Hubbub Over HUB: Mampitts Green decision fuels new row

2 November 2024

It’s been a long road for Shaftesbury, and though £880k in council funding has been awarded, some residents aren’t celebrating yet

Mampitts Green Shaftesbury Outlined in red

When the chance to create a new community centre arose in Shaftesbury, few could have predicted the lengthy negotiations that would follow before the project could finally get under way. Finally, in October, Dorset Council voted in favour of the Shaftesbury Town Council proposal for new community facilities at Mampitts Green. While it looks as though a solution has now been reached, the issues around Mampitts Green have certainly not disappeared.
In a nutshell
Section 106 funding is allocated to communities from building developers to provide infrastructure for new developments – it is often a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a significant change for small communities.
When the previous Shaftesbury Town Council found itself with a significant sum of money to allocate to a community centre, a councillor was designated to led the project. However, there were strong differences in opinion and the people of Shaftesbury ended up in the unexpected position of having two proposals for what the town should do with the land on Mampitts Lane.
One was submitted by the Mampitts Lane Community Interest Organisation (MLCIO), led by local councillor Peter Yeo. The other was from Shaftesbury Town Council, led by Councillor Piers Brown.
In March, Dorset Council approved the planning permission application (P/FUL/2023/05314) for the MLCIO’s proposal.

Mampitts Lane Community Interest Organisation (MLCIO), led by Councillor Peter Yeo, planned a community hall and nature park

However, during its cabinet meeting on Tuesday 15th October, Dorset Council resolved to award Section 106 (S106) funding to Shaftesbury Town Council (STC) for its proposed development of the Mampitts Community HUB.
At the meeting, Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland introduced it as “possibly the most controversial item on the agenda this evening.” A unanimous vote saw £880,000 of S106 monies awarded to Shaftesbury Town Council.

Shaftesbury town council’s approved plan for the new Mampitts community HUB

Community champions
One of the critical aspects of the town council’s proposal was the community leadership and co-operative design.
Piers Brown explains: ‘The town council recruited six volunteer community champions. They sat on advisory committees and we developed the proposal together. What they said was crucial. For example, they didn’t like their part of town referred to as “other”. They also wanted to see the community facilities used by the whole of Shaftesbury, not just The Maltings estate.
‘The entire town was consulted. Every household received a questionnaire, and we had 450 returned, which was fantastic. We also did some pop-up consultation events in Mampitts Green. And there were some key messages from the public. They wanted a social space, and they wanted an area where they could get back to nature. They also wanted us to get on with the project!
Interestingly, what they weren’t so keen on was a play park, preferring an imaginary play area. So we listened to the feedback on the needs of people who actually live there – they differed from the perceived requirements when The Maltings development was first planned.’
Peter Yeo’s MLCIO project also involved the community, and included a petition with 720 signatories from the town.
‘I live at Mampitt’s Lane. We had a brilliant plan which included an area for the air ambulance to land. Dorset Council made us present our case to the town council in 2021, and tried to get us to work together. It didn’t work. Instead, the town council launched a rival bid! They turned up at Mampitts Lane with a gazebo … it was farcical.’
Peter says he is not alone, and is adamant that local residents don’t support the council’s plans for a community centre: ‘It’s an absolute farce,’ he says. ‘We got planning permission for our design, and Dorset Council gave them extra time to catch up. We also had detailed costings.
‘Now our village green is being built over and we’ll have uncontrollable parking.’

Illustrative layout of the new Mampitts community HUB building

Learning and next steps
The Mampitts Green experience is a serious and lasting challenge for Shaftesbury. Peter is considering the options, which include complaining to the Planning Ombudsman and a possible judicial review. ‘The town’s next steps are to do a public tender and then to get on with the work,’ says Piers Brown. ‘We’ll be working with Pavilion in the Park from Poundbury, part of the Talk About Trust which works with young people. They also have further connections with other services that would benefit the town.
‘It’s always easier to take people with you and disappointing when people don’t want to work together. Compromise is key. No one has got 100 per cent of what they want from this project – but I hope everyone will be happy with what we do. Our starting point was what people want.
‘I hope that in five to ten years time these challenges will be a distant memory, and people will see it as a fantastic facility for Shaftesbury. When it opens – hopefully in the spring of 2026 – it will bring benefits for the entire town.’

