Dorset

The ‘Inspiring Dorset’ launches were held in Weymouth, ‘Primary Futures’ on Wednesday at Holy Trinity School followed by the ‘Secondary Futures’ event held on Thursday at All Saints School.

These events help bridge the gap between young people and businesses in Dorset by bringing the young people together with volunteer employees from businesses all over the county to share their career stories.

Matt Prosser, CEO of the Dorset Council, attended ‘Secondary Futures’ and spoke to the young people about the importance of interacting with businesses and the opportunities that are available to them in Dorset. Matt also joined in with the ‘Speed Career Networking’ part of the event where he shared his career journey, from being in the forces to his current appointment.

Small groups of young people were given six minutes to talk to each volunteer and ask them questions about their job role and career experiences before volunteers switched places, allowing the young people the opportunity to speak to a variety of individuals from different businesses.

Matt Prosser said: “For me it was great to see the enthusiasm from the young people as they think about their futures, but also to meet with the businesses in Dorset who are keen to see the young people stay in Dorset.” Hear more about what Matt had to say about the event

According to research from the Education and Employers charity website, the Inspiring Dorset campaign is having a very positive impact on the young people of Dorset; following activities with Inspiring the Future volunteers, a 78% improvement in students understanding of the value of education and qualifications was recorded and an 83% improvement in understanding the world of work.

Matt also talked about some of the research that was shared at the event in his video; “We heard about how important it is for young people to have interactions with businesses and that those young people who have more interactions with business are more likely to be employed and get a better salary.”

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So the first of March, I woke up and opened my curtains to embrace the first signs of Spring. I then shut them rather sharpish when I’d realised I’d forgotten the builders had started and I was seriously not appropriately attired.

My youngest borrowers are desperate to climb up the scaffolding to talk to the builders so a little talk about how three storeys of scaffolding is a little dangerous will be happening very soon.

A week later excitement has died down and an almost constant chorus of ‘is my room built yet’ starts at 7am. One of my littlies wants an ocean bedroom the other wants a forest, I’m hoping they will chose magnolia so they don’t realise my creative skills are scarce.

Fast forward to the end of March and Ive ordered cast iron radiators that I’m planning to paint/ disguise as part of an ocean and part of a forest.

Interesting discussions have followed the building such as ‘Is this my forever bedroom? ‘ ‘Will you give it to someone else when we are 18?’ ‘If I like my bedroom will I still get to live with dad?’ All highly emotive questions that warrant a well thought out answer. How on earth do you answer such questions without causing more trauma?

We sat down with each of them and explained that yes the bedrooms are for them but it won’t effect what happens with their dad. We drew a picture of two families who love them and are trying hard to work together.

We also tried to dispel the myth that 18 is when you get kicked out. Unfortunately many children in care worry about this but more local authorities are embracing the ‘staying put’ schemes. Hopefully more will follow as most children who have experienced difficult childhoods are not ready to embrace adulthood at 18.

I’m hoping all my children (borrowed and birth) will be staying put to their 40’s so I don’t get empty nest syndrome !

My husband ended the conversation with ‘I lived with my mum until I was 30’ which middle borrower replied to with ‘ yay I can play Lego in my room for ages then’

And so to April, will the bedrooms be finished? I’m not holding my breath.

Find out more about fostering.

The post Builders, bedrooms and birth families – the latest from our foster carer Amanda appeared first on Dorset Council news.

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Dorset Highways will be starting work next week to provide safer access into Borough Gardens from Princes Street.

From Tuesday 23 April, for five weeks, there will be some traffic restrictions while the entrance to Princes Street is narrowed at its junction with Albert Road and a new raised table is installed.

The new raised section of road will slow vehicles and make drivers more aware of pedestrians and cyclists using the busy crossing point.

During the first week of work – from Tuesday 23 April to Tuesday 30 April – Albert Road will be closed to southbound traffic between Top o’ Town Roundabout and Princes Street from 9.30am to 3.30pm each week day.

This will provide a safe working space for the new kerb line to be installed on Albert Road.

Drivers will still be able to travel northbound on Cornwall Road up to Top o’ Town Roundabout.

For the duration of the work, Princes Street will be closed to eastbound vehicles – with drivers needing to enter the road from Trinity Street. Drivers travelling west along the road will still be able to exit onto Albert Road/Top o’ Town.

Matthew Piles, Service Director for Environment, Infrastructure and Economy, said: “These works will provide a safer and more attractive crossing for pedestrians and cyclists using West Walks or the wider cycling network.

“The narrowing of the road should also make crossing it easier for anyone visiting Borough Gardens.”

Pedestrian and cyclist access will always be maintained.

The post Improved access to Borough Gardens in Dorchester appeared first on Dorset Council news.

