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INTERVIEW DS: No. Let me expand a little bit. I’ve been part of very large mergers and you have to remember what your fundamental objective is in merging. The objective in business mergers was shareholder value in some cases, in other cases it was to achieve an expertise that they didn’t have. When you are talking about a police merger, you either have to do it because you absolutely need to do it because of money or you’re doing it because you can significantly see that you can create a better service. So, I can see where we are at the moment, with our strategic alliance with Devon and Cornwall HR and finance are joint and that to me makes perfect sense but we need to remember that we have local priorities and remember that we are serving the local people and that policing needs to stay local.

it’s your lifeline and it causes huge pain if that dog is stolen. I can’t imagine what it would be like if our pup went missing. We formed a southwest action plan to address pet theft, part of which was to keep lobbying upwards and that has been taken up. I challenged the Home Secretary at least three times during the election cycle when I had the opportunity to talk to her. We now have a task force set up at highest level. We, ourselves, have obviously got it on our agenda for the Police and Crime Plan but also the force already is going to be launching a campaign soon to make dog owners aware of how to make their pets more difficult to steal. I’m already working with them on an action plan to address the problem, because I’d like to see someone with a responsibility for pet theft in Dorset and I’d like to see a close link with the Regional Organised Crime Unit.

BHL, So we can safely say while you’re PCC we won’t be seeing an official merger with Devon and Cornwall? DS: I think that what you can say is that there is no desire on my part to go down that route, I suppose if there was a policing review across the country and everybody was told to merge into one big force, it would be very difficult to say “No, I want to stay as PCC of Dorset” but what I will make certain of is that we’ll always have the best deal for the people of Dorset. BHL: So can you explain a bit more about the recent changes that divided Dorset Police in two - one half dealing with wider, slightly more rural Dorset and the other was BCP. So, how will this change affect policing in the BCP region? So, this is one that I completely support. One of the issues I said earlier was the issue of connectivity, the issue of people feeling that the police force is there for them and is going to help them sort out their problems. It gives us a much closer partnership between the force and the local authorities, everybody will be working on the same page, everybody should be working together better and it also brings them closer to the communities. Because if you think as if you own the geography, you care about the geography, you care about the people there, it makes the link tighter. What we’ve got to remember is that there is a whole heap of police activity that will still happen across both regions, so it’s not being split in two completely. BHL: Something we highlighted in BH Living online was your campaign around the issue of dog theft. I’m reading a lot more about pet theft - do you think it’s actually on the increase or are we just reading about it more? DS: It is on the increase. There haven’t been that many reported cases in Dorset itself, but across the country it has gone up. We know it is of huge concern to people across the country, we know that because we talked to them and my postbag went berserk during the election. Thankfully it is relatively rare but we need to make certain it stays rare. For criminals this isn’t a dog, this is £3000 - that’s the way they see it. If you are lonely and isolated, the dog is not £3000 it is effectively your family,

BHL: What do you hope to achieve by the time the next election comes around in 3 years? DS: I would like to have people in Dorset feeling like there is a difference made to the areas of antisocial behaviour, drugs, rural crime and the hidden harm such as domestic violence. If in 3 years’ time people in Dorset think we have made progress in addressing those issues then we’re well on our way to making Dorset the safest county in the UK. I will be very happy and I will feel that I am able to ask them for a mandate to go further and make certain we really hit that home. BHL: Thanks for your time today David, when can we expect your new Police and Crime plan to be published? DS: You can already tell by the way I am talking that I’m already having conversations with the Chief Constable about the priorities within the plan and all the rest of it. I’ve got to have it put together by next March. However, as I’ve only got 3 years, I’ve spoken to the team here about shortening the time period and well see how quickly we can get it out.

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Ride the summer breeze The days are sunny, the nights are warm and it’s time to make the most of it. We’re finally allowed to leave our houses and emerge from this forced hibernation just in time for the sun to greet us and the warm breeze to carry some exciting new events to our doorstep. From food and music festivals to healthy physical activities perfect for the family to get out all that pent up energy and enjoy the outdoor freedom, all at a low cost or no cost at all! So, what are you waiting for? Get your shoes on, fling open your doors and explore what is out there this Summer!

Music/Arts and culture Stompin’ on the Quomps

World of Love Festival

The annual jazz event for music lovers has returned following the ease of lockdown restrictions. The event has an entertaining line up of Jazz and Blues to bring the swing back into our lives and a perfect place for families including eager children and mature grandparents to enjoy a day out at Christchurch Quay.

The World of Love festival is a celebration of communities and their diverse cultures from around the globe, sharing their languages, traditions and food together to represent humanity and its joys. The event is suited for all ages and ethnicities, featuring children’s games and activities from around the world.

