I am so incensed after returning from a public meeting about street lighting in Dorset. No. I’m more than incensed. I’m bloody incandescent.
How can it be, in these days of so-called people power, that Dorset is under the threat of being changed for ever?
Posts from the “Beaminster” Category
A lollipop lady’s wage is in the region of £3,200 per year. New council offices cost millions. Where would you rather your local taxes went?
A NEW service from the British Library allows users to search through an online map of Dorset for old recordings of songs and stories.
THE ARCHITECTURAL Association’s biggest ever legacy will help to fund new buildings and a new MA course at Hooke Park College near Beaminster.
A FILM about Beaminster’s renowned furniture maker John Makepeace has been produced to celebrate his 50 years at the forefront of British design.
I WAS thinking the other day about Colin Varndell, because I was trying to draw up a list in my head of excellent West Dorset people and organisations.
By excellent, I mean almost gratuitously obsessed with quality, and with the means and the skill to produce superb results.
The first individuals that came to mind were the West Bexington chilli growers Michael and Joy Michaud, the Beaminster furniture maker John Makepeace, the Bridport tiler Tony Bird of ASB Tiling, the West Milton cider maker Nick Poole, and the Netherbury wildlife photographer Colin Varndell.
Then I got distracted, and forgot all about it, until Dorset Wildlife Trust sent me some images from their new 2011 calendar, all given by Colin Varndell, and all – you guessed it – excellent. Really tremendous. See:
Dormouse, hibernating: January's image on Dorset Wildlife Trust's new calendar Wildlife Encounters. Copyright Colin Varndell.
Nuthatch, February's image on Dorset Wildlife Trust's 2011 calendar. Copyright Colin Varndell.
Otter: Pictured for September 2011 on Dorset Wildlife Trust's new calendar Wildlife Encounters. Copyright Colin Varndell.
Mr Varndell is a long-standing member and supporter of Dorset Wildlife Trust. He said: “Dorset is one of the richest counties for wildlife in Britain. If it is to remain so, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us, as custodians of this natural heritage, to protect, preserve and improve it for future generations. We can all help to achieve this by supporting the Dorset Wildlife Trust.”
In other words, and entirely reasonably, given his own generosity in supplying pictures, he wants people to buy the Trust’s new calendar.
Myself, I think that’s an excellent idea.
The calendar is called Wildlife Encounters and it costs £5. It’s available from Dorset Wildlife Trust at www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/calendar or call 01305 264620.
It’s also stocked by most Dorset Tourist Information Centres, including Bridport, Dorchester, Shaftesbury, Wareham and Wimborne.
PLANS to rebuild Bridport’s Mountjoy School in Beaminster have been submitted by Dorset County Council.
The county council wants to move the special school on to land next to Beaminster Technology College (BTC).
A national schools adjudicator gave his approval for the idea last year, and last month county council cabinet members agreed a budget of just under £9 million for the project.
If planning permission is granted, work could start next spring and a new Mountjoy could open in autumn 2012.
The aim is to serve 48 pupils with physical and learning disabilities, aged from two-and-a-half to 19.
BTC and Mountjoy would remain separate establishments, but the county council argues that Beaminster would benefit from improved sporting facilities, such as a new synthetic pitch, and alterations.
Changes would include new car parking facilities for Beaminster staff, which would be accessed from Tunnel Road, and should therefore reduce traffic along Fleet Street. An improved footpath would also link the schools with the town centre.
Answers to frequently asked questions about the scheme are available online at http://www.dorsetforyou.com/mountjoyschool
Full details of the application will be viewable later this week at http://www.dorsetforyou.com/planning
Search under the town name of Beaminster.
Editor’s Note: Based on a press release issued by Dorset County Council. I’ll update this piece when the planning application can be seen online.