Category: Information

Dorset County Council News – Dinah’s Hollow will reopen

A road between Blandford and Shaftesbury that has been closed for two weeks due to a landslip at Melbury Abbas will reopen in the next few weeks.

Dorset County Council and the landowners will start a clear-up operation next week after being given the go ahead from specialist geo-technical engineers, who assessed the site for evidence of further slips.

An estimated 30-50 tonnes of soil slipped from the slopes in the early hours of Wednesday 9 March. The weight of the material displaced concrete barriers that the council had placed along the hollow to protect road users following a report in 2014 that suggested that the slopes were unstable.

Cllr Peter Finney, the council’s Cabinet member for environment, said:

“We are pleased that the concrete barriers did their job and held back the majority of the slippage. And looking at what happened they would have prevented a car being submerged, therefore potentially saving lives.”

“The slip seems to have been caused by water run-off from nearby land. And although we undertook some tree work in the hollow earlier this year, this slip area was not part of this work.”

Since 2014 there have been negotiations with local communities to agree a strategy for stabilising the slopes, maintaining the hollow and keeping the road open to all users.

An advisory, voluntary one-way system for HGVs has been implemented to reduce the possibility of two HGVs passing on some of the narrow parts of both the A350 and C13. This scheme will be enhanced with advisory signs in the next few months.

And discussions are continuing with the Department of Transport, and a delegation of councils looking at the opportunity to upgrade transport links between Poole port and the M4

For more details about Dinah’s Hollow visit www.dorsetforyou.com/dinahs-hollow

Published
Categorised as Information

Free Advanced Driving Lectures

Wednesday 13, 20 and 27 April sees the Institute of Advanced Motorists free lectures commence at 6.45 pm with an 8.45 pm finish. The lectures are being held at Committee Room 1, County Hall, Dorchester DT1 1XJ.  Entry to Committee Room 1 is through the glass doors at Colliton Corner and parking is free.

The lectures, given by a class one civilian ex-police instructor with many years’ experience and a sense of humour, contain information and advice that could save your life.

As we strive to better ourselves at most things in life, why not driving?  No need to book, just come along and bring your friends.

For further information contact Jane Percy on 01305 820963 or secretary@dorsetiam.org.uk.

Do not reply to this message directly. Alternatively, visit the IAM website for more details: http://www.dorsetiam.org.uk/​

Dorset County Council – Review of rural bus services

Dorset County Council needs to reduce the spend on public transport subsidy by £500,000.
The budget reduction will remove subsidy for services that run once or twice a week. Instead, the County Council will support the ongoing development of community-based transport schemes which can meet local needs better than traditional bus services.
A four-week public consultation asking local people how the changes would affect them will start on Monday 11 January.
You can see a list of affected services and have your say about the proposal by completing the survey at –

www.dorsetforyou.com/2016- rural-bus-review

or by picking up a paper copy from any Dorset library, town or parish council offices.

Environment Agency – Groundwater Flooding Information

Have you been affected by groundwater flooding?

The Environment Agency have developed a number of new flood warning areas for communities at risk from groundwater flooding. These complement their existing flood alert areas.

They are working with communities to promote these warning areas and recruit people to sign up for Flood Warnings Direct service.
Please click on the link below to see How can you can sign up to receive these flood warnings?

Environment Agency Groundwater Flood Warning Information January 2016

Living Well Pilot Project

Skills and Learning: Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole are running a Living Well pilot project until the end of March 2016 that allows us to offer FREE courses and workshops.  The focus is on self help, confidence building, lifestyle and employability and could offer you the opportunity to meet new people, learn new skills and develop new interests

Courses and workshops include:

  • Wellbeing Foundation Course – 5 week courses covering:  Connecting to self and others; Taking notice – perception and mindfulness techniques; Keep learning and self management – coping strategies, asking for help; Giving – reconnecting to our values, self compassion.
  • Creative Writing
  • Photography
  • Art and Craft and many more…

The courses are co-designed and co-delivered by peer tutors with experience of mental health problems.  A learner who attend the Positive Impression of Winter workshop said:

“I loved the overall effect of the session. I felt I was in a safe space and was inspired by the tutors and other students.  The course did my heart good on every level.”

You can find out more about the pilot project and see if the courses are right for you by visiting http://www.skillsandlearningbdp.co.uk/living-well/

If you know of someone who may benefit from this pilot project please pass this information onto them.  To enrol, you just need to complete the short application form by clicking here or by calling the Skills and Learning Customer Service Team on 01202 262300.  Every application will have a one-to-one appointment arranged with a Wellbeing Advisor.