West Wincanton plans – the pros and cons

Editorial team

2 November 2024

Is a 650-home development west of Wincanton an unsustainable misuse of good farmland, or “an opportunity to deliver more than housing”

The red line is around the West Wincanton application site, and a yellow line around a site already approved for 80 houses

A major plan for 650 houses on farmland to the west of Wincanton has provoked considerable opposition, with angry residents at a public meeting shouting at the scheme’s designers and one person ejected for disruptive behaviour from the subsequent Wincanton Town Council meeting.
The objectors, including many residents and organisations such as the countryside campaign group CPRE, are concerned that the development, which is called West Wincanton, could move the fulcrum west from the historic town centre.
When completed, it is suggested that around 1,500 people would live in the new homes, increasing the population of Wincanton (6,740 in the 2021 census) by more than 20 per cent.
Other concerns and objections include the loss of productive farmland at the site, known as Hook Valley Farm, at a time when food sovereignty and resilience are important, as well as the potential impact of flooding and serious surface water run-off from the 66 hectare (163 acre) hilly site between Lawrence Hill and West Hill, where many springs rise in the fields.
Local people point to recent unprecedented floods in the Lawrence Hill area and are also worried about loss of wildlife habitat, increased traffic, lack of employment for so many new residents and additional pressures on existing and inadequate infrastructure.

Empty promises?
There is also justifiable frustration in the community that brownfield sites in the town are left empty (or derelict) and that there are many empty houses and unoccupied flats above shops. Many people called for the development of these sites and making use of these potential homes before taking farmland outside the town.
Many were also concerned that, despite the attractive illustrative plan and promise of community and social benefits via Section 106 conditions on the planning permission, all could be lost if the site is sold in phases for development. Subsequent developers could thus find ways round an expensive conditions that have been imposed.
BUT …
There is usually a but, and always a need to look past the immediate emotion.
In this case, there are a number of factors that cannot be ignored, starting with the new government’s clearly stated intention to build more houses to meet demonstrable need. There is also the undeniable fact that local authorities like Somerset Council, under pressure to find sites for homes, have little or no spare cash to fight developers at public inquiries.
And in the case of the West Wincanton plans, there are clearly aspects that most people would support – a new primary school, a nursery, a care home, a local centre, allotments, an orchard, a park, public open space (55 per cent of the total area is to be open space or “green infrastructure”) and 35 per cent of the 650 homes will be classed as affordable – 227 homes offered on the basis of shared ownership or social rent.
Jonathan Orton, managing director of Origin3, the Bristol-based agents for planning, design and development responsible for overseeing the masterplan for this major development, told a public meeting in Wincanton’s Moor Lane sports centre: ‘A larger site like this provides an opportunity to deliver more than just housing.’
The applicants are LVA (Land Value Alliances), with offices in Sherborne and London – specialists in investment and planning project management in UK land and property. On their website they say: ‘We focus on forming responsible alliances with landowners and all other stakeholders’.
LVA was founded by Robert Tizzard, who is executive chairman. James Tizzard, a partner in the business, was at the public meeting.

The application for Hook Valley Farm as submitted by LVA:
Outline application (with all matters reserved except for access) for the demolition of agricultural buildings and the development of up to 650 dwellings; up to 3.1 ha of mixed use comprising employment use class B2/B8/E(g), local centre use class E/class F, and care home; provision of primary school; pre-school/nursery; accesses from West Hill and Lawrence Hill; mobility infrastructure; new pedestrian/cycle route to the south of Lawrence Hill; open space and all associated infrastructure.
Among the objectors are a group of residents who say they are ‘concerned about the continual unsustainable development in Wincanton. We feel that we have reached a tipping point with a planning application [that would mean] the destruction of a working farm and the loss of our natural environment. We are not against development but feel that “brownfield” sites such as The Tythings are more suitable than destroying good agricultural land that is unconnected to the built environment of the town and outside any approved area of the Adopted Local Plan and the Wincanton Neighbourhood Plan.’

LVA’s illustrative plan of part of the proposed West Wincanton development

Town refusal
At its meeting on Monday 16th September, Wincanton Town Council agreed to object to the application and asked that Somerset Council should ensure that it takes the local objectors’ views into account when determining the application. The town council stressed the importance of the Section 106 agreement ‘and seeks confirmation and reassurance from Somerset Council that any matters proposed within this legal agreement are properly delivered and … rigorously administered.’
The BV raised some of the residents’ concerns – particularly regarding the delivery of the community benefits under the Section 106 agreement – with Jonathan Orton, and received a full reply, extracts from which appear below (for the full response, please click here):