Where: Christchurch Quay When: September 11th How much: £2 per adult and £1 per child More info: https://stompin.org/

Where: King’s Park, Bournemouth When: 28th August – 29th August How much: Free More info: https://worldoflovefestival.co.uk/

Poole at War – VE/VJ Day

Christchurch Food Festival The Christchurch Food Festival is returning this year and bringing flavour back to our lives after being cancelled due to lockdown in 2020. The festival team will also be running a series of Pop-up restaurant events in the days prior to the main festival to improve the experience along the Quayside. Where: Christchurch Quay When: Saturday 28th August – Monday 30th August How much: Free More info: https://christchurchfoodfest.co.uk/

The Society for Poole has scheduled to use Poole Quay to hold an exhibition to honour the 75+1 anniversary of the end of the war and Poole’s experience during the conflict. There will be information boards placed along the High Street leading up to the 15th of August where the Quay will be closed to host the event. Military vehicles and vintage cars will be used to showcase the period of history alongside wartime music, a funfair and further images showing the details of the town and its unique role in the war. The Society of Poole is looking for owners of military vehicles and vintage cars of the wartime 40s to assist with the event. Where: Poole Quay When: 15th August How much: Free More info: https://societyforpoole.org/event/ve-vj-daycommemoration-poole-751-anniversary/?instance_id=76

Entertainment Bournemouth Fireworks Display

Bournemouth Air Festival

Relax on the beach and enjoy the show as many dazzling fireworks light up the night sky across the coast. Fridays in Bournemouth will end with a bang after enjoying the local food and nightlife.

The iconic Bournemouth Air Festival is returning with plenty of aerial spectacles and land performances to bring back the excitement to plane enthusuasts and the general public alike. From the RAF Typhoon to Royal Marine unarmed combat displays, there is something for everyone at the Bournemouth seafront this summer.

Where: Bournemouth Pier When: 6th,13th,20th,27th August. How much: Free More info: www.bournemouth.co.uk/ whats-on/bournemouth-fridayfireworks-p2613603

Where: Bournemouth Coastline When: 2nd- 5th September How much: Free More info: https://bournemouthair.co.uk/

Film and Food Fest Bournemouth The Film and Food Fest is being brought to Bournemouth by Adventure Cinema, offering 4 days of open-air cinema, live comedy and specially curated short films to enjoy with local street food to provide the full experience. The event features movies suited to teenagers aged 15 onwards and adults of all ages who enjoy films of various genres and good food. This fest will also provide local creative minds the opportunity to show their films on a major platform and an audience who can enjoy a new film experience. Age verification may be required.

Grooves on The Green Ashley Cross is more ready than ever to party as Grooves on the Green, Dorset’s best community music festival, returns next month. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, and in recognition of the community’s grateful thanks for their efforts in the pandemic, the festival is giving away 50 tickets each day to NHS workers. Where: Ashley Cross, Parkstone When: 7 & 8 August 2021, 11am to 7pm How much: From £6 adults, £4 children (Early Bird rate). Free tickets for NHS workers More info: www.groovesonthegreen.com/tickets/

The Original Shake & Stir Vintage Music Festival American culture from 1920 – 1970 is coming to the Southbourne coastline. Rock ’n’ roll, Lindy Hop, Jazz, Blues and music of the time will be there to experience the life of this period in history alongside some classic American Hot Rods, motorbikes and Retro fashion. Where: Fisherman’s Walk, Southbourne Grove When: 7th August – 8th August How much: Free More info: https://www.shakenstirfest.com/

Where: BH Live, Littledown Bournemouth When: Thursday 19th August – Sunday 22nd August How much: £6.54 per standard ticket. More info: https://www.filmandfoodfest.com/

Continental Circus Berlin The incredible and exhilarating Circus Berlin is coming to Poole this summer to provide 5 days of entertainment and life to a country blossoming out of lockdown. Comedy and daredevils, dancing and highWire acts, the performers have a variety of stunning talents to bring us on their European tour. Where: Branksome Recreation Ground, Poole When: 19th August – 24th How much: £12 standard adult ticket, £10 standard Under 16s students and over 60s tickets More info: https://www.circusberlin.co.uk/venues/bournemouth/

Contender Fest A 3-day event of combined fitness challenges and taster classes with plenty of food, music, entertainment and family fun. The festival aims to get people active and have fun while challenging themselves, perfect for those looking to embrace fitness or take their experience to the next level. Fitness challenges with cash prizes, classes and training sessions alongside family fun entertainment makes this a fun experience for all ages. Where: Parley Lane, Bournemouth When: 10th – 12th of September How much: £8 adult ticket, £3.50 child ticket, under 5s go free More info: https://contenderfest.co.uk/

Meyrick Rise Care Home

Hotel with Care How Meyrick Rise Care Home can help you take a break At Meyrick Rise Care Home, we offer short stay and respite care in the beautiful staycation destination of Bournemouth. Our eight en suite rooms can be booked in advance and offer a hotel style service with personal care, breakfast and an evening meal all included. We are located in the heart of Bournemouth, with great access to local amenities, Bournemouth gardens and beach. We have carers on hand 24/7 and provide assistance with everyday activities, such as washing, dressing, eating and mobility. Giving you both the opportunity to have a change of scenery, enjoy days out together and a much needed break from the everyday.

Plan your 2021 break to Bournemouth today. What’s included?

3 Packed lunch for days out 3 Nursing Care 3 Evening meal 3 Residential Care 3 Continental or cooked breakfast

Call us on 01202 983970 to find out more or to book your stay.