We’ll be kicking off our annual surface dressing programme in Wareham this year. We couldn’t get to these sites last year due to utility work in the area but – as promised – you’re first on our list this time round.

After surface dressing your road, we hope not to bother you again for another 10 years!

But there are a few things you can to do help us, and yourself:

• please move your car off the road before 9am
• please keep children and pets away – for safety and cleanliness
• please keep to the temporary speed limits and avoid heavy braking to allow the surface to stabilise and ‘bed down’
• check your shoes before entering your car or home
• remove stains promptly with a cleaner for removing bitumen/oil which can be purchased from any motoring store

If a vehicle is left parked on the road, we will tow it away (to avoid it being sprayed black and chipped).

Roads scheduled for surface dressing next week, starting Tuesday 23 April:

• Frome Road
• Hardy Road
• Barnes Road
• Shirley Road
• Stowell Crescent
• Encombe Road
• Causeway Close
• North Causeway
• Sandford Lane
• Johns Road
• Carey Close
• Walls View Road
• West Mill Crescent
• St Mary’s Close
• Wessex Oval

Some sections of West Mill Crescent, Wessex Oval and the Wessex Oval link Road will be left untreated. Due to scheduled SSE cabling work. We will surface dress these ‘bare’ sections during next year’s surface dressing programme.

About the work

Our surface dressing gang is working 9am to 4pm in urban areas and 8am to 4pm in rural areas.

Surface dressing doesn’t take long and the road can be driven on as soon as it’s finished. Depending on the length of the road you live on, the road will be closed for around 1-2 hours while the treatment takes place.

There will be an advisory 20mph speed limit after the work while the loose stones ‘bed down’ into the bitumen. Travelling at this reduced speed will prevent skidding on the loose chippings, help ‘bed down’ the material and will save your paint work!

We sweep the road one to two days after the work to get rid of excess stones.

White lining reinstatement will follow on from this and is generally a week or so later.

Sorry for the inconvenience

We cannot work overnight as surface dressing relies on the evaporation of water from the bitumen binder (glue) for it to set, and it needs traffic to travel on the new surface for it to ‘bed down’ and lock onto the old surface.

We also cannot work in wet weather – any amount of rain or surface water dilutes the bitumen and so doesn’t hold the chippings in place – which is why our surface dressing programme runs from April through to September.

As this treatment is so weather dependent, dates are subject to change.

The post Surface dressing sites – 23 April appeared first on Dorset Council news.

A refurbishment project is well underway at Weymouth Library. Dorset Council is working with partners and other agencies to bring together a range of services and teams into one shared building, as a ‘library and learning centre’. The library building in Great George Street in the town centre is being adapted to offer space for:

• • The town’s library
  • Skills & Learning – the local Adult Learning provider which offers a variety of high quality courses and learning opportunities to the local community and training opportunities to local employers.
  • Community Resource Team (mental health) – part of Weymouth & Portland Community Mental Health Team, who facilitate attendance at a range of social, vocational and educational activities to aid recovery
  • Citizens Advice – providing free, confidential and independent advice to help people overcome their problems.

Work is progressing well and the areas on the first floor are now complete. Some of the new spaces are being used to temporarily house other parts of the library while works continue throughout the rest of the building. The Adult Skills and Learning team will be moving in to the newly created classrooms ready for September.

Citizen’s Advice has moved into the main building and have a presence on the main reception desk. More areas will be dedicated to this service once the ground floor works are complete.

The next phase of works will see the creation of several small meeting/interview rooms, a new helpdesk, and an all-new children’s zone. A dedicated section for young people will include a relaxed environment for study and reading.

So that we cause as little disruption as possible to everyone wanting to use the library while the works are taking place, we’ve had to make a few changes to our usual schedules and use of the space. During the next phase, the children’s zone will be closed from Monday 29 April and will reopen on Thursday 9 May. A limited selection of children’s books will be available during this time, and the Rhyme Time sessions will also be cancelled for this short period.  There will also be a small reduction in the stock of general books, but the more popular titles will remain in place.

Over the next 3 months, new furniture, carpeting and decoration will put the finishing touches to the spaces creating a more vibrant and exciting feel to the library, while at the same time keeping a calming, safe space for everyone to enjoy and learn in.

The benefits of this project will provide easier access to services as they are based in one building, at a central location with good public transport links.

Find out more about the library at www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/libraries.

The post Weymouth library transforming nicely appeared first on Dorset Council news.

The renovation works have been completed on the Grade I listed Kings Statue in Weymouth this week. Our contractors won awards for the work that they carried out on the jubilee clock last year. You can read more about that project here.

The scaffolding will start coming down very soon, and the King will be back on view for all to enjoy.

