Lizzie Crow is better known to most as Lizzie Baking Bird. From her tiny bakery in West Dorset, Lizzie creates an impressive range of sweet and savoury bakes, which you’ll find at Poundbury and Wimborne Farmers’ Markets, Bridport Market and the county’s food festivals and agricultural shows. A member of the Guild of Food Writers, Lizzie has won numerous Great Taste Awards. Find her on lizziebakingbird.co.uk
‘These muffins are delicious for breakfast, dinner or tea! Using our local Dorset Watercress gives a slightly savoury flavour, complemented with a scattering of chocolate (a good bitter chocolate is ideal) and a pop of orange.’ – Lizzie
Makes 10 | prep 20 mins | frosting 15mins | Cooking 25 to 30 mins
Ingredients
125g watercress
50g butter
175g sunflower oil
250g caster sugar
3 medium free-range eggs
310g self-raising flour
30g full fat or semi-skimmed milk
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
100g chocolate chips
For the frosting:
100g butter
250g icing sugar
3 tablespoons of orange juice
Method
Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 10 paper cases around the outside, leaving the two middle holes free (I typically cook my muffins this way as frequently the middle ones don’t cook properly).
Put the oven on at Gas 4/180C. Chop the watercress very finely, ideally in a blender.
Melt the butter and combine it with the sunflower oil in a mixing bowl. Add the sugar, eggs, flour and milk and mix well – the batter will come together quickly and won’t take too much elbow grease.
Stir in the orange zest, chocolate chips and watercress. Divide the mixture evenly amongst the 10 muffin cases and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until they are raised and golden. Test with a skewer – it should come out clean when inserted in the middle. Leave the muffins to cool.
To make the frosting, put the butter, icing sugar and orange juice in a bowl and beat until well blended and light in colour. Top the muffins with the frosting.
Across the Blackmore Vale, the familiar silhouette of the village hall has long been a staple, yet its role is experiencing a quiet but significant transformation. No longer just the preserve of the occasional jumble sale or parish council meeting, these buildings are re-emerging as vital hubs for a dispersed rural population seeking connection. From converted chapels to purpose-built brick structures, these spaces are adapting to today’s needs, hosting everything from remote working hubs to pop-up cinemas and wellness retreats. This resurgence reflects a deeper desire among Dorset residents to reclaim local spaces for meaningful face-to-face interaction, countering the drift towards purely digital communication.
The revival is not about nostalgia; it is a practical response to the changing demographics and economic realities of countryside living. With local pubs closing and bus routes diminishing, the village hall is often the last remaining public interior where the community can gather without a commercial imperative. Committees are working harder than ever to refurbish these often-draughty buildings, installing Wi-Fi and heating to attract a younger, more diverse crowd. This ensures that the hall remains relevant, serving not just as a museum of village life but as a dynamic engine for community cohesion and local resilience.
Parish halls regain community spotlight
The diversity of events now filling the diary of the average Dorset village hall would have been unimaginable twenty years ago. We are seeing a move away from passive entertainment towards active participation, with halls hosting repair cafes, farmers’ markets, and amateur dramatic societies that rival professional outfits in enthusiasm.
This broadening of scope is essential for survival, as it brings in revenue streams that go beyond the traditional coffee morning, engaging residents who might otherwise commute to larger towns for their leisure.
Also, the advancement of hybrid working has gifted these rural spaces a new lease of life as co-working centres for those tired of the home office. By offering a warm desk and reliable internet, village halls are becoming engines of the micro-economy, allowing freelancers to network without leaving their postcode.
This daily usage keeps the building heated and aired, preventing the damp and decay that plague underused structures, while simultaneously breathing life into the surrounding village during the quiet working week. It depicts an everyday interpretation of the communal hearth, where work and social life naturally intersect.
Fundraising pressures and spending
Despite this renewed enthusiasm, the financial reality of maintaining ageing infrastructure remains a constant headache for volunteer committees. The cost of energy and insurance has soared, forcing trustees to become increasingly business-minded in how they market their facilities to potential hirers.
In a digital age where consumers demand instant gratification and seamless service, village halls must compete for attention against a vast array of online entertainment options. Users accustomed to the slick interfaces of the internet, such as those visiting Gambling Insider to compare secure gaming platforms and payment methods, now expect a similar level of professionalism and ease when booking a local venue.
Many committees are updating their payment methods and reservation systems to meet today’s standards in an effort to close this disconnect. Relying on cash payments and a handwritten ledger is no longer adequate; people expect the ease of digital transactions and transparent online information.