Recommended by families on carehome.co.uk

Meyrick Rise Care Home 11-13 Branksome Wood Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 6BT www.brighterkind.com/meyrickrise

HOP ON

HOP OFF all day *

9.9/10

staycwaithtaion view * K

N BA

NEW

the best days out... are on your doorstep

purbeckbreezer.co.uk

* Routes 30, 31 and 70 only run during summer ** Open top buses are not always guaranteed and in some circumstances, we may have to use an ordinary bus

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For the Kids Under the Sea event with Ariel & Moana – Minky Moo’s Event Treat your children to a day of cheer and fun to lift their spirits with an opportunity to meet beloved Disney characters Ariel and Moana. The café will be serving food and drink alongside some party games, treasure hunts, sing-a-longs and dancing. Where: Lollipop’s Café, Bournemouth When: 27th August 2pm to 4pm How much: £14.50 per child, Adults and under 12 months old free More info: https://lollipopscafe.com/product/minky-moosunder-the-sea-with-ariel-moana-friday-27th-august/

Lighthouse, Poole – The Elves and the Shoemaker The classic Grimm fairy-tale of a shoemaker and his magic assistants is being performed at Lighthouse, Poole. This adaptation by Treehouse Studios has been rewritten to accommodate those with special needs and learning difficulties including sign language, seated dancing and extra music to provide an immersive and interactive experience for the audience. Where: Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre For The Arts When: 24th July 11am and 2pm How much: £8.85 per adult, £8.00 per under 16s More info: https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/whatson/2021/the-elves-and-the-shoemaker-2021/

Toy Story event Give your children a chance to me Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Forky from Disney’s Toy Story. Lots of children’s games, disco and food available at the event to keep the fun going. Where: Lollipop’s café, Bournemouth When: 11th August 4pm – 6pm How much: £14.50 per child, Adults and under 12 months old free More info: https://lollipopscafe.com/product/toy-storywednesday-11th-august/

Summer Arts Creative fun at Festival Coast Live Under The Sea Summer Arts Workshops are bringing an opportunity to children between the ages of 5 – 11 to reuse unrecyclable plastics that would end up in a landfill in a new creative way that teaches artistic skills and how to care for the environment. Where: Lower Bournemouth Gardens When: 2-4 August, 16-18 August, 23-25 August How much: Free More info: https://stayhappening.com/e/summer-artscreative-fun-at-festival-coast-live-E3LUSHJSXKJL

Nature Flint Working-Making Stone Tools like our Ancestors 10,000 years ago, our ancestors made tools out of flint and now you can learn the same techniques to make your own! Hengistbury Head will be hosting an event to teach you how to make arrow heads, scrapers and even an axe head, all through the use of flint, prehistoric glue, twine and feathers to experience how humanity survived in the past. Where: Hengistbury Head visitor centre When: 23 August How much: Free More info: https://www.visithengistburyhead.co.uk/ Events/Events1.aspx

Gaia - Inside Out Dorset Moore’s Valley will play host to an amazing display of artwork that will provide a rarely seen look at the planet we call home and how we think of it. Luke Jerram’s Gaia will feature detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface in the three dimensions and will show major events and how they have affected us all. This will be a perfect opportunity to learn more about the Earth and our places on the planet. Where: Moore’s Valley country park and forest When: 17-19 of September 10am-10pm How much: Free More info: https://activateperformingarts.org.uk/ events/gaia-moors-valley/ This event is part of the Inside Out Dorset Festival https://activateperformingarts.org.uk/whats-on/insideout-dorset/

TRANSPORT

Transforming Travel around BCP The way we travel across our Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is about to be transformed with BCP Council working hard on improvements to the way people travel in the area by giving access to greener and healthier travel choices. The idea behind the Transforming Travel Programme is to make walking and cycling more attractive for shorter journeys and help reduce traffic and carbon emissions locally. The BCP region regularly suffers from traffic congestion, which is largely due to the lack of joined up travel infrastructure. Over time this has led to the over-reliance on cars to travel. This in turn, the council claim is creating slower journeys and an increase in emissions that lead to poorer air quality. Transforming Travel aims to provide safe and environmentally friendly alternatives to cars in order to reduce traffic and road journey times. With new infrastructure making travel more accessible, the council’s hope is that the new focus on walking, cycling and public transport will make BCP a safer place to travel for all, whilst also improving our air quality. Over the next year, we’ll see changes across the area as part of the TCF (Transforming Cities Fund) and the LCWIP (Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan). More info on the Transforming Travel Plan can be found here: www.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/News/News-Features/ Transforming-Travel/transforming-travel.aspx

Whitelegg Way – Bournemouth – new cycleway forming part of a longer route between Merley and Christchurch A new cycleway forming part of the 13km sustainable travel route between Merley and Christchurch started on 17 May and is expected to last around 20 weeks. The construction is underway between the Redhill and Northbourne roundabouts. The work in progress is listed from BCP Council below.

Work includes:

Reducing the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph along Whitelegg Way to make the road safer for drivers and cyclists

The work that started on the 17th May is expected to continue until the Autumn and will have temporary traffic management measures in place: The northbound road on Whitelegg Way will be closed for the duration of the works and traffic will be diverted along the adjacent Wimborne Road.

