Dorset News
The latest Dorset news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Shire Hall Museum Dorchester Closes After 3 Years of Losses
The courtroom where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were tried shut to visitors at 1pm on 8 October. Its accounts show three years of spending over income.
More stories
SEND
Dorset SEND Plan Approved: Grant Due on a £148.8m Deficit
Ministers approved Dorset's SEND plan, so the government will pay 90% of the eligible high needs deficit. The schools fund was £148.8m in the red in March.
Business
New Dorset Businesses: 130 Firms Registered in a Fortnight
130 companies registered in the Dorset Council area from 27 Sept to 10 Oct, from a Dorchester coffee roastery to Weymouth boat charters, plus one liquidation.
Dorset Council
Dorset Council This Week: 828 Homes Back at Committee
Crossways' 500 homes and Chickerell's 328 go back to planning committee on Wednesday, both recommended for approval. Plus an £8.1m overspend forecast.
Buses
Dorset Buses: 700 Extra Weekly Journeys From Summer 2027
Dorset Council has approved a seven-year bus plan: 700 more journeys a week and Saturday buses on every core route from summer 2027. Routes are not named yet.
Charmouth
Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre: Cabinet Backs Inland Move
Charmouth Parish Council will get government money to buy Hensleigh House as a future home for the centre, which erosion is expected to claim by about 2055.
Roadworks
Dorchester Road Weymouth Closed 19 Oct to Christmas
Dorchester Road in Radipole is due to shut from Milton Terrace to Monmouth Avenue from 19 October until Christmas, then go northbound-only to 19 March.
Swanage Railway
Flying Scotsman at Swanage: 5 Running Days and Road Closures
Flying Scotsman hauls Swanage Railway trains on 24, 25, 28 and 29 October and 1 November. Fares from £59.95, display days £29.95, and two road changes planned.
Food hygiene
Dorset Food Hygiene: Wareham Mobile Caterer Rated 1
A Wareham mobile caterer is rated 1 for how it manages food safety. Of 180 Dorset inspections from August and September, 171 scored the top rating of 5.
Weymouth
Weymouth Printer's Asbestos Death: Family Seek Co-Workers
Terry Ridyard died of mesothelioma at 63. His family want to hear from anyone who worked with him at Jeffrey Bros Printers in Maiden Street, Weymouth.
Roadworks
A31 Shuts at Night from 5 October, Bere Regis to the A350
National Highways will close the A31 overnight between Bere Regis and the A350 for about four weeks from 5 October, and for a full weekend from 16 October.
Dorset Council
Dorset Dog Beach Ban to Stay 1 May to 30 Sept, Officers Say
Officers want every Dorset dog rule kept from January 2027 after 5,013 people replied. Seatown Beach split 282 to 280, and the £100 fixed penalty stays.
Books
Golden Magical Ribbon: Dorset author's books for 6 to 9s
Blandford Forum author Debra-Anne Thompson has two Golden Magical Ribbon books out for 6 to 9s, with book three due in October and book four in November.
Weymouth
Weymouth Harbour Fire Exercise: Smoke at North Quay from 6pm
Simulated smoke, fire crews and patrol boats at North Quay Marina from 18:00 on Thursday 24 September. A two hour exercise, and no live fire is used.
Fire
Keel House Fire: £760 Raised by Three Weymouth Appeals
Three people left with nothing by the Keel House fire have opened fundraisers. £760 between them by Wednesday afternoon, in their own words, and how to give.
Transport
Sandbanks Ferry Refit: Last Crossings on 1 November
The chain ferry stops for a planned seven weeks from 2 November for its major refit in Poole and Falmouth. The last sailing leaves Shell Bay at 11.10pm on Sunday 1 November.
House prices
Dorset House Prices: Down £289 in a Year to £325,154
July's average is £325,154, down £289 on a year ago. Flats fell 2.9%, semis rose 1%, and Dorset slid from 196th to 211th of 295 English areas for growth.
Fire
Weymouth Fire: Keel House Flats Evacuated on Dorchester Road
About 30 firefighters tackled the Keel House blaze at its height after a 00:38 call on Sunday. The stop came at 6.19pm, and a fire investigation with police is under way.
Dorset
Dorset Claimant Count 4,900: Under-25s Up 13% in a Year
Dorset's under-25 claimant count rose 13.1% in a year to 990, the highest August figure since 2021, while the 25 to 49 band fell. The county total is 4,900.
Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton Aldi: Council Expert Doubts Impact Data
Dorset Council's retail consultant says the Aldi impact case rests on shopper surveys from 2017, and redoing it could show a bigger hit to the town centre.
Poole
Poole students record Graham Kendrick song in Dorchester
Poole students and young adults with disabilities sang, signed and danced on Joy oh Joy in Dorchester, a song Graham Kendrick wrote for Shaftesbury.
Tourism
Dorset Tourism Awards 2026: The Finalists, Town by Town
Nothe Fort, the Etches Collection and Swanage Carnival make this year's Dorset Tourism Awards finalist list. Winners are named in Bournemouth on 22 October.
Bins
Purbeck bin collection days change from 28 September
Letters are going to 19,000 households served by the Wareham depot, from Swanage to Upton and Bere Regis. No letter means your day stays the same.
Weymouth
Weymouth Water Fest: free beach tasters Saturday 12 Sept
Sea dips, paddleboarding, gig rowing and a surf lifesaving demo, free on Weymouth Beach from 10am to 3pm. The windsurfing Worlds fan zone runs the same day.
Portland
Easton Methodist Church: £1m appeal launch on 23 September
Portland's Grade II* church is no longer fully watertight and is raising £1m for repairs. Doors open 10.30am to noon on Wednesday 23 September, with tours.
Weymouth
iQFOiL Worlds Weymouth: Free Fan Zone Saturday 12 Sept
Up to 250 windsurfers from more than 40 nations are racing off Weymouth and Portland this week. Saturday's free Fan Zone at the Pavilion screens the Medal Series live, with free taster sessions to book.
Housing
Dorset homelessness: £1.1m secured for prevention work
Dorset Council has secured £1.1m of government money for earlier help before people lose their homes, and new accommodation for long-term rough sleepers. The county's main homelessness grant for 2026-27 is £3.4m.
Ferndown
Victoria Road Ferndown revamp starts Monday 7 September
Ten weeks of work on Ferndown's shopping street start 7 September. The road and all shops stay open, with planters, seating and parking changes coming.
Dorset Council
Dorset ward boundaries: 84 councillors, comment by 9 Nov
The Boundary Commission proposes 84 Dorset councillors in 58 wards, with most boundaries changing. Residents have until 9 November 2026 to comment.
Business
New companies in Dorchester: 26 registered in August
A festival company named for the Dorset Ooser, a pizza business, two personal trainers and six building firms are among 26 companies registered in DT1 and DT2 last month.
Energy
Dorset solar scheme: register free by 25 September
Dorset Council's group-buying round with Switch Together is free to join until 25 September, with no obligation. Last year's scheme helped over 200 households cut bills.
Water
Dorset Hosepipe Ban: In Force Unless Bournemouth Bills You
Yes, most of Dorset is under a hosepipe ban: Wessex Water and South West Water. Bournemouth Water has none. The 11 banned uses and the £1,000 fine.
House prices
Dorset house prices: £325,410 average, up 1.6% in a year
The June figure is up £5,187 on a year ago but down on the month, 196th of 295 English areas for growth. Semis and terraces rose 2.6%, flats fell, and the 2022 peak is still £26,717 away.
Arts
Dorset culture fund: £486,000 a year, apply by 5 October
Round 6 of Dorset Council's revenue fund offers museums, theatres and arts groups £5,000 to £50,000 a year to March 2030. 28 organisations hold the current awards; they all run out in March 2027.
Weymouth
Abbotsbury Road Weymouth: 12 Weeks of Lights from 7 Sep
Temporary signals where Abbotsbury Road meets Chickerell Road stay until 27 November. Both roads now shut overnight from 23 to 27 November, not 9 to 16.
Weymouth
Weymouth parkrun off on 22 and 29 August
Two Saturdays cancelled at Lodmoor, reason given as course unsafe or blocked. It follows the four busiest consecutive Saturdays in the event's 602-run history.
Housing
Dorset Housing Register: renew within 20 days or lose it
Miss the 20-day renewal window and your application closes. Half of the 6,921 people on Dorset's housing register have not renewed. New bands start 1 September.
Air Ambulance
Dorset Air Ambulance: name the new helicopter by 25 August
Entries to name Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance's second helicopter close at 23:59 on Tuesday 25 August. The winner gets a behind-the-scenes airbase tour.
Fire
Dorset fire service declares major incident over wildfires
The fire service declared a major incident at 8pm on 13 August, citing the red wildfire alert and 277 outdoor fires in July. What is banned, and what to do.
Roads
Weymouth Esplanade to close overnight from 28 September
Dorset Council will shut the Esplanade 8pm to 6am from 28 September to 17 October for resurfacing, with Wessex Roundabout to follow. The full autumn list.
Business
Weymouth Bay Coffee Co at Lodmoor goes into liquidation
The company behind the Lodmoor Country Park cafe entered creditors' voluntary liquidation on 20 July. Who to contact if the Weymouth cafe owes you money.