Halls can maintain the viability of the physical space by securing the frequent reservations required to keep the lights on by improving their administrative procedures. The goal of this professionalisation is to get the funding necessary to keep the doors open for the community, not to lose the personal touch.
What this revival means locally
The success of these halls is ultimately a barometer for the health of the wider rural community in Dorset. When a hall thrives, it suggests a village that is engaged, resilient, and capable of looking after its own, especially those who feel isolated.
In Lancashire village, for instance, residents were invited to take part in activities. This ranged from coffee mornings and craft sessions to digital skills support and community drop-ins, highlighting how these spaces continue to serve practical, social and educational roles.
These spaces provide a neutral ground where new residents can mix with established households, breaking down the barriers that can sometimes exist in tight-knit rural settlements. The simple act of sharing a pot of tea or watching a local band creates a web of social support that no government policy can replicate.
The village hall seems set to cement its position as the beating heart of rural life, provided it continues to evolve. As long as volunteers are willing to unlock the doors and residents are eager to connect, these buildings will remain more than just bricks and mortar. They stand as a testament to the enduring human need for physical gathering spaces, proving that even in a hyper-connected world, the most important network is still the one right on our doorstep.
Good news over the weekend as the Government confirmed it will award the New Medium Helicopter contact to Leonardo’s in Yeovil. After months of sustained campaigning by Yeovil MP Adam Dance, Glastonbury and Somerton MP Sarah Dyke and myself, this contract will safeguard more than 3,000 jobs in the local area – and many more in the supply chain across the South West.
Edward Morello MP for West Dorset
As we once again face the spectre of a potentially prolonged conflict in the Middle East, and the war in Ukraine stretching into its fourth year, it is vital we ensure our military is properly equipped. Last year the Government finally published its updated National Security Strategy. As well as the Foreign Affairs Committee, I also sit on the Joint National Security Strategy Committee, whose job it is to scrutinise the strategy and ensure the Government is achieving its aims. The document repeatedly talks about the need to develop ‘sovereign capability’. That is, technology, manufacturing and intellectual property that we own, rather than relying on buying from other countries. Given how unreliable the Trump administration is as an ally, it is vital that we de-couple ourselves from reliance on the US. West Dorset, and the South West more generally, is home to many fantastic and innovative defence companies. They are desperate to grow and also to stay local, but to do so they need confidence that the Government is serious about ramping up defence investment and supporting British businesses. In private conversations, a number of local business leaders have told me that unless the Government gets serious soon, they will be American companies by this time next year. That would be terrible for West Dorset, and terrible for the UK. As of today, we are still waiting for the Government to publish its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan, and for the Treasury to confirm how it will be funded. The Liberal Democrats have been calling for Government to hold cross-party talks about how to quickly increase defence spending in order to ensure that the UK is prepared for whatever this unstable geopolitical situation holds. The time to do so is now. Edward Morello LibDem MP for West Dorset
TB relief at Rawston, but falling milk prices, ageing kit and new rules force a decisive reset for the family business, writes James Cossins
The biggest news at Rawston Farm has been that we went clear at our last TB test at the end of January – a complete surprise to us, having been testing every two months for the last four years. To finally go clear was a great sigh of relief: movement restrictions have now been lifted. Having gone TB free, the next step is how to stay free. As my fellow BV contributor George Hosford wrote last month, we need a rethink on the testing regime. The current skin test simply isn’t accurate enough. We need to be able to try out the new tests that are being developed, which will mean lobbying the DEFRA policymakers to consider what is being proposed. Here in Dorset we have set up a TB group with farmers, vets and animal health officers, and we hope to meet DEFRA to discuss our proposals.