Changing how vehicles can use the junction between Wimborne Road (known as the slip road) and Whitelegg Way. Vehicles will no longer be able to turn left from Wimborne Road onto Whitelegg Way. Vehicles will continue to be able to turn right.

On-street parking along Wimborne Road will be temporarily suspended to facilitate traffic flows on the diversion route.

Traffic lights at the Whitelegg Way/Wimborne Road will be upgraded to provide a head start for cyclists in front of vehicles when lights turn green

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Bus stop improvements including new shelters and real time information along Wimborne service road. New wayfinding/directional signage.

A new, dedicated (segregated from traffic) 850m cycle track along both sides of Whitelegg Way

Upgraded pedestrian and cycle-controlled crossing with improved pedestrian and cycle detection at Northbourne roundabout to improve pedestrian and cycle connectivity and reduce wait times for buses and cars.

More info found here https://www.bcpcouncil. gov.uk/News/News-Features/Transforming-Travel/ sustainable-travel-network/Whitelegg-WayBournemouth.aspx

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Upper Gardens Cycle and Walking Improvements A sustainable travel route linking Bournemouth Centre and Ferndown is under construction in Upper Gardens, improving the walking and cycle routes in the area. More info can be found here www.bcpcouncil. gov.uk/News/News-Features/Transforming-Travel/ sustainable-travel-network/Upper-Gardens-Cycleand-Walking-Improvements.aspx

Artist’s impression of how the changes will look

Wallisdown Road West Improvement Improvements are being made to the Wallisdown area’s infrastructure with safety and more walking and cycle opportunities in mind. These improvements are being made as part of the Wallisdown Corridor improvement plan from Mountbatten Arms roundabout to Bryant Road Junction. The work will be set in multiple phases to minimise any impact on local residents and businesses. These phases are as listed from BCP Council. I ntroduce new controlled crossings near Sunnymoor Road and reposition the existing crossings at Discovery Court and Canford Avenue I nstall protected cycleways and footpaths along the majority of the route with priority across side roads I mprove the footpaths along the corridor and narrowing the side roads crossings to improve safety S upport bus travel with better stops, waiting areas, shelters and live passenger information points educe the speed limit to 30mph, ensuring lower vehicle R speeds and create a safer environment for all road users reate a more attractive area for residents with tree C planting and landscaping.

Work began in November 2020 with some of the changes already in place. The new protected cycleways and footpaths are being installed and are hoped to improve sustainable travel in the area by encouraging more walkers and cyclists while also reducing road traffic. The most recent phase to be completed involves resurfacing the road over several areas. The areas that have been worked on are: E ast of Benbow Crescent to Lyon Road (Discovery Court entrance) Lyon Road (Discovery Court entrance) to Leyland Road Leyland Road to Mountbatten Roundabout enbow Crescent west junction, to Lyon Road (Discovery B Court entrance), and the Leyland Road junction Some of the work has been delayed due to utility repairs and supply of construction materials but measures to keep the roads open both ways have been set in place with more people on the roads after lockdown restrictions were lifted. The current work phase is aimed to be completed as soon as possible before the busiest parts of the summer period. More information can be found here https:// www.bournemouth.gov.uk/travelandtransport/ projectsconsultationslocaltransportplans/ projectsconsultations/wallisdown-road/ wallisdown-road-west-improvement-scheme.aspx

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TRANSPORT King’s Park Cycle and Walking improvements – new cycleways and footpaths Improved greener travel options are linking Bournemouth and Christchurch with the new cycle and footpaths being installed through King’s Park in late July. This will form part of an 8km sustainable travel route between Bournemouth railway station and Jumpers Common in Christchurch connecting residential and employment areas such as Bournemouth town centre, Royal Bournemouth Hospital, the Law Courts, JP Morgan, Wessex fields and Littledown Centre. Artist’s impression of how the

The work will be split into 3 phases as listed by BCP Council below.

Phase one (end July to early September 2021) Harewood Avenue

Installation of new lighting to improve safety and security

Installation of a new, raised toucan crossing on Harewood Avenue near the roundabout will link the cycle and walking path and provide dedicated space for pedestrians and cyclists. The existing toucan crossing and speed cushions further south east on Harewood Avenue will be removed Extension of the 20mph zone covering all arms of the roundabout onto Harewood Avenue, Littledown Avenue and Harewood Crescent

Phase two (Sept 2021 to spring 2022) - Ashley Road to Harewood Avenue A new, separate cycle path will be installed next to the existing footpath between the Vitality Stadium and Harewood Avenue. This will create a 2m wide footpath and a 3m wide two-way cycle path, separated by an area of wildflower planting where space allows A new informal raised crossing will be installed over King’s Park Drive between the car park at AFCB Vitality Stadium and Kings Park Bowling Green to slow traffic and provide a safer area for pedestrians to cross A new separate 3m wide two-way cycle path and 2m wide footpath separated by an area of wildflower planting will be installed alongside Kings Park Bowling Green.