Published
Categorised as Information

Temporary closure of Dinahs Hollow, Melbury Abbas – 18th January 2016 for 5 days

DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL has issued a Notice under Section 14 [2] of the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984, as amended. All vehicles will be prohibited from proceeding along Dinah’s Hollow, Melbury Abbas from the junction with B3081, Higher Blandford Road, Cann Common to the junction with West Lane, Melbury Abbas, a distance of approximately 1,000 metres. The Notice is needed in order to comply with Health and Safety Regulations, which require the provision of safe working areas and to minimise the likelihood of danger to Highway Users. It will come into operation on Monday 18 January 2016 for 5 days.

For more information please see the attached notice –

Temp Closure Notice Dinahs Hollow 180116

Dorset Police – Lay Observer Scheme

The Lay Observer Scheme is an opportunity for members of the public to join officers whilst out on patrol and to gain an insight into how the police and partner agencies work to protect communities from threat, risk and harm.

Dorset Police is welcoming more people to take part in the scheme. It is important for the police to understand the communities that they are serving and also for local people to see the kind of incidents police are called to as part of their day-to-day duties.

The scheme has traditionally been used by people who already work closely with the police in their line of work or people who would like a greater understanding of policing before they pursue a career in the service. However, Dorset Police would now like to extend this more widely to other members of the public.

Your chance to join us on patrol

If you are 18 years old or over and have ever wondered what a day in the life of a patrol officer is like, this is your opportunity to experience the problem solving and relationship building work which officers conduct on a daily basis, as well as witnessing response to calls, encounters with the public, and any arrests that are made.

We cannot guarantee what kinds of incidents officers with observers will attend, but you may encounter officers dealing with shop theft, victims and offenders of burglary, vehicle crime, drug warrants and people being stopped and searched.

The Stop and Search procedure may not occur on every occasion when an observer is present, but where it does, it is carried out only in specific circumstances.

The police will not Stop and Search somebody for the benefit of the lay observer. This would likely render the search unlawful and it would be completely against the intention and ethics of the Stop and Search reforms.

Our Stop-Search approach and other street encounters

In April 2015, Dorset Police signed up to the Home Office’s Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme.

The Lay Observer Scheme is open to people who wish to find out more about why and how Stop and Search works. They would also see how this differs to Stop and Account, which is when officers stop someone in a public place and asks them to account for themselves. The individual does not have to answer the officer and can walk away if they choose. The police can also stop a vehicle and ask the driver for their documents, which is different to Stop and Search.

Officers have various ways in which they conduct these kind of activities, which are known as ‘street encounters’. Police officers may Stop and Search someone if they have reasonable grounds to believe they may be able to assist with a police matter. If an individual does not cooperate, they may be arrested.

It is important for the public to be able to see that the police conduct their work around street encounters professionally.

We would particularly welcome observer applications from young people and people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, as these groups are involved in a proportionately high number of encounters, yet often don’t take part in the observer scheme.

The Stop and Search procedure may not occur on every occasion when an observer is present, as it is only carried out in specific circumstances. The police will not Stop and Search somebody for the benefit of the observer, as this would likely make the search unlawful and would be completely against ethics of the Stop and Search reforms.

Feedback will be sought from observers about their time with officers, so that two-way learning can take place.

What do you have to do?

If you are interested in joining an officer on patrol, please click on the link at the bottom of this email and complete the application form.

Observers have to be security vetted, due to the information they may become aware of or what they may see during the observation. This can sometimes take a number of weeks. A member of staff will contact you and inform you of the outcome of the vetting and what happens next.

Scheme participants must also attend a safety briefing prior to going out on patrol. They will have to follow the instructions of the officer they’re accompanying at all times and wear a high visibility observer jacket.

Feedback will be sought from observers about their time with officers, so that two-way learning can take place.

Get involved
If you would like to join officers on a patrol, please complete an application form and return it to your local police station, addressing it to The Governance Team, Bournemouth Police Station or email it to StopSearch@Dorset.pnn.police.uk

For the form follow the link to, ​http://dorset.police.uk/docs/Lay%20Observersation%20Scheme%20Application%20Form.doc

or visit ​http://dorset.police.uk/default.aspx?page=9049 to find out more.

Let us know your thoughts on Twitter by using the hash tag ‪#‎YourView