Sarah Cairns, Dorset Council’s Assistant Head of Assets and Infrastructure, said; “Over 700 hours was spent restoring the structure to its former glory and it’s great to see the King’s Statue looking its best in time for the Summer season.”

Weymouth Town Clerk, Jane Biscombe said; “Thank you to Dorset Council for the time spent in restoring the statue, which both residents and visitors will now get to enjoy. Weymouth beach and the Esplanade are rich in Georgian history, and the King’s statue reminds us all that Weymouth held the title of King George III’s seaside resort of choice for many years, and it remains as popular today as it was with royalty in Georgian times.”

What have we done?

• We have repaired and painted the unicorn. The collar, mane and tail have all been gold leafed.

• The lion has had up to three layers of gold leaf applied as it was quite bare in places.

• The king himself has been completely re-decorated and new gold leaf applied to areas previously gold finish.

• The plinth on the Kings statue has been re-pointed where it was required. The lettering to the main lettering panel has been repainted.

The post Kings statue works complete appeared first on Dorset Council news.

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Dorset Highways’ surface dressing programme gets underway this month – with around 150 roads on the list for treatment.

On Tuesday 23 April, the surface dressing crew of around 20 people, two purpose built chipping spreaders, one spray tanker, six lorries feeding chippings and two suction road sweepers will gather in Wareham to kick-off Dorset Council’s five-month programme of work.

Surface dressing provides a seal against water damage, which is responsible for the freeze/thaw effect that causes potholes, and it restores skid resistance.

Matthew Piles, Service Director for Environment, Infrastructure and Economy, said: “Unfortunately it’s a bit of a misconception that surface dressing is a quick fix or low-quality substitute for surfacing.

“The reality is that this treatment is an ideal way to restore road surfaces where the road is in an otherwise good condition, rather than spending money on resurfacing and removing perfectly healthy layers of road.”

Due to the size of the equipment, and the number of vehicles involved, roads are closed during surface dressing – which takes one to two hours depending on the length of the road – but cars can drive on the surface as soon as the work is finished.

In urban areas, working hours are from 9am to 4pm and 8am to 4pm in rural areas.

Matthew continued: “If you live in Wareham, please look out for our yellow advance warning signs which will tell you the date your road is due to be treated and, if you park on the road, please move your car before 9am to ensure we can complete the work.”

Surface dressing can only be carried out when the road is dry. When it rains, the work must stop – changing dates across the whole programme of work. A weekly list of sites will be published online to ensure residents are kept up-to-date.

The post Surface dressing 2019 kicks-off in Wareham appeared first on Dorset news.

Motcombe Parish Council has submitted a neighbourhood plan to Dorset Council.

Residents set to vote on neighbourhood plan

The plan sets out a range of planning policies including ones that seek to protect and enhance sites that the local community consider important, as well as allocate sites for a limited amount of new development. It has been submitted to Dorset Council to arrange for an independent examiner to assess it.

Dorset Council is required to publicly consult on the plan. The plan, supporting documents, and response form can be accessed online from dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/motcombe-neighbourhood-plan

The plan can also be viewed at Gillingham Library, Chantry Fields, Gillingham and Shaftesbury Library, Bell Street, Shaftesbury during opening hours.

Ed Gerry, Dorset Council Planning Policy Team Leader, said: “Neighbourhood plans are a great way for a community to shape their area. I would encourage people with an interest in the Motcombe area to have their say on the plan before 24 May.”

All comments must be received by 4pm on Friday 24 May 2019.  These will then be sent to the examiner along with the plan.  Depending on the examiner’s report, a referendum will be held for Motcombe residents to decide whether the plan should come into force.

The post Motcombe has chance to shape the future of the area appeared first on Dorset news.

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Today (Tuesday 16 April), parents across the county find out which primary, first, middle or junior school their child will go to in September.

In Dorset, 95% of parents are receiving the good news that their child has a place at their first preference. This includes places for children starting school for the first time in reception, as well as those transferring to middle or junior school.

The school admissions team at Dorset Council processed a total of 5,095 primary and first school applications – including for children living in Christchurch, which is now part of the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council.

Ed Denham, School Place Sufficiency Manager at Dorset Council, said:

“Starting school is an important milestone in a child’s life. We’re really pleased that the majority of parents were offered their first preference. We’ll continue to work with schools to make sure there are enough places in the areas where we need them and wish children the best of luck as they start or move school in September.”

Parents will be contacted by email or post and can also find out the outcome of their application online. Dorset Council will let Christchurch parents know the outcome of their applications for September, but then future school admissions for that area will be handled by BCP Council.

The post Parents offered primary school places for September appeared first on Dorset news.

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