The planning conditions will ensure that the land use mix, proposed layout, the location of the green areas and the built areas … are implemented as set out on the parameter plans and in accordance with the mitigation proposed. … Subsequent applications for reserved matters consent will need to be consistent with the approved outline plans and conditions. Any material changes to the proposals will require a new planning application.
… the developers will have a legal obligation to deliver the affordable housing, primary school, pre-school, the on-site public open space and green corridors (and its management and maintenance) and financial contributions towards enhancements at Wincanton Sports Ground and sustainable transport improvements.
The Section 106 legally binds the land, rather than the individual or developer.
… 35% of the 650 homes proposed are to be affordable. Hence, the Wincanton development will provide affordable shared ownership and social rent housing for 227 households and families.
… LVA will not work with a developer that is not able to deliver the approved development as it will affect the future phases of the scheme that [LVA and the landowners] will still be involved in.

There is currently no date set for Somerset Council planners to discuss this planning application.

Ruby White – WORLD CHAMPION!

LauraHitchcock

1 November 2024

Ruby White from Stalbridge has just won tonight’s final in Colorado USA. Ruby becomes the first ever U19 World Boxing Champion, after defeating India’s Chanchal Chaudhary by disqualification.

Dorset could not be more proud of Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton Amateur Boxing Club‘s Pocket Rocket!

GO RUBY!!!!

Letters to the Editor | November 2024

Editorial team

1 November 2024

’m not sorry to see October go – usually it’s one of my favourite months, but the mental load has been quite something. As I’ve put this issue together, it’s become clear it’s not just me feeling this way: strong opinions abound. I got a late-night message from farming journalist Andrew Livingston, insisting the Budget had to be addressed. You’ll find his fiery response on page 68. We’re also launching two new opinion columns. The first is by a Dorset parish councillor who has decided it is time to speak up. They’ll be known as The Dorset Insider, and no, we won’t be revealing their identity.
The Grumbler is another anonymous column – this time, open to you. It began as an excellent reader’s letter, with the nervous writer wanting to stay unnamed. I wondered if offering an anonymous platform might reveal some intriguing opinions, so The Grumbler is yours to fill.
I hope you’ll find both columns as interesting and thought-provoking as I did.
For the last few weeks I’ve been lurching from look/don’t look paralysing fear over the national and international news. The Middle East, the catastrophic weather, the Budget, what happens next in America … When the problems are so vast, and I am so powerless, I always have a very mature urge to simply throw a duvet over my head.
But when the weight of the news feels relentless, sometimes the wisest choice IS to step back. Take a breath, tune out the noise, and find the small things that keep you steady. So, if you need to retreat, know you’re not alone. A good book, a hot drink and a quiet hour are all we need to keep going.
In other news, I lost my glasses last week (it really was a bad month!). They literally live on my face, on my desk or on the top of my head. I hadn’t left the house. But we turned the only three rooms I’d been in upside down and they were NOWHERE I tell you.
Eventually I had to panic-buy a new pair on 24 hour delivery … naturally six hours after they arrived, C found my old ones.
In the shoe box.

Laura x

On George Hosford
I wanted to express my admiration for George Hosford’s compassionate approach to the unexpected barn owl chicks found in his combine’s auger tube, in last month’s article.
(Help! There’s owls in the combine!,The BV, Oct 24 issue)
It was heartening to see George take such care to safely relocate the chicks rather than pushing forward with his harvest.
I have become a big fan of George’s though his columns in the BV – and these actions reflect his genuine commitment to wildlife and sustainable farming practices. It’s refreshing to have someone like him in our community, someone who not only writes thoughtfully about these issues but also practices what he preaches on the farm.
Thanks, George, for showing how it’s done!
Annie Potter, Verwood

I am not a farmer. I have absolutely no interest in seed. Nor, frankly, do I understand any kind of engineering machinery.
Why then did I just sit and read the entirety of George Hosford’s farming column this month? I was swiftly and deeply invested in the wildflower seed mix. I was utterly fascinated and spent far to long poring over the diagram of the seed sorter contraption. I now know more than I ever knew I needed about seed mixes and cover crops, and I am very satisfied by this.
Thank you George. And thank you BV for such an interesting peek into farming – I’ve lived in Dorset all my life, but I have only ever seen it from ‘the other side of the hedge’ – your farming columns are an absolute eye opener, and should be required reading.
Nicky S, Wimborne

