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Notice of Meetings
A meeting of the Policy Committee will take place at 7.00pm on Monday 20 January, 2025, at THE BOROUGH GARDENS HOUSE, Bowling Alley Walk, Dorchester. An agenda for the meeting can be found under the 'Committees' tab of this website.
A meeting of the Dorchester Joint Heritage Committee will take place at 5.30pm on Tuesday 21st January 2025 at BOROUGH GARDENS HOUSE, Bowling Alley Walk, Dorchester. An agenda for the meeting can be found under the Committees tab of this website.
Job Vacancy
The Town Council has a vacancy for a Gardener at its award-winning historic Dorchester Borough Gardens.
The job is a permanent, 37 hour per week and pays a salary of £25,183 to £25,584 per year.
You will contribute to the design, cultivation and planting of seasonal bedding displays. In the absence of the Head Gardener, you will be responsible for the operation of the Gardens. Salary is dependent upon skills and experience. If required, training will be given to enable you to progress to the higher pay band.
You should be an enthusiastic and committed worker who will help to increase colleagues’ skills further. If you want to work in a valued, high-profile location, with the opportunity to further improve and develop the Gardens, yourself and the team, then this is the vacancy for you.
An application form can be downloaded here and a job description and person specification can be downloaded here.
Completed applications should be emailed to tonyhurley@dorchester-tc.gov.uk by no later than 12 noon on Thursday 6 February 2025.
South Street - A Message from The Mayor
The fire at the Gorge Café has caused significant disruption to those traders at the bottom end of South Street and Hardye Arcade.
Safety is, of course, paramount and the need for the extended barriers across the road was demonstrated just recently when the chimney and gable end of the building collapsed in the recent winds.
However, I would urge all parties to act as quickly as possible to complete the structural surveys and remove the debris so as to enable a pedestrian link to be opened up sooner rather than later.
It is vital for those businesses who are unable to access their shops to be able to do so soon, it is vital that those traders in Hardye Arcade can have the boarding removed so as to allow access between South Street and the car park, and it is vital for all of the other shop owners that operate from the bottom of South Street that they are once again connected with the rest of the shopping area.
Councillor Robin Potter
Mayor of Dorchester
Cost of Living Help and Warm Spaces
Information regarding what cost of living help is available can be found here.
Further cost of living advice, with useful links to help access food, financial and housing advice can be found on the Dorset Council website here.
A Dorchester guide to homelessness and community support can be found here.
A list of warm spaces, where you can be assured of a warm and friendly welcome, can be found here.
Dorchester Town Council
We are the parish authority for the county town of Dorset. There has been a history of local government in the town since Anglo Saxon times and Dorchester has been the county town since 1305. It has elected a mayor since 1629. The Town Council was created in 1974.
The town has a population of around 20,000, which continues to grow quickly with the expansion of Dorchester at Poundbury and Brewery Square. The Town Council provides a range of community and recreational facilities, and promotes the town's interests with the other statutory bodies that operate in the town, notably the Dorset Council.
The Town Council has 20 members in five wards, elected for a period of 5 years. Elections to the Town Council took place on 2 May 2024 and the results can be found here.
Mayor of Dorchester
Councillor Robin Potter will serve as Mayor for the Council year to 19 May 2025. Robin will be supported by the Mayoress, Val Potter, and Councillor Janet Hewitt as Deputy Mayor.
Each year the Mayor of Dorchester chooses a charitiy / charities to promote and raise funds for. This year Robin has chosen Dorchester Family Support, which helps support families on low incomes - particularly with free school meal support in holidays and hampers around Christmas time. More information about the cause can be found at www.dorchesterfamilysupport.co.uk
If you would like to invite the Mayor to an event that you are organising please download a Mayoral Engagement form or contact Georgina Wakely, the Mayor's Secretary. The Mayor's chosen charity for the year is Dorchester Family Support.
- Mayor's engagements for the forthcoming week
Watch Robin's Mayor Making Ceremony here