Posts tagged “Bridport Town Hall”
February 2, 2012

Bridport by Night: An alternative tourism video by Stephen Banks

So, it has been over a week since I uploaded my ‘labour of love’, Bridport by Night, to YouTube. The video really took off in the first four days, accumulating some 8,000 views in that period alone. Hits from technology site Gizmodo and Anglotopia helped it along its way, but the majority of views were picked up by an organic sharing frenzy on Facebook and Twitter.

Throughout last week, I had people who I didn’t know from the local area following me on Twitter and adding me on Facebook. Many of them commented expressing their praise for the video. To date, the video on YouTube has had about 75 comments (and the same number of replies by me), 206 likes and 2 dislikes – a comment reading “Two dislikes for this video? The pair of you: YOU ARE DEAD INSIDE” made me chuckle.

Interest has died down at the moment. A few people have quietly complained about how much I was mouthing off about it, so I haven’t been sharing it around so much. But the other night, ITV West Country Tonight came to West Bay and filmed me for a piece they are running. And this Saturday, the film is being shown at the Bridport Arts Centre as part of a Spirit of Bridport event.

My target number of views for the video is 12,977 (which is Wikipedia‘s listed population for Bridport). It should soon surpass that. I already have plans to make a second, improved version of the video. Difficult second album?
August 27, 2011 1 Comment

Bridport Town Hall’s golden weathervane restored

The golden weathervane on top of Bridport Town Hall, regilded in 2011 by Bridport artist Jemma Thompson, pictured on the right.

YOU'RE SO VANE: The weathervane on top of Bridport Town Hall, resplendent in its new coat of gold. Bridport artist Jemma Thompson is pictured right.

THE WEATHERVANE on top of Bridport Town Hall has been re-gilded – and very fine it looks too.

Bridport artist Jemma Thompson applied sheet gold in her studio on St Michael’s trading estate in the South West Quadrant.

The weathervane is much bigger – and heavier – than it looks from down on the ground.

It’s 2.4 metres long and is made from lead and copper, so it weighs around 100kg.

It took 10 men to get it back up on top of the Town Hall’s cupola.

Bob Gillis, clerk to Bridport Town Council, said: “The dome of the cupola has also been cleaned and the columns repainted. The clock face and surrounding slates are now being repaired and restored and as work is completed from the top down we will be lowering the scaffolding.” 

The weathervane and cupola on top of Bridport Town Hall before re-gilding and restoration, with a view over the town towards the West Dorset countryside.

LACKLUSTRE: Bridport Town Hall weathervane and cupola before re-gilding and restoration.

Bridport Town Hall is being restored as part of a £1.2 million Heritage and Conservation Project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Bridport Town Council, Dorset County Council, and West Dorset District Council.

Weathervane was stuck in Somerset cart wheel hub

Bridport Town Hall is Grade 1 Listed but that doesn’t mean it was constructed with impeccable skills and materials first time round.

I was talking about it in The Loders Arms the other evening to structural engineer Simon Brody of Brody Forbes Partnership in West Bay.

He was saying that a key part of the structure supporting the weathervane (the bit the pole was stuck into, in very non-technical terms) had been found to be the hub of an old Somerset cart wheel. He knew it was Somerset because there was a name inscribed which he’d traced back as far as 1823.

Mr Brody wondered whether a cart had come down from somewhere like Taunton or Shepton Mallett and broken down and, rather than try to repair it, they’d salvaged the wheel hub for re-use.

And you have to say: it may have been improvised back in the 19th century, but no one could say that it hadn’t lasted, given that it’s now 2011.

Editor’s Note: Jemma Thompson also gilded the fine golden bull hanging outside The Bull Hotel in Bridport. Pretty cool to have two gold artefacts in Bridport town centre. I can only think of the King George III statue in (say) Weymouth. The statue’s mason, incidentally, was James Hamilton – who also worked on Bridport Town Hall…
November 10, 2010 1 Comment

Memories wanted of Bridport Town Hall

We are looking for personal stories about the Town Hall – maybe an event you attended, a remembered detail that’s been replaced, something that happened in the centre of town. Also we would love to see your old photographs or other related items. Unless we capture and collect this information now it will be lost forever.
May 24, 2010

New Bridport waste transfer station planned for Autumn 2013

SO, in the end, after flocking in at the rate of two a minute, more than 400 people went to  Bridport Town Hall to discuss the seven sites short-listed for a new waste management centre in the Bridport area.

Dorset County Council’s exhibition about the sites answered some urgent questions, but raised others.