James Cossins
A business reset As a family we have realised this was the right moment to take a long look at our business as a whole and consider restructuring the different farming enterprises we operate. We have decided to close one of our two dairy herds, for a number of reasons. Firstly, our relief milker, who has been with us for 26 years, has turned 70 and decided to retire. Thank you, Philip, for all those years: we wish you well in your retirement. Next we realised we would need considerable investment in the milking parlour, as it has been 36 years since the last upgrade. This would probably cost us about £60,000 to meet the current standards. The slurry storage needs upgrading too – the new standards now include dirty water as slurry and we need five months’ storage to be compliant. A new store would cost in the region of £200,000 in order to meet the Environment Agency requirements. This unit is on a tenanted farm, so it is difficult to justify a quarter of a million pound investment. If that wasn’t enough, we have lost about a quarter of our milk price since last October (we’re not alone in this, of course: it is putting all dairy farms under a considerable amount of financial pressure). So our plan is to move some of the milking cows to the remaining unit to build our main herd back up to the numbers that we had before we lost cows through the TB testing regime. On our own farm, we are now investing in a new slurry store to increase capacity, and we will also extend the milking parlour so that milking the additional cows does not increase the overall milking time. The soon-to-be empty buildings at the Tarrant Monkton unit should mean that we will not have to outwinter many beef cattle next year. We hope to sell the surplus cows to fellow dairy farmers as milkers.
The flooded road through Tarrant Monkton
A college visit Along with a number of local farmers, I recently attended an open evening organised by the new Coastland College – the result of the merger between Kingston Maurward College and Weymouth College. This amalgamation has secured the future of both colleges. The variety of courses was explained to us, along with the expected outcomes for the students and the types of employment they are likely to move into. The general feeling among us was that this was positive for Dorset’s rural employers, with the more advanced courses courses now specialising in livestock, crops and engineering. We all hope there will be a good uptake of the courses: the colleges now have the task of spreading the word to schools, parents and students. For more information, contact can be made through their website or social media. As farmers, we all wish the college every success: we need young people coming into the industry.
Cleared thanks to the tractor tanker
DIY drains Finally I have to mention the weather! We have already had more rain this year than in the first six months of last year. loods have been frequent and commonly reported across the county. A blocked drain caused increased flooding in Tarrant Monkton, meaning the Langton Arms had to be closed and houses nearby were being flooded by the bow waves when vehicles passed. Eventually we decided to take action ourselves, and use our tractor tanker to clear the flood. The suction tanker wouldn’t just be removing surface water temporarily. It sucks up not only the water but also the accumulated debris from the drain, removing the silt, leaves, mud or compacted material causing the blockage – a great relief to the village and the pub, as normal life could restart! And lastly, a reminder: entries for the Love Local Trust Local Awards are now open. Please have a look at the website for details, and help the organisers promote all the great producers of Dorset food and drink
The Gorton and Denton by-election should act as a very serious wake-up call to the entire country: it is a harbinger of what is to come for our urban areas of Britain. When you have election material going out in an English constituency in Urdu and Punjabi [Ed.: as well as in English], campaigns being fought almost exclusively along ethnic and religious lines, something has gone very seriously wrong, and we need to have an honest conversation about the direction of travel in our country.
Thomas Gargrave Reform UK Dorset
One man who has been prepared to speak out openly is Sir Jim Ratcliffe. He said, in a recent interview that drew much attention, that Britain had been “colonised by migrants”. While his choice of language was perhaps overly emotive, he is, fundamentally, right about the scale of recent migration, which is undeniable. There are now very significant areas of urban Britain where integration has completely failed. The sheer scale and pace of immigration that we have witnessed under the Conservatives and Labour has been without any historic precedent, and has made even basic levels of assimilation by new arrivals absolutely impossible. Just during the period that is referred to as the Boris Wave, 2021 to 2024, Priti Patel, the then-Home Secretary, now shadow Foreign Secretary (but it’s a new team apparently…), allowed more than 3.8 million people to come to the UK, overwhelmingly from outside of Europe, and 86% of those came, not on work visas, but as dependents, students, or via health/care and humanitarian routes. This short period alone changed the foreign-born population of the UK from 16% to 19.6% in a matter of years. In 2004, 5.3 million people in Britain were foreign-born: today, that figure is more than 13 million. By 2035, it is estimated that 1 in 4 people living in Britain will be foreign-born. There are now already over one million people living in Britain who either speak no English or virtually no English. That is the scale of the immigration failure our country is now dealing with. It is totally unsustainable. We need a radical change of direction on immigration, and also to our electoral system. On immigration, Reform UK will end Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and reverse as much of the Conservatives’ Boris Wave as possible. We will aim for net negative legal immigration going forward, taking a far tougher approach to illegal migration: estimates suggest the number of people living in the UK unlawfully currently runs into the hundreds of thousands. On electoral reforms, we will end non-British Nationals voting in our elections, end postal votes for all but the genuinely disabled and very elderly, and take a zero-tolerance approach to coercive “family voting” which was reported by independent observers Democracy Volunteers in Gorton and Denton. We need to get serious about the state of our country. Failing to address these trends risks allowing sectarian politics to take root in areas where integration has already faltered. Thomas Gargrave Reform UK Dorset
Last month’s mystery postcard caused quite the kerfuffle on Facebook: it was of course Chettle! We’re thinking Barry Cuff’s pick this month looks rather familiar? Maybe? Do you know this village? This collection of cottages? They may not still be thatched of course – and the pond may not even be there any more. We have no clues to help you – because no, we don’t know either. There’s no prizes. You just get the smug satisfaction of solving a postcard mystery.