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changes will look

New wayfinding signs Disabled parking spaces will be relocated from the eastern side of Kings Park café closer to the Ashley Road entrance to improve access to the cricket pavilion Changing parking bay locations on King’s Park Drive to create safe access along the cycle track through Kings Park. Bollards will be installed on the existing line-marked cycle lane on King’s Park Drive to prevent vehicles from parking within it

Phase three (estimated start/completion dates spring 2022 to Autumn 2022) - Harewood Avenue to Sevenoaks Drive Improvements to the existing shared use cycle and walking path between Kings Park and Cowell Drive, including widening where required, and vegetation clearance Other existing cycle and walking paths on the eastern side of Kings Park will be widened and resurfaced Installation of new lighting to improve safety and security More info can be found here www.bcpcouncil. gov.uk/News/News-Features/Transforming-Travel/ sustainable-travel-network/Kings-Park-Cycle-andWalking-Improvements.aspx

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BOOK REVIEW

For this review, we asked seasoned water-dweller Ian Case, who actually lives on Britain’s waterways to give us his take on this grippy murder mystery thriller.

Canal Pushers by Andy Griffee Is there a serial killer stalking the towpaths of the Midlands? I was set to find out, as I enjoyed a ‘lockdown review’ of Canal Pushers a murder mystery thriller and debut novel by Andy Griffee, Within the first few pages, I was quickly encapsulated within its story line. Much of the descriptions relating to the first time living aboard a Narrow Boat rang a bell with me and no doubt with many other seasoned boaters, as they recall their own tentative experiences. The re-occurring comments relating to ‘the fisherman’ bring about a menacing undertone and are sprinkled throughout the book as you read it. The descriptions of Narrowboat life and pubs are pretty accurate and you can easily picture the scenes described. The story never wants for something to happen. There are many threads which seamlessly run together keeping the book alive and teasing the reader into wanting more. Its most certainly a book you will not want to put down once you start. I liked the way the story started – straight in there and into the gritty details from the off. I’m not one for long introductions and in this novel there was no wasted pre-amble – everything you needed to know came out in the first couple of chapters which are full of intrigue as the scene is set. It’s very refreshing to see how the storyline unfolds, in a way that keeps the reader excited and engaged in the plot. The descriptions of the characters you meet are well described and add on occasions a subtle element of humour – none of which detracts from the story line, but it will bring a smile to your face. Take a Narrowboat, a novice owner, a widow, drugs cartel, a lone fisherman and a friendly coroners officer and you have all the ingredients for a fascinating and addictive storyline. There is a sequel too, River Rats by the same author. I cannot wait! Our reviewer, Ian Case is a narrowboat owner enjoying his retirement on the waterways of Britian, he runs a weekly YouTube channel “Narrowboat Tales” which now has just on 3000 subscribers. Paperback – £8.99 | SBN-10 : 1903360439 | ISBN-13 : 978-1903360439 Kindle - £4.16 | ASIN : B07QQVHC56 Publisher : Orphans Publishing (2 May 2019)

Have you read a good book recently? Why not send our editor a review at: bookworms@bhliving.co.uk. The top review will receive a £10 Waterstone Gift Card

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Advertising Feature

ARTICLE TITLE

“It’s not just advanced equipment, but also our highly skilled team that help us win awards”

Leading local optometrists Parley Optometrists have been in the news again this year after being short-listed for 4 more national awards, but it’s not just the investment in ground-breaking technology that makes them a success - skilled staff are the key according to practice owner Rob Jones Multiple award winning opticians Parley Optometrists are certainly not your average high street practice, and not only because they aren’t on a high street! The house based optical practice is celebrating its 20th year and has always striven to be at the forefront of clinical technology and excellence. Practice owner Rob Jones explains “During the last two years we have taken on more clinical community eye services, which historically would have fallen to the local eye hospital, and this has meant an increase in demand for appointments and an increase in patient numbers. The practice has significantly expanded the clinical team to continue to provide outstanding levels of ophthalmic care.” The practice boasts the very latest technology, ophthalmic hospital levels of equipment and a team of clinicians to match.

F I N A L I S T

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T E C H N O LO G Y P R A C T I C E O F T H E Y E A R

Optometrist Gillaine Seymour has over 30 years experience in many varied environments. She was actually Rob's supervisor whilst he was training. Gill performs routine eye exams and has expertise in front of the eye assessments and low vision assessments.

lists Fina at the in aga 2019 n icia Opt ards w A

• Diabetic eye screening • Glaucoma screening & hospital shared eye care • NHS & Private eye examinations • Contact lens specialists • Orthokeratology (vision correction alternative to laser - for those suitable) • Digital imaging of the internal & external structures of the eye • Corneal topography/pachymetry (advanced scanning techniques) • Children’s examinations & coloured overlays for specific learning difficulties • Hospital cataract referral centre • Using the latest technology to enable early diagnosis of ocular & health problems

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Gareth Watson is an esteemed local optometrist who ran his own practice for a number of years before deciding to add variety to his working day. His specialties include elderly care and childrens assessments. Optometrist Diane Wingate again has over 30 years experience providing routine eye exams and has expertise in dry eye assessments and clinical optometry. Independent prescribing optometrist Jane Bell is a very well respected clinical optometrist and is on several national committees promoting optometry and eye care. She divides her time between optical clinics and attending health service meetings. Jane together with Rob provide the specialist glaucoma care. Lisa Pipe, contact lens and diabetic retinal screening practitioner, runs dry eye clinics alongside her contact lens and diabetic eye disease screening appointments. She is also responsible for the majority of troublesome eyelash removals and was short-listed for the national contact lens practitioner of the year award recently. The busy practice also has a full support team to give patients a high level of service, aiming to make each individual feel confident and comfortable throughout their whole journey through the practice. Call 01202 575759 for an appointment.