Okeford Fitzpaine memorial
This year marks the 110th anniversary of the outbreak of World War One. To mark the occasion The Okeford Fitzpaine Local History Group have installed a memorial at the approach to the village on Castle Lane adjacent to the recreation ground.
During WW1 the graves of the fallen were initially marked with white wooden crosses – later on, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission consolidated the cemeteries and erected Portland stone headstones.
The display on Castle Lane (seen above) emulates those first crosses, with a cross to each man from the village who lost his life in the two world wars.
A display on the village war dead is also shown in the Village Museum and St Andrew’s church has a stunning cascade of poppies falling from its tower.
As chairman of the local history group, I researched the lives and deaths of each man in 2014, creating a book titled The Butterboys in Battle. The principal employer in the village at the time of the Great War was Hill View Dairies* and new employees would start their career as “Butterboys”. The name was taken up by Okeford United Football Club – they are still known by it today. What better place for a memorial to the fallen Butterboys than alongside the field where today’s Butterboys still play football?
Each cross bears the name of the fallen serviceman together with a photograph to put a face to the name. Although there are photographs of most of the 19 men, I am hunting for pictures of Samuel Fox, Maurice Miller, Howard Ridout, John Warr, William Kendal Clarke and Charles Ricketts. If any BV reader has a photo of any of these men please get in touch at
[email protected].
Andrew Vickers, Okeford Fitzpaine

Hill View Dairies was featured as a Then and Now article by the late Roger Guttridge in
The BV, June 2021

A LitterLotto?
I have recently seen Dorset Council once again advertising its LitterLotto campaign, this time encouraging children out Trick or Treating to pick up rubbish in return for prize draw entries on the app. It raises serious concerns. Clearly, promoting litter awareness, civic responsibility and clean streets is commendable – but relying on young people to do this work feels risky and unfair.
Firstly, there’s the issue of safety. Litter often includes dangerous items like broken glass or needles. What if a child is injured? Will the council take responsibility? Beyond physical risks, there’s also concern for children’s security if unsupervised. Volunteer litter picks are always equipped with Hi-Viz gear for a reason!
Moreover, the ethics are troubling. The council already employs workers to keep streets clean, so why shift the task onto children for the chance of a prize? This approach smacks of unpaid labour from our youth.
Encouraging community spirit is one thing, but I’m sorry, this initiative crosses a line. The council should invest in its staff to handle these responsibilities without exploiting young people, and concentrate instead on simply teaching EVERYONE how to use a bin.
Janet Green, Sherborne

On Cluckonomics Revisited:
After reading last month’s Cluckonomics Revisited (The BV, Oct 24) by Andrew Livingston, I felt compelled to challenge the narrative slightly. I’ve recently cut down my meat consumption to just twice a week, driven by alarming insights into the environmental cost of livestock farming.
It’s great to see some sustainable practices in poultry farming highlighted, but let’s not skirt around the fact that reducing meat consumption is a quicker, more impactful way to decrease our carbon footprint. I hope more readers realize the power of their dietary choices and push for broader adoption of sustainable farming methods.
Anita V, by email

Want to reply? Read something you feel needs commenting on? Our postbag is open! Please send emails to [email protected].
When writing, please include your full name and address; we will not print this, but do require it.

Part Time Gardener Required | nr Maiden Bradley

Editorial team

1 November 2024

Knowledgeable gardener sought for 3 acre garden near Maiden Bradley, approximately two days per week.

You must have the experience and ability to maintain and develop herbaceous borders, plus excellent knowledge of pruning, especially roses and fruit trees.

We offer excellent pay for right applicant.

In the first instance please email [email protected]

November’s BV is HERE!

LauraHitchcock

1 November 2024

Inside the November issue of The BV magazine, the UK’s Regional Publication of the Year:

There’s fury in Dorset over the changes in Inheritance Tax and what they will mean for the future of small family farms – the lifeblood of Dorset’s rural community. Read Andrew Livingston’s fiery Farms To The Slaughter on page 68.
Simon Hoare MP also spoke to The BV on the day of the Budget to discuss the implications for his North Dorset constituents. He calls Rachel Reeves a ‘rurally ignorant’ Chancellor
We see both sides of the West Wincanton argument – will the plan for the 650-home development be an unsustainable misuse of good farmland, or an opportunity to deliver more than housing?
We also get to the bottom of why not everyone in Shaftesbury is celebrating the £880k fund yet.
Our Dorset Insider, a local parish councillor, asks just how meaningful that Big Conversation was, judging by the glaring holes in Dorset’s new Draft Plan.
Rob Gray is a former precious painting courier, a National Trust collections manager and now he’s cataloguing 40,000 pieces of the county’s past for the Museum of East Dorset.
Sally Cooper looks past the 1980s Jilly Cooper bonkbuster image, and discovers polo‘s fast-paced, bruising but surprisingly inclusive sport
Jane Adams writes a stunning ode to jackdaws in her wildife column, and The Dorset Game Larder are helping us get a little wild this November.
Plus pages and pages of Community News and What’s Ons, health, local history, gardening … Why are you still here? Go! Make a mug of tea, and have a READ!

