Local Plan’s consultation published

Dorset Council has finally published a report on public comments from the consultation on the draft Local Plan – but you should carve out a few hours if you want to read it all.

The consultation, held in early 2021, sparked more than 50,000 comments –more than all of the most recent former district and borough local plan consultations combined. One of the most contentious proposals is for a 4,000-home garden community on land north of Dorchester. Thousands of comments poured in about the ‘Norchester’ plan and a campaign group, Save the Area North of Dorchester (STAND) was formed to fight it.

STAND says publication of the report was long overdue. Spokesman

Nigel Kay said: “This hotly-contested proposal attracted so many comments that it gets its own chapter in the report and it runs to 85 pages.

“When you dig below the surface, people are worried sick about the impact of the development on the environment and the county town. The same issues rear their head time and time again: water quality, affordable housing, traffic, health services and schools.”

Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Planning, said: “Officers have given time to every comment that was received during the consultation. We have been given specific details that will help us formulate the plan. We are grateful for everyone who has commented, there are many genuine issues which will be considered going forward.”

The summary can be viewed at dorsetcouncil. gov.uk/planningbuildings-land

The Local Plan will outline the strategy for growth, new homes and infrastructure in Dorset for the next 16 years.

STAND is organising a public meeting at Dorchester Town Hall on Saturday, March 25 at 2.30pm. Speakers from Dorchester Town Council and Wessex Water will be among the contributors. Also taking part in the meeting is Dr Quintin Bradley, Senior Lecturer in Planning and Housing at Leeds Beckett University, who is the author of a new book entitled Property, Planning and Protest. The front cover of the book features a picture of STAND’s Skimmity Ride protest in Dorchester last year.

Dr Bradley said: “It is time that we took seriously the opposition to more urban sprawl in the Dorset countryside.”

Famed music photographer’s limited editions on sale

Clocktower Music on Bridport’s St Michael’s Trading Estate is offering Adrian Boot’s photos.

Adrian, who now lives in Bridport, started as a music photographer in the early 70s. He moved with his wife to Jamaica to teach physics and was captivated by the vibrant music scene there. He began taking photographs of the local musicians including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and the Rolling Stones, who were recording an album there. He met Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records and a big supporter of reggae music. He worked as photographer for Island Records, at Elvis Presley’s Graceland’s visitor centre photographing the archives, was lead photographer on Live Aid, Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 and Roger Waters’ The Wall in Berlin. Adrian has also freelanced for NME, The Times, The Guardian, and The Face. He was staff photographer for The Melody Maker in the mid-1970s just in time for the punk explosion. Adrian’s work has taken him all over the world, from being tour photographer for the Grateful Dead in Egypt to working for the British Council in Iraq and Jordan.

Adrian’s work is in galleries in Japan, Los Angeles, New York and Clocktower in Bridport, from where the sales in January and February have been donated to Bridport’s Community 2020 Skate and Ride indoor skateboard park.