Home Page
Meetings
Management Committee
A meeting of the Management Committee will be held on Monday, 8 March 2021 at 7pm via the Zoom Video conferencing Platform. An agenda for the meeting, which contains the meeting zoom link, can be found under the 'Committees' tab of this website.
Climate Emergency and Biomass at the Corn Exchange
Useful information regarding the Council's position in respect of climate emergency and the installation of a biomass boiler, to reduce the Council's carbon footprint, in the Corn Exchange can be found by clicking here.
Covid-19 Community Support and Information
For the latest Town Council information please visit and like our Facebook Page
Dorchester Community Support Group
The Dorchester Community Support Group are a trusted group of local volunteers set up to help our local community during lockdown periods. They can carry out shopping trips, pharmacy prescription collections, and can help you get cash from your bank using a secure system that has been set up with the help of the Town Council. The service is for residents who have no other support network. They also have volunteers who can call on you for a chat. To contact the group:
- Call them on 07562 389519
- Email them: dorchestercommunityhelp@gmail.com
- Or visit their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/groups/dorchestersupport
Foodbanks
If you are struggling with paying for food, even just for a short time, we have organisations in Dorchester that want to help you and who can deliver food supplies to you at home.
To get a referral for help, please contact our local Citizens Advice Bureau between 10am-4pm Mon-Friday by: Calling: 0800 144 8848
Or completing an online email form at: https://centraldorsetca.org.uk/contact-dorchester/dorchester-email-form
If you are an organisation that would like to refer people you support to the Dorchester Foodbank or Food Share, please find more information about how their services are working during lockdown here.
Vaccination programme.
The Vaccination Clinics for the Mid-Dorset Primary Care Network, which includes 9 local GP Practices, are starting on Saturday 16 January.
You do not need to contact your GP – they will be in touch when a vaccination slot is available for you.
Please click here to have a look at the patient FAQ’s for further information.
Mental health and well-being
Lockdown is difficult for all of us and some of us need a bit of extra help with our mental well-being. For a list of local and national services, please click here.
Dorchester Town Council would like to thank all of the amazing volunteers who are involved in these and other projects providing essential support at this time.
Useful Links
-
Dorset Volunteer Centre - Advice on volunteering and support
Weymouth Avenue Cricket Pavilion
In a bid to reduce Dorchester Town Council’s carbon footprint we have installed Ground Source Heating and a water bore hole at the Weymouth Avenue Cricket Pavilion.
Our project has been part funded by Low Carbon Dorset as part of the European Regional Development Fund and it increases the capacity of renewable energy deployed in Dorset (output C30) by 15kW. It reduces Dorset’s greenhouse gas emissions (output C34) by 16.5 tCO2e/yr. It reduces the import of primary energy into public buildings (output C32) by 31,700 kWh/yr.
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 2019, - results for each ward.
Mayor of Dorchester
At the Full Council meeting on Monday, 18 May 2020 held online due to the Covid -19 Pandemic, Councillor Richard Biggs was appointed Mayor of Dorchester for a successive year, the first time that this has happened in over 60 years. It was also agreed that Councillor David Taylor would continue in his role as Deputy Mayor.
First elected to the Council in 1993, Richard also previously served on West Dorset District and Dorset County Councils and was elected to the Dorset Council in May 2019. He previously served as Mayor in 1997–98, 2005-06 and 2019-20.
Richard has lived in Dorchester all of his life. He will be supported by his wife, Carolyn as Mayoress. He will look to support local charities working to help recovery and emerging legacy projects, to which underspends from this year’s Civic fund will be added.
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.
- Mayor's engagements for the forthcoming week
Dorchester Town Council Services - Latest Position as from 4 January 2021
Our office at 19 North Square is closed.
The Municipal Buildings including the Corn Exchange is closed until further notice.
Play Areas - the play areas are open. Please maintain social distancing, sanitise your hands, before during and after using the play area. Was your hands for at least 20 seconds when you get home. If the play area is busy please wait or come back another time. Play safe and stay alert to the virus.
The Skatepark - is closed.
Outdoor Gyms and MUGA's - are closed.
Borough Gardens are open. Play area, the refreshment kiosk and kiosk toilets are also open. Borough Gardens House is unavailable to hire until further notice.
Borough Gardens Tennis Courts - are closed.
Allotments - Sites are open. We remind plot holders to social distance and not to use dip tanks to wash hands or items that may be contaminated.
Cemeteries and Burials - Our cemeteries are open.
Government has restricted the number of mourners attending Burials to 10 people, plus Funeral Directors. We appreciate that this will be distressing for the bereaved; once lockdown is over families will have the opportunity of holding another service at the graveside. Funeral Directors will be in touch with families to help make necessary arrangements.
Dorchester's response to the Climate Emergency
The Town Council has recently adopted a Climate Emergency Preliminary Response document, where we describe how we will
- Reduce the use of fossil fuels in our buildings, vehicles and equipment, and also those of our contractors
- Work with our community partners (Sport, Culture, Business, Youth, etc) to reduce their carbon footprints
- Help groups in Dorchester to get climate related messages across to the wider community
We welcome views on the Preliminary Response document and would also welcome the opportunity to discuss our plans with interested groups. If you have any comments please use the Contact Us form at the top of this page.
2019 Events Videos
Video of Thomas Hardy Victorian Fair - 2 June 2019
Video of Heritage Open Day - 15 September 2019
Video of Apollo - One Giant Leap and Moonbury Rings
Video of Health & Wellbeing Picnic - 18 May 2019
Video of Anonymous Festival - 24 August 2019
Video of Plastic Free Picnic - 27 July 2019