A sticking plaster budget from a ‘rurally ignorant’ Chancellor

LauraHitchcock

30 October 2024

The Chancellor’s budget is urban-centred, will hit small businesses hard, potentially threatens the future of small family farms across the region, has nothing for the south west and fails to address many long-standing concerns, says North Dorset MP Simon Hoare.

‘Where long-term change was wanted, the Chancellor has offered ‘timidity and sticking plaster,’ he told the BV Magazine.

He welcomed additional funding for local government and education, particularly for the hard-pressed SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) sector, as well as the freeze on fuel duty, and a penny off a pint. But overall he believed Wednesday’s budget would result in a delay to the hoped-for fall in interest rates and inflation.

Mr Hoare accused Chancellor Rachel Reeves of making ’a malicious and reckless smash and grab raid on the small business sector and entrepreneurs.’ Examples of the damage being done to small business included the increase in National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage, while rising bus fares would hit students, people going to work or patients with hospital appointments. ‘It is a budget that is entirely ignorant of the needs of businesses, and of rural businesses in particular,’ he says. ‘The impact on independent schools of not only the imposition of VAT but removing business rate relief amounted to a tax on learning, a retrograde step that would threaten particularly small rural prep schools.’

Overall, Mr Hoare’s verdict was that there was an ‘Orwellian’ edge to the budget: ‘It seems to be saying public sector good, private sector bad. But you can only have good schools and hospitals and strong defences when you have a flourishing private sector as well.’

There was no indication of the root and branch changes that were needed to local government and council tax, but he welcomed new money for social care. ‘I will press the case that the Treasury needs to take on the additional costs of delivering the service in rural areas. They were always sympathetic to this in opposition,’ he added.

The budget is rurally ignorant.

The changes to inheritance tax have rung alarm bells across the region. Simon Hoare said it would ‘sound the death knell of small family farms that play such an important role in North Dorset, West Dorset and Somerset. The budget is rurally ignorant.’

Social media was immediately full of concerns from the rural community about the impact of a 20 per cent tax on property worth more than £1 million. The average Net Farm Income for a farm grazing livestock is £23,000 (a quarter of farms in Great Britain failed to make a profit last year*), on a farm worth perhaps £3 million. The Inheritance Tax bill on that farm will now be £400,000.
Among the strongest comments was an immediate response from the NFU social media accounts:
‘In 2023 Keir Starmer looked farmers in the eye and said he knew what losing a farm meant.
Farmers believed him.
After today’s budget they don’t believe him any more.’

In response to the Budget, NFU President Tom Bradshaw released a statement on what it means for British farmers:

‘This budget not only threatens family farms but also makes producing food more expensive, which means more cost for farmers who simply cannot absorb it and it will have to be passed up the supply chain or risk the resilience of our food production.
‘It’s been a disastrous budget for family farmers, and especially tenant farmers. The shameless breaking of clear promises on Agricultural Property Relief will snatch away the next generation’s ability to carry on producing British food, plan for the future and shepherd the environment.
‘It’s clear the government does not understand, or perhaps doesn’t care, that family farms are not only small farms, and that just because a farm is a valuable asset it doesn’t mean those who work it are wealthy.
‘This is one of a number of measures in the budget which make it harder for farmers to stay in business and significantly increase the cost of producing food.”
‘Before the election Keir Starmer promised to establish a new relationship with farming and the countryside.
‘Well, he’s certainly done that.’

Ian Girling, chief executive of Dorset Chamber, said many businesses in Dorset would have concerns about the Budget: ‘There is some comfort for small businesses with employment allowance increases for National Insurance, but rises in employer National Insurance contributions and the minimum wage mean that employment costs are significantly increasing.

‘This comes at a time when wages have been pushed up by significant recruitment challenges for businesses. It is highly likely this will impact on recruitment, which will have a knock-on effect in terms of future business growth.’