  • THE MUNICIPAL SEVEN
  • From west to east:  Miles Cross 1, Miles Cross 2, Eype Junction, Broomhills Farm, Gore Cross, Green Lane Nursery, Lilac Farm

For example, Steve Burdis, the council’s head of waste management, was able to explain to some people precisely what a waste transfer station is. In particular – and to paraphrase – it is not just another name for a landfill site with endless swarms of swooping gulls eager for tasty crud.

Mr Burdis showed visitors on the second day of the exhibition a picture of a new waste management centre in Whitchurch in Shropshire, which he oversaw before moving to Dorset.

I asked him for a copy of this picture and here it is.

This waste management centre in Whitchurch, Shropshire combines a Household Recycling Centre and transfer and recyclate bulking station similar to that proposed for Bridport. It is hoped by Dorset County Council that the Bridport facility will also include vehicle parking and depot.

It’s worth peering at closely. You might note, for example, how enclosed the main building is; how close it is to the homes just over from the thread of the railway line, between the trees; how much bigger it is than the current Household Recycling Centre (HRC) in South Street, Bridport.

A post-exhibition statement issued by Dorset County Council about this HRC said that residents were curious to know its fate. It only has planning permission until August 31, 2010.

What will happen if it’s forced to close? Especially as a new centre won’t be operational until Autumn 2013 - if everything goes to plan. 

The official answer:

“The county council will be submitting a planning application to extend the temporary consent for the HRC for a further three years.

“It is hoped planning permission will be determined during the summer but if not, the site will remain open until a decision has been made.

“In the event that planning permission is not granted, the county council is currently looking at interim solutions to help minimise the disruption and inconvenience to residents should the site have to close.”

Robert Gould, Dorset County Council’s Cabinet member for the environment, commented on another issue.

“Feedback on Friday suggested people would have liked to have seen road design layouts for the seven sites. These are a currently in draft format and more detailed work will be undertaken once a site has been selected.

“However, we displayed the drafts on Saturday and we will also arrange for them to be available on dorsetforyou.com shortly along with the information boards displayed at the exhibition.”

The information boards were useful, in showing for example an aerial view of the location of Lilac Farm, east of Bridport and just north of the A35 on the so-called Walditch Plain. 

Mr Gould went on: “We welcome the comments received and the feedback forms will be reviewed over the coming weeks and incorporated into the Stage 2 report due for completion during the summer.

“For those that took a form away the deadline for responses is 28 May 2010.”

The findings of the Stage 2 report will be presented to county council cabinet members this summer. They will decide which site should seek to advance through the planning system.

This is the timetable. Remember that people can comment on planning applications.

  • Early Summer 2010, Stage 2 Report completed
  • Early Summer 2010, Planning application submitted for a temporary extension to the South Street HRC
  • Summer 2010, The Cabinet decides which site is to be progressed
  • August 2010, Existing planning consent expires on the South Street HRC
  • Summer 2011, Application submitted for preferred site
  • Winter 2011, Planning permission granted
  • Spring 2012, Works begin on site
  • Autumn 2013, Works completed and site operational

For further information from the county council visit www.dorsetforyou.com/westwasteplan

Related posts

- Six sites shortlisted, including one near the Eype picnic area

- Leading councillor Ronald Coatsworth gores Dorset County Council 

- Pressure group NOWTS speaks out 

- Well-known Bridport green Leon Edwards calls for leadership and action 

- Steve Spear of NOWTS responds to Leon Edwards

-  Bridport: Has a site finally been found for a new waste transfer station?

- Bridport waste transfer exhibition: NOWTS’ view – “It’s endgame time” 

- Two visitors a minute at Bridport waste transfer show
May 22, 2010 1 Comment

Two visitors a minute at Bridport waste transfer show

HUNDREDS of people from the Bridport area have been shunning the hot weather in favour of such hot topics as vermin, odour, traffic, planning context, and nature conservation.

Yes, Dorset County Council’s exhibition about possible sites for the future location of Bridport’s waste management facility has been pulling in the crowds.

The show in Bridport Town Hall attracted about 230 people on Friday afternoon, and this morning they were trooping in at the rate of two a minute.

Seven possible sites are being considered for an urgently-needed, updated replacement for the Household Recycling Centre in South Street, Bridport. They are: Gore Cross on the A3066 just north of Bridport, and then six sites off the A35 - two near Miles Cross to the west of Bridport, Eype Junction (near the picnic area), Broomhills Farm, then – keeping going east – Green Lane Nursery and Lilac Farm on the so-called Walditch Plain.

Steve Burdis, Dorset County Council’s head of waste management, said he was pleased the open days were being so well-attended.

“We very much welcome the feedback we are getting, which will all be taken into account when we make our recommendations as part of the Stage 2 report.”