TOP TEN: News items

10 Dorset news items that have hit the headlines in three decades

1. The Wimborne Distributor Road was opened in July 1991.

2. In January 1992, 3,000 people came to look inside the Tivoli cinema which had been closed for 12 years.

3. Charges were introduced in car parks in Wimborne, Ferndown, West Moors and Corfe Mullen on 1 September 1992, and it was announced in December that year that income was better than expected.

4. Boots the Chemist moved into Victoria Road, Ferndown in July 1993, occupying the premises previously occupied by Munns Furniture store.

5. A green box kerbside recycling scheme was launched in Corfe Mullen in 1995 as a pilot scheme.

6. In December 2000 the Government announced proposals for a new bridge in Poole. The Twin Sails Bridge was opened to traffic in April 2012.

Twin sails bridge

7. The foot and mouth crisis was uppermost in people’s minds in March 2001, with the closure of visitor attractions including Moors Valley Country Park.

8. In December 2001, Professor David Bellamy officially opened the East Dorset Heritage Trust in the newly renovated Allendale House in Wimborne.

9. In August 2005, a lorry drove over the centre of the Canford Bottom roundabout and ploughed into All Saints Church, renewing questions about the safety of the roundabout.

10. In July 2009 firefighters battled a major fire in Wimborne which badly damaged The Albion pub, Thomas Cook Travel Agency, Saville Travel and Martin’s newsagents.

Fire devastated Wimborne town centre in 2009. Photo by Nick Barber

A stunning hoarding was erected to distract from the eyesore