Mr Girling said it was encouraging to see a focus on affordable housing, ‘as this is a barrier to growth for businesses, but I am not sure that it is enough. Economic growth projections over the next three years are very low, which hardly inspires confidence among businesses and consumers.’

*(source: Gov.UK Farming Income)

ANNOUNCING The BV Reader’s Photography Charity Calendar 2025

LauraHitchcock

28 October 2024

We’re thrilled to introduce the very first BV Readers’ Photography Charity Calendar, celebrating Dorset’s beauty through the eyes of our talented photographer readers! After four years of receiving so many requests, we’ve finally brought together a hand-picked collection of our breathtaking cover photos. As regular readers know, The BV receives literally hundreds of submissions every month for the highly regarded (and hugely-popular) Readers’ Photography section. Less than 40 of them will make the shortlist, and most months just 12 will be featured in the magazine.

One standout image becomes the next month’s front cover – and those cover images are now showcased in The BV’s 2025 Readers’ Photography Charity Calendar!

Each month features a stunning image taken by one of our readers: they’ve all been BV cover shots, and each one showcases the changing seasons, landscape and wildlife of Dorset. The calendar is a real celebration of local talent and of the Dorset countryside.

We have kept things simple for our first year – you order online, and the calendar will be sent directly to you. The A4 version is £12.99, and the A3 version is £16.99. And every penny of the profit will go straight to The Vale Pantry.

Click here to buy

All proceeds from the BV Readers’ Photography Calendar 2025 will go directly to The Vale Pantry, a charity dedicated to providing essential food support to local people. The social supermarket was set up during the pandemic to help struggling people in North Dorset – they currently support more than 350 local families in need. Your purchase will not only fill your year with beautiful Dorset imagery from local photographers, but also help support a vital cause in our community.

Order your calendar HERE today and make a difference in our community – just go to bvmag.co.uk/calendar2025

Features:

12 stunning full-colour images, one for each month
Photography by local Dorset photographers from The BV’s Readers’ Photography section
Proceeds support The Vale Pantry charity
Printed on high-quality paper with a durable wire binding

We must of course thank all the local photographers who have kindly allowed us to use their images – full credits below:

January – Rebecca Cooke
February – Sarah Smith
March – Paul Dyer
April – Meyrick Griffith-Jones
May – Shazz Hooper
June – Linda Martin
July – Ian Nelson
August – Colin Lennox-Gordon
September – Clive Hill
October – Kim Robinson
November – Claire Norris
December – Annette Gregory

Head over to the BV shop now to pick up your calendar (it’ll make the perfect Christmas gift too!) and make a real difference for local families in need this year.

From local agri-legend Matthew Holland to baby-saving Dr. Michael Fernando | BV Podcast

LauraHitchcock

27 October 2024

In this episode of the BV Podcast, hosts Terry Bennett and Jenny Devitt bring us conversations with three Dorset locals, each with their own unique story.

Terry speaks with Dr. Michael Fernando, consultant paediatrician at Yeovil Hospital, about his work in Afghanistan. Michael shares how his team navigated complex cultural and logistical challenges to deliver life-saving neonatal training. He reflects on the power of collaboration and local resilience, saying, “People’s hopes for their children can overcome almost any obstacle.”

Jenny catches up with Anne Dearle in a wonderful interview as she talks about her experience organising a very special 30th-anniversary concert in Sherborne, attended by Princess Anne. Anne Dearle looks back on decades of fundraising for Save the Children, the thrill (and stress – where to get sandwiches in Sherborne fit for a royal?) of the royal visit – and just how much she’ll miss her fundraising concert.

Lastly, Terry sat down with local agri-legend Matthew Holland, who started working for C&O Tractors in Blandford as a 16-year-old in 1978. He’s still at the firm, and has become a local institution for the Dorset agricultural community. He talks to Terry about his passion for vintage tractors, firefighting (he’s been a part-time firefighter for Blandford station for the last 39 years), and making top-quality cider with his family.

These interviews were based on articles found in October’s BV, which can be read here … grab a coffee and jump in to the Dorset-ness. News, opinion, people, wildlife, art, farming, what’s on, horses … and frankly stunning photography.
Did we mention it’s FREE?

(We’re proudly 100% digital, so the only way to read us is right here online.)

The BV is Dorset’s go-to digital magazine – this year named ‘Best Regional Publication in the UK’ (ACE Awards) and ‘Regional News Site of the Year’ (Press Gazette). Brimming with Dorset’s people and places, it’s too good to miss!

1...717273...472 Page 72 of 472