If you recognise it, let us know – we’ll reveal the answer in the April issue.
Surely the primary duty of any democratically elected government is to protect the people it serves? And that must include all the people, not just those favoured by whichever political party is in power.
Ken Huggins North Dorset Green Party
So why, time and time again, have successive UK governments failed us in this duty? Could it be because money talks? Or is it just a coincidence that many of the politicians who strongly oppose action on the environment receive funding, one way or another, from sources with fossil fuel interests? The most serious dereliction of duty by the present Labour government has been its resolute refusal to adequately acknowledge and deal with the severity of the environmental crisis that is clearly now upon us. The Government’s failure to engage with and promote the National Emergency Briefing (NEB) in November last year, and the subsequent lack of reporting of the event by most of the media, effectively withheld vital information from the general public. To counter this, the NEB organisers are producing a film of the event called the Peoples’ Emergency Briefing (PEB), and environmentalists around the country are arranging public screenings. There will be a number of such showings here in North Dorset sometime in April and May, so watch this space and contact me if there is somewhere you would like to have the film shown, including village halls, church halls and other community spaces, The present first past the post/winner-takes-all electoral system gives us governments that only represent a minority of the electorate. Proportional representation can’t come soon enough, but in the meantime, there are clear signs that voters are increasingly rejecting the lies and toxic divisiveness of right-wing rhetoric that has dominated the conversation for far too long. The recent election of a fifth Green MP in the Gorton and Denton constituency has been a much-needed breath of fresh air. Green Party membership has surged again and is now three times what it was just five months ago.The days of two-party politics are over, and we can look forward with hope and determination to create a better future together. Ken Huggins North Dorset Green Party
From Monday, booking a slot to visit the tip will no longer be optional at four Dorset recycling centres – the long-discussed change that has stirred local concern is about to take effect.
Dorset Council is introducing mandatory advance booking at sites in Dorchester, Wimborne, Shaftesbury and Sherborne from 23rd March, with visitors required to reserve a 30-minute time slot before travelling.
The move was proposed last year and has been rumbling on for months, but its arrival now brings into force a system that will not affect all parts of the county equally.
The council says the change will help manage demand and reduce queuing at some of its busiest sites. It marks a significant shift in how residents access the centres – but its impact will not be felt evenly. Both Shaftesbury and Sherborne sit very close to county boundaries, and their recycling centres have long been used by residents living just over the border. In some cases, villages such as Semley are just a couple of miles away.
Under the new system, those residents can still use Dorset sites – but at a cost. Anyone living outside the Dorset Council area will now be charged a non-refundable £8.50 per visit, payable when booking.
For households used to making short, routine trips across the border, that introduces a clear change: pay to continue using the nearest site, or travel significantly further.
To book a visit, residents must provide contact details, their chosen site, vehicle registration and preferred time slot via the council’s website or phone service. Proof of address must also be carried, such as a utility bill or council tax statement, as it may be requested on arrival, with staff carrying out spot checks.
Those bringing DIY waste and wishing to use their free allowance must also book in advance.
Cllr Jon Andrews, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Place Services, said the system would make visits ‘more predictable’ and help sites run more smoothly.
‘By asking residents to book ahead, we can manage these sites more smoothly,’ he said. ‘The camera and light system at the entrance will help keep traffic moving steadily, and our teams will be there to support anyone who needs help.’
Other recycling centres in Dorset will continue to operate without bookings.
How to book
To book a visit, go to the Dorset Council website dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and search for “recycling centre bookings” or the name of the HRC you wish to visit. Fill in the short online form with:
your name and contact details
which recycling centre you want to visit
your vehicle registration number (if you are using a vehicle)
the date and time slot you would like to come.
If you cannot book online, you can use the council’s phone booking service by calling 01305 221037 and following the instructions. Also bring proof of the address you booked under, such as a recent utility bill or council tax bill.
Ours, I am sure, is just on of