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Call 01202 575759 to make an appointment

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WALKS The Purbeck Breezer walk - Studland

An easy beach trail along the sandy dunes of Studland, starting with an enjoyable ride on a Purbeck Breezer then across the Sandbanks chain ferry for a great day out with the family. Now that we are allowed to explore the outdoors again, it is the perfect time to begin getting some fitness and healthy activity into our lives. Summer is here and there isn’t a moment to lose, we have some walks planned to get you and the family out and about. Beginning with our Purbeck Breezer walk around Studland Beach! For those seeking the full experience of this walk we start with an unexpected beginning, a nice ride from Sandbanks to Studland on an open top Purbeck Breezer before beginning the 1-mile walk around Studland’s sandy dunes

Your walk starts here

and heathlands. The Purbeck Breezer 50 travels from Bournemouth to Sandbanks and then Studland, getting you all the way to the start of the walk and giving you a lovely experience of the clifftops for £7 per adult return ticket and £5 per child return ticket. If you would rather not ride the Breezer then you can use the same route on foot or with your own vehicle going from Sandbanks over the chain ferry to Studland Bay for £1 per pedestrian/cyclist ticket and £4.75 per car ticket. The ferry ride is a great start to the experience with the cool blue waters and fresh sea air to give the feel of summer and the outdoors we have missed. Once you arrive at Knoll Beach take a moment to stretch your legs and prepare yourselves before setting out. Make sure you have everything you need for the summer’s day; you can even drop by the Knoll Beach Café to grab some food and drinks before you set out or after you return. The start of the official 1-mile walk begins at the northeast side of the car park, following a sandy path northward past the barbecue area until you reach a crossroads where you’ll continue making your way straight ahead and keeping the yellow markers on your left side.

You’ll eventually reach a T-junction near the woodland where you will take a right turn and continue around 30 metres where you should look for a sculpture of a seahorse on your right. The sculpture represents the breeding site for both seahorses in the waters of Studland Bay. After reaching the seahorse, keep following the path at the woodland’s edge and you should begin to see dunes rising on you right side. Continue upwards and the path will fork, take the right-hand fork going up a slight rise in the dunes and remember to keep the yellow and purple marker post on your left and ignore the other marker off to the left as that is for the return walk.

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Reaching the top of the rise there will be a large sandy hollow to your right with a nice view of Old Harry Rocks behind it. This hollow is a result of wind erosion and is known as a blow-out. The path will curve gently to the right out towards the sea and once you arrive at the T-junction you will need to turn left before a line of dunes topped with marram grass which lines the beach.

Once you reach the end of the ridge, follow the boardwalk downhill and take a sharp right towards a T-junction with another yellow marker then take a left and follow the sandy path to re-join the path you took before, eventually passing the seahorse sculpture on your left. Continue along and turn left at the yellow marker to follow the path back to the start.

Go north along the path with the heather to your left and look down to your right to see a wooden sculpture of a sand lizard before you reach the next yellow marker. Once you reach a clump of birch trees take a left off the main path and proceed to follow the boardwalk back to the dunes.

From the highest point of the ridge, feel free to take a moment to enjoy the lovely sea views from the wooden viewing platform and relax on the benches provided. Continue round for views of Old Harry Rocks, Studland village, and the Purbeck Hills, you may even see the Agglestone on Godlingston Heath to the south west.

Take the steps down the opposite side of the dune and take a sharp left at the bottom, with the summer here you may spot some dragonflies and damselflies along the path and even a small sculpture of a deer made using found natural materials off to your right among the trees. You’ll have to ignore two left turns ahead and follow a sharp right path up the steps to the top of the dune at the end of the trees; here you should see a second viewing platform.

From here you have completed the walking section and can relax on the chain ferry and return to Sandbanks and Bournemouth on the Purbeck Breezer to enjoy the scenery and make your way home. The official trip ends when you disembark the Purbeck Breezer and head home or stay a while longer and enjoy more of Studland’s lovely bay and natural environments. Be sure to keep plenty of fluids on hand for the walk and maybe bring some lunch to keep you going, you could even have a picnic!

The platform gives you a perfect spot to look back towards the sea for a clear view of the Studland peninsula; successive lines of dunes run parallel to the beach, each marking a former coastline. Turn left and follow the boardwalk along the ridge, be sure to look for any reptiles on the boardwalk also enjoying the summer weather.

