Free school uniform exchange, new traders in 1855 and big winter plans!

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20 October 2023

Pauline Batstone shares her monthly round up of what’s happening among the town’s collection of community enterprises and events

Autumn is gently creeping up on us – pop into The Boutique and browse through our seasonal preloved offerings, find some new-to-you cosy goodies! There are new opening hours from Monday 2nd October – 10-4pm, Monday to Saturday.

The FREE school uniform exchange inside the old Barclays Bank

The Furniture Warehouse is now open every Monday from 10am to 4pm, and Fridays from 1pm to 5pm. At other times please do enquire in The Emporium.
And that means our Uniform Hub is also open; please come and see what we can help you with – for free! – plus bring along your outgrown items.
Meanwhile the Emporium and the Art Gallery continue to surprise and delight with a wide range of collectables, and all the things you never knew you wanted … till you wandered in. While you’re browsing, do your bit to help prevent food waste by checking out what is in our Community Fridge – the contents are free to all.

The eclectic shopping experience at 1855 continues to change and grow, with new traders joining. Recently we have welcomed Whimsical Creations who creates bespoke handmade baby clothes, and Cradle to Grave with an amazing collection of hand-woven wicker baskets, trugs and more. The Curtain Man has added trinket trays & bags to its range of cushions, runners, aprons & wall hangings, and Forager Spirit has restocked its range of amazing liqueurs. 1855 is open six days a week from 10am to 5pm
There is a food tasting pop up with our traders on the morning of Saturday 7th October – pop in and have a taste!

Preloved items for the new cooler season at The Boutique

Meanwhile …
SturAction is initiating and funding the revival of a Sturminster Newton Welcome Pack for those moving to our area
SturAction is introducing new Stur Ambassadors. It’s a project which has worked well in other local towns, ensuring that on days when events are taking place in town there will be highly-visible ambassadors available to welcome and help visitors. Volunteers welcome!
If you missed the opportunity to attend The Big Stur Welcome this week, why not take a stroll to the Stour Connect Community Celebration this month? It’s on Saturday 28th October (10am to 3pm) at Stour Connect on Bath Road.

Inside 1855 in Sturminster Newton, the town’s artisan bank with more than 70 traders

Halloween fun – there will be a window Halloween Quiz through the town this month – keep your eyes peeled!
Working with the Vale Pantry, The Exchange, Sturminster Newton Library and 1855, SturAction hopes to have a full Halloween programme of events to attract visitors and shoppers to town on Saturday 28th October.
The Car and Bike Enthusiasts plan to meet (weather dependent) tomorrow, 7th October.
Free town parking has been organised by SturAction for the following days and events: • Saturday 25th November (Christmas Tree Switch On)

Saturday 2nd December (Small Business Saturday)
Saturday 9th December
Saturday 16th December
Saturday 23rd December
A Make Stur Sparkle programme will list all events and activities taking place locally throughout the festive season. Printed copies (funded by SturAction) will be distributed around town for people to pick up. More information about this and other Christmas events planned will be shared nearer the time.
And finally, the Late Night Shopping event will take place on Friday 24th November (5pm to 8pm).

Volunteers wanted!
We can always use a new pair of hands to join our family of happy people. We can use your skills in different ways, it’s not just about serving in a shop. Just ask in The Emporium or the Boutique, or email Jacqui on
[email protected]

Local firm triumph at prestigious RIDBA awards

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Editorial team

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20 October 2023

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Tom Rose, MD, and Nick De Mello (Draughtsman) at the RIDBA awards