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The Beryl Interviews

In the saddle: Councillor Philip Broadhead

What do you get if you cross a Beryl Bike with BH Living and a member of BCP Council? Hopefully, some great views of our local area, some interesting chat and two people getting a bit of well-needed exercise. In this edition of the Beryl Interviews, BH Living’s Brian Case is cycling with Cllr Philip Broadhead, Deputy Leader of BCP Council and portfolio holder for Regeneration, Economy and Strategic Planning. We’re hoping to get some insight into the latest hot-topics to cross Cllr Broadhead’s desk over recent weeks and his thoughts on all things local.

quite rightly keen to get on with development but ‘we as a council need to look at these plans and see what is right for the public’. He added the council needs to speak with fellow councillors, as well as the town council, to see what is needed to suit the residents; what type of housing, access to the river area etc. “We also have a problem with flooding and are in a flood zone here so we all have to work together to see how all this fits into the local regeneration” Philip said. On the employment front he also said we have the leisure complex and the old gas works brown site by the river, both areas where business can thrive in the future, offering employment to local residents which is what the area local plan will be looking at.

On a hot July morning, I met up with Philip by the Beryl Bay at Two Rivers Meet Christchurch, I was keen to find out what plans BCP have for regeneration and employment in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole areas as we all emerge tentatively from the pandemic, so after hiring out our Beryl Bikes we set off through Christchurch. Stopping by the old gas works site next to the council offices, I pointed out that in a small space of just 500 metres we have both an area of outstanding beauty at Stanpit, the Christchurch Nature Reserve and also the now derelict brownfield site which one day may be up for development.

Cycling down over the bridges past the Castle Ruins and into the High Street I mentioned to Philip that recently in Southampton they have introduced free parking after 6pm in certain council car parks to help encourage business growth in the city. I asked if BCP was considering something similar to help out our High Streets? He said the council have been putting in a tremdious effort to help support our High Streets during the pandemic with bounce back grants and events including the new Festival Coast Live events taking place across the three towns to help encourage people back onto the High Streets. I asked Philip if nature and business can sustainably live side by side? “Absolutely” he said, he went on to say that they had recently met up with the new owners of the land who are

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On parking though he said that is an interesting question. He went onto say that today the High Street is buzzing and we need to keep that growth going. The council are looking at the possibility of a parking offer which would try to help

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keep that growth continuing into the winter. He did stress ‘no promises though’. He added it’s not all about parking, it’s also about bringing life back into the High Streets and recent statistics showed that our area does now have one of the biggest bounce backs, in terms of High Street recovery in the UK and that is something we need to continue. I pointed out that locally we have four separate BID’s (Business Improvement Districts) each serving their own part of the area and I asked if he felt one BCP wide BID would better suit our area? He said he felt they all work well as they are, as each understand their own areas, he said the council works with all three BID’s plus the steering group for Christchurch BID, so they hear directly from local businesses what their needs are in their own given areas. We continued cycling up through the high street up to Bargates pulling up outside Cameron’s, I wanted to ask about the shortage of skilled and low skilled workers. I quoted a recent Dorset LEP press release (15 July) which said Dorset had ‘an exponential growth in job vacancies in Q2 of this year when over 20,500 vacancies were advertised in the county, however as reported by the BBC employers complained of significant skills shortages creating barriers for local growth’. I asked how he could see this being tackled in BCP? Philip seemed aware of the latest stats. “It’s a huge problem” he said. “It’s great that so many job opportunities are being created with businesses growing at an unprecedented rate but not having enough people to fill the jobs is a huge problem”. He went on to say that they have just started talks on looking at a cross Dorset Skills Commission, getting all the players together such as councils, higher education, LEP to see where the shortage of skills is and then tackling the issue on the ground, this is however in the long term. More immediately he said we have our Local Economic Development Team working on the grants and bounce back schemes to help fill that skills shortage. I asked if he felt the University and Colleges could do more improve on their current engagement with local businesses. He said he believed they wanted to, “we’re so fortunate in our area to have three universities in our local area and there is lots of opportunity which we can’t afford to lose” He did agree we should be doing more to get everyone around the table and discusses what skills the areas need and what they can offer and all work together to help local employers. Back on our bikes, we were getting thirsty but we avoided the opportunity of popping into the Railway pub for a drink and instead went to the Railway Station. Here I was keen to talk about if our congested roads are having an adverse effect on businesses looking to relocate to our area and also workers who can sometimes spend much of their

time in traffic instead of working. We have the wonderful Beryl bikes and regular bus services but traffic seems to be continually increasing - could discounted rail travel be the answer I asked? Philip said that getting around our area is key to economic growth. If anything, as we have come out of the pandemic our roads are actually even more congested. The rail network locally is underused and he went on to say that the council is now in advance discussions with the rail networks not just looking at ‘offers’ but more of a mass transit metro style network increasing the frequency of local trains in our region. He added that if you wished to get from Christchurch to Poole then the quickest way is on the train but with only one or two trains an hour that is not very appealing. “We currently have a £100m transforming travel fund which is not being ‘anti-car’, it’s more about getting around” he said. “Most journeys are under 2km so if we encourage people to walk or even cycle, like us on our Beryl Bikes today, then that helps sort much of the car congestion problem. We need to look at a myriad of solutions utilising bikes, buses, walking, trains etc so those people who need to use their cars, like many of the elderly for example, can do so in a much more pleasant way”. Finally, I asked if the council are listening to local business? Philip said its not just about listening to local business but also to listening to local residents, he said in the past there has been a feeling that ‘we know best’, this has to change, we need to start listening to local people and find out what their needs are. It was great spending a couple of hours out in the open, no parking fees, not sat in traffic, and enjoying some exercise on the bikes. I remembered my helmet, mask, even hand sanitiser but somehow, I’d forgotten my bottle of water, a quick walk home and the kettle beckoned.

Interviewed by Brian Case, post covid restrictions July 2021

BH Living | bhliving.co.uk

What’s On Dad’s Army

Poole Quay Summer Fireworks

One Night of Queen

Classic BBC TV comedy series is being performed at the Tivoli Theatre featuring all the classic and well-loved characters from the show and a nostalgic finale.

The CityFibre Poole Quay summer fireworks are coming to light up the night sky and bring an evening of colour and spectacle to the people of Poole.

A spectacular live event paying tribute to the look and atmosphere of one of the greatest rock bands of all time at Poole this summer.

Where: Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne When: 5 August – 7 August How much: From £16 per ticket Contact: 01202 885566

Where: Poole Quay When: Every Thursday from 29 July – 2 September How much: Free

Walk for Wards

Cheese Festival

The annual sponsored walk returns and invites members of the community to take on a route of either 3km, 5km, or 10km, all to raise funds for the NHS and to support the local hospitals.

The Sturminster Cheese Festival is back for all those cheese enthusiasts to embrace their tastebuds and culinary knowledge. Tickets only available online.

Where: Somerley House, Ringwood When: 4th September Contact: 0300 019 4060 / 8449 ‘Playhouse Creatures’ by April De Angelis A historical performance showing the struggle of women performers as they try to embrace their new freedom given by King Charles II of being able to perform on stage. Where: Bournemouth Little Theatre When: 7-11 September How much: Between £6 and £12 Contact: 01202 513361 Poole Quay for my Car Events at Poole Quay every Friday for car enthusiasts with free entry onto the Quayside to those who’s cars fit the event for the evening. Access onto the event site will need to be made via the old Lifting Bridge end of the Quay. Where: Poole Quay When: 2 July - 27 Aug, every Friday How much: Free Contact: 01202 262600

Where: Sturminster Newton When: 11th – 12th September How much: £7 for Over 15s, 14 and under go free Contact: www.cheesefestival.co.uk/ Tankfest The Tank Museum is bringing a display of historic armours to show their firepower and give us a taste of the battles that occurred in WW2 with front row seats. Where: Bovington Camp, Wareham When: 17th – 20th September How much: £15 Adult, £9 Child (5-16), £1 Child (Under 5) Contact: 01929 405096 Merry Wives of Windsor The Highcliffe Castle lawns are prepared and eager for another performance to show off their skills and deliver an experience to shatter the lockdown blues. Where: Highcliffe Castle When: 26th August 7pm How much: £15 Adult, £7.50 Child Contact: 01202 093377

Where: Poole, Lighthouse When: Poole, Lighthouse How much: £24.25 Adult, £20.50 U18s Contact: 01202 280000 John Thomas: The Japanese Portfolio of a Victorian Decorator The 160th anniversary of the portfolio of Japanese-inspired prints by John Thomas, the principal decorator of what is now Russel Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, is being celebrated with a selection of sketches on display for the public. Where: Russel Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth When: 18th May – 12th September How much: £7.50 Adult, £4 Child (Under 18) Contact: 01202 128000 Circus of Horrors Celebrating 25 years, the Circus of Horrors will be performing a variety of acts with a rock n roll sound scape that will keep everyone on the edge of their seat and make them fall off with laughter. Over 16s only. Where: Tivoli Theatre, Wimborne When: 21st August How much: £26 Contact: 01202 885566 Bourne Free Pride Weekend Bournemouth’s annual LGBTQ will be taking place in the Triangle this year with more health restrictions and safety measures but still plenty of fun and vibrant colours. Where: The Triangle, Bournemouth When: 20th-21st August How much: Free (Friday) £14 (Saturday) Contact: 01202 287808

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A fresh approach to funerals

Prepaid funeral plans from £2,955

■ Stunning crematorium, air-conditioned ceremony hall and complete funeral home facilities. ■ Set amongst ancient Dorset woodland, we are planting new woodland and encouraging a meadow habitat. ■ Peaceful and unhurried environment with panoramic views of Poole Harbour and the Purbeck hills. ■ At least 90 minute separation between funerals. ■ Funerals available seven days a week with catering and refreshments on-site. To arrange a visit or discuss our prepaid funeral plan options, please call 01202 630111 Randalls Hill, Lytchett Minster BH16 6AN www.harbourview.co.uk

Christchurch and New Milton Ceremony Halls Everything that’s needed for a simple, dignified funeral service

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» Funeral packages from £2,595

01425 629000

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*Subject to health restrictions related to COVID-19.

89-91 Barrack Rd, BH23 2AJ www.tapperfuneralservice.co.uk

BH Living Summer 2021

Articles inside

The Beryl Interview 1: with Cllr Philip Broadhead

BH Living walks

What’s On this Summer

Transport News

Book Review

Interview - David Sidwick

What’s On

Business News

Local News