Local construction firm Rose Engineering achieved remarkable success at the Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association (RIDBA) Awards in September. Held in Cambridge, the event brought together construction firms from across the UK to celebrate excellence in the industry.
Despite facing fierce competition from much larger construction firms nationwide, Rose Engineering emerged victorious, clinching not only the Commercial Building category but also the prestigious Overall Winners title – an impressive achievement for any small rural business. The award-winning Commercial Building project – a new Workshop building for Chris Cox of CJ Cox Ltd, local agricultural engineers – garnered praise for its successful blend of traditional agricultural building elements and contemporary commercial design, showcasing excellent workmanship.
Tom Rose, Managing Director, says, ‘We are thrilled to have won the Commercial Award and to be named Overall Winners. Our collaboration with Chris Cox, who had a clear vision for the project, allowed us to fulfill our commitment to clients. We take immense pride in our small Dorset-based business.’
With over 37 years of experience in constructing agricultural and industrial buildings, Rose Engineering places a strong emphasis on quality and excellence. Operating throughout the Southwest, they handle a diverse range of projects, from cattle sheds to commercial units and offices. This year has been exceptionally busy for the company, marking a period of continued growth and recognition.
Anita Beaumont, Finance and Marketing, says, ‘This national recognition was a significant achievement for us – being Overall Winners was a delightful surprise. It reflects the hard work of our entire team.’

RIDBA is the leading trade association for the modern agriculture and industrial buildings industry in the UK.

Hedgerows – overlooked climate heroes

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20 October 2023

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Celebrating a campaign win, Rupert Hardy, Chair of North Dorset CPRE, says the government are finally planting 45,000 miles of hedges by 2050

Dorset’s hedgerow-woven landscape from Bulbarrow Hill, looking across the Blackmore Vale
Image: Laura Hitchcock

In recent years we have written extensively about the importance of hedgerows in both offsetting climate change through carbon sequestration, and improving biodiversity. I can report back that CPRE’s campaigning has had considerable success. Our campaigning started way back in the 1970s with a call for legislation to support hedgerow retention, management and protection. More recently we welcomed the government’s Committee on Climate Change Report in 2019, which called for a 40 per cent extension of the UK’s hedgerows. Sadly the government did little to implement this in its 2021 action plan. CPRE therefore set out to promote this instead, proposing a target of 40 per cent by 2050, with the campaign called #40by50.

Volunteers planting a hedge in Dorset. Image: Ian Duckworth

How far we’ve come
We then worked with Farmers Weekly last year to engage with farmers who wanted to be involved in our hedgerow management survey, receiving more than 1,100 responses. The results of the survey are found in our report “Farming and hedgerows: stretching the boundaries” and were launched in the House of Lords last December.
Key findings were that 86 per cent of farmers say that hedgerows are important to them, while 70 per cent of respondents cited the lack of funding as the biggest obstacle to planting and maintaining hedgerows. There was overwhelming support for a new government target of 40 per cent more hedgerows by 2050.
We followed this up with a hedgerow petition, which called on the government to commit to planting thousands of miles of hedges across the country, and this reached over 49,000 signatures at the end of 2022. This January the government finally announced plans to create or restore 45,000 miles of hedgerow by 2050, and committed to almost doubling payment rates for new hedges – but these are still modest. In recognition, our hedgerow campaign was awarded first prize in the Animals and Environment category at the 2023 Charity Awards. Hurrah!

Waiting on ELMS
The Environmental Land Management Scheme – ELMS – sounds a mouthful and is also proving difficult to design and administer. It promises farmers public money for public goods, and is the post-Brexit farming payments programme. But since late 2022 they have been under review – in particular farmers are looking for better guidance, as well as more generous payments, on hedgerows, which DEFRA promises soon.

Great Big Dorset Hedge Project
Hedgerows have been a defining attribute of the pastoral landscape of the Blackmore Vale – remembered as the ‘Vale of the Little Dairies’ in Thomas Hardy’s books. With its irregular patchwork of small fields divided by ancient hedgerows, there is lots to do right here and elsewhere in Dorset.
More than two years ago CPRE initiated the Hedgerow Heroes Project with the aim of reinstating at least 15km of hedgerows. Dorset CPRE was also involved with CPRE Hampshire in the planting of 1.7 km of new hedgerow and 1.3 km of existing hedgerow on the Hinton Admiral estate. Our more recent focus has been on the Great Big Dorset Hedge (GBDH) project, conceived by Dorset Climate Action Network and involving CPRE volunteers, which has caught a lot of media attention.
The key driving force behind GBDH has been John Calder, a farmer near Charmouth who has designed hedgerow surveys on the major trails that traverse our county, especially the Jubilee and the Wessex Ridgeway Trails.
The mission has now become the restoration and extension of hedgerows the length and breadth of Dorset.
Volunteers are trained up on the public trails and are then invited to do ‘across farm’ surveys on individual private farms. Many farmers are unaware of the state of their hedgerows – or how best to restore them.
In the first year 150 volunteers have been involved, and of these 90 have done three or more surveys. So far 120km of public trail hedgerows have been surveyed and 80 km of ‘across farm’ ones, but mostly in West Dorset. Data collected is added to a geographic information system (GIS) to help identify hedges already surveyed and highlight opportunities for rejuvenation or planting. Impressive – but there is still a long way to go, especially elsewhere in Dorset.
The survey volunteers are there but John needs more help administering and mapping the scheme, and he is hopeful that Dorset Council will step in. Dorset CPRE has just received £5,000 from the Hedgerow Heroes Funder in recognition of the ambition and potential of the GBDH project.

The view of the iconic landscape from the Dorsetshire Gap
Image: Laura Hitchcock

What You Can Do to Help:
Join other GBDH volunteers on future surveys – visit www.dorsetcan.org/hedge/.
Plant a new hedgerow in your own garden if space allows. Plant trees too, of course, but hedgerows provide higher rates of carbon sequestration and are better for biodiversity.
Let existing hedges grow wider and taller, and restrain urges to trim them regularly! Hedges should not be cut every year, as flower buds often form on second-year growth. Think of all those small mammals and birds you will be helping.
For advice on hedgerow management for wildlife, see this guide from The Wildlife Trusts.
John likes George Eustace’s quote “Hedgerows are the most important ecological building block in the farmed landscape”. Perhaps above all, just remember that!

Cook Required | Messums West

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Editorial team

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19 October 2023

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Fantastic opportunity for an experienced cook to come and join our growing team here at Messums West.
Our seasonal menu, sourced with ingredients from local suppliers, serves predominantly plant based lunches on Saturday and Sundays.

Approximately 20 hours work a week with additional hours available for occasional events.

Wonderful working environment and friendly team.

Applicants must have a passion for food and the arts!

For more information and to apply, please email: [email protected]

ICT Engineer | Milton Abbey School

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Editorial team

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19 October 2023

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Full Time

Milton Abbey is a small independent day and boarding school. We are seeking an experienced ICT Engineer to work within our busy and friendly ICT Department. The successful candidate will work 40 hours a week year-round Monday to Friday.

The successful candidate must have 3rd line technical support experience in Microsoft Server technologies and administering Microsoft 365 cloud services.

Excellent customer service focus is very important. Self-paced training resources will be available to enhance skills. Staff also benefit from 25 days annual holiday plus bank holidays, free parking, free refreshments and three course hot lunch during term time.

Further details may be obtained from our website or from HR on 01258 882306 or email [email protected]. Applications must be submitted on the school’s application form. The closing date for applications is Monday 13th November 2023. Please note that we are not accepting applications for this position through any employment agency and all applications should be made direct to the school.

Milton Abbey School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The appointment will be the subject of an enhanced disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Please note that our school is a no smoking site.

www.miltonabbey.co.uk Registered Charity No 306318

Navigating the car-buying process

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19 October 2023

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A local expert from Citizen’s Advice provides timely tips on consumer issues.

Q: ‘I need a new car for work. I’ve been looking at second-hand options, but I’ve heard horror stories about people buying cars that turn out to be faulty. How can I make sure I don’t buy a dud?’

A: A car is a major purchase , and the buying process can seem daunting. But the Citizens Advice website has lots of information on what you should do when buying a car – and also on what you can do afterwards if something does go wrong.
If you’re buying from a trader, choose one with an established name and a good reputation. Ideally, they will be part of a trade association or follow the industry’s code of practice. It’s much riskier to buy via an auction as you’ll have fewer legal protections – be sure to read the terms and conditions very carefully before you bid.

Do your checks
If you buy from a private seller, try to inspect the car at the owner’s home address. Make sure the car’s details are correct by using the DVLA’s free online vehicle information checker. You’ll need the registration number, MOT test number, mileage and make/model of the car. Also, check the car’s MOT history on gov.uk. Keep a copy of these results as well as the original advert or description of the car. You might also consider getting a private history check to see if the car’s been reported stolen, still has money owing on it or has been in a serious crash. This will cost about £20.

The car
Check if the car meets emissions standards to avoid paying extra charges when driving through clean air zones. Always inspect the car before buying, preferably during the day when it’s not raining and, if you have the appropriate insurance, take it for a test drive for at least 15 minutes. Once you’ve decided on a car, don’t be afraid to negotiate on the price.
If you take out a loan or finance, make sure you can afford the repayments over the lifetime of the contract. Note that if you pay with cash, you have fewer protections.

If, despite doing all these checks, you find something wrong with the car after you’ve bought it, you may have a legal right to a repair, the cost of a repair or some money back – but it’s on a case-by-case basis.
For more information, check out the Citizens Advice website or call its consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.

Just chuck it out the window! It’ll be fine

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Editorial team

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19 October 2023

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A casual toss of an innocent apple core may be having unintended consequences, says resident wildlife columnist Jane Adams

Comma butterfly enjoying a rotting apple in some autumnal sunshine.
Image: Jane Adams

Have you ever noticed apple trees growing at the side of the road? Weighed down by ripe fruits, these wayside trees are especially conspicuous in October and November at the side of A-roads. Until recently – and probably rather naively – I’d never really considered their origins. Then, it hit me. Apple cores!
It’s funny how none of us would ever dream of throwing litter from our cars. But haven’t most of us lobbed an apple core from our car, saying, ‘it’s fine, it will rot down’?
I know I have.

Slack-ma-girdle
Cider apple orchards once covered more than 10,000 acres in Dorset. Sadly, they are now
few and far between, along with Buttery d’Or and Slack-ma-girdle – just two of the many traditional Dorset cider-making apple varieties. Gone too are some of the wild animals that in turn depended on this important habitat – birds like the lesser spotted woodpecker, that nests in old apple trees and is no bigger than a house sparrow; or the iridescent-green noble chafer beetle, whose larvae feed on decaying fruit wood. Both are now incredibly rare nationwide.
Which is why our own garden fruit trees are so important. Your old apple tree might not be fruiting quite as well as it used to, but don’t cut it down. Could you donate some of its less-than-perfect fruit to wildlife or its rotten trunk to beetles?
On sunny, warm days, red admiral and peacock butterflies love to gorge on the sugars from fallen apples before they go into hibernation.
Then, as the weather cools, the hungry blackcaps, song thrushes, blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares will move in to hoover up any leftovers, while tits enjoy the insects that also call the rotting fruit home.
And what about that discarded apple core? Will it do any harm? Some scientists think it will. Research in Scotland shows that crab apples (our only wild apple species, and often found at the side of roads) have hybridised with apple core-thrown trees, especially in more populated areas, lessening the crab apple’s genetic purity. Here in Dorset, it might already be too late. Most of our ‘wild’ crab apples may already be
hybrids. It’s a sobering thought.

Blue tit enjoying the insects within a rotting apple

Recognising apples:
Crab apple
Our only common wild variety of apple. Two inches in diameter or less and sour to taste. Good for making crab apple jelly, but best left to the wildlife.
Cultivated apples
Mostly grown from a cutting from the desired apple variety, of which there are more than 7,000 worldwide (eg Granny Smith) which is then grafted (attached) to a vigorous rootstock to produce a healthy identical apple.
Wayside apple trees
Grown from the pips of the original apple variety (eg Granny Smith) but not identical to the fruit they came from. Some make good eaters/cookers, but they are usually best left to the wildlife and admired from the car.

Quite a year for Love Local Trust Local

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18 October 2023

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As the Love Local Trust Local Awards plan a new season, founder Barbara Cossins looks back at how far they’ve come already

I can’t believe where the year has gone! It’s been a while, so a quick recap on the past year seems in order … In February we had our amazing Love Local Trust Local (LLTL) award ceremony at Kingston Maurward – Dorset’s own agricultural college. The beautiful setting of the Grade II listed Georgian country house created an amazing atmosphere to celebrate the achievements of all our entrants.
In June, we held the Open Farm Sunday event at Rawston Farm, where all hands were needed to help spread the word of what is being grown, produced, caught, reared, brewed, crafted, and cooked here in Dorset.
Education is key – people need to know what is growing, how it is grown and what it is turned into for them to eat and drink.
We were thrilled that so many of our Love Local Trust Local sponsors and winners came to help us and to showcase what they are producing (we could not have done it without you all, thank you!).

Love Local Trust Local 2024
A lot has been going on behind the scenes since the 2022 awards finished. We have been revamping our website – due to launch this autumn – which will become our information hub for all things Love Local Trust Local, so everyone can find out what we do, who we support and who is supporting us.
Our directory section will make it easy to find and connect with local producers who share our ethos and support our brand, and we are relaunching our membership and sponsorship packages so that we have something to offer every business and producer, no matter their size.
We are totally self-funded, other than the support of our sponsors for the awards, so we have been working hard to earn some grants to help us achieve our goals and mission.
We have been interviewed by Woman’s Own magazine about food labelling and its misuse – it is great that they want to hear about what we are doing with the label. It’s always heartening to hear feedback about our articles and that our message is resonating with the public, considering everything that is going on in the world right now. We were absolutely thrilled to hear that in August, 110 MPs signed an open letter calling for supermarkets to add ‘Buy British’ tabs to their websites.
We set up our label in 2018 to fight against the corruption of food labelling – it felt as though there was no voice for UK farmers, growers and producers. This is a great step forwards for British food!
While all the planning has been going on, we have been continuing to support our 2022 and all previous winners and sponsors through our social media channels.
In March 2024 entries will open for the 2024 Love Local Trust Local Awards. We cannot wait to share with everybody what is planned and how you can get involved. Exciting times are ahead for the Love Local Trust Local brand, and we would love you to join us! We will keep you updated on our progress.

Recordbreaking £26k raised by Hatch House Event!

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Editorial team

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18 October 2023

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The annual Open Garden event at Hatch House last month broke a new record, raising a grand total of more than £26,000 for Salisbury Hospice Charity.
Visitors eagerly lined up, waiting for the garden gates to open. They explored an array of stalls offering vintage clothing, collectibles, books, hats, shoes, and more. The glorious weather complemented the garden’s bloom, providing a picturesque backdrop for attendees to enjoy the scenery, unwind in the
17th-century walled Dutch garden with Pimms, savour barbecue from Compton McRae, and delight in the music of local vocalist Charlie Greenwood.
Sir Henry and Lady Rumbold expressed their absolute delight at achieving a new fundraising record this year, with lady Rumbold admitting she was ‘..struck dumb by the generosity of everyone giving their time, the most precious of all things.’
They conveyed their heartfelt gratitude to the team at Salisbury Hospice, and the volunteers and the Tisbury Committee for their relentless efforts that contributed to the Open Garden’s resounding success. They also extended their thanks to everyone who generously donated items for sale and to the numerous visitors who attended the event.
Tamsin Murley, Community Fundraiser for Salisbury Hospice, said: ‘The continued support shown by Sir Henry and Lady Rumbold is phenomenal, and they are without doubt the heart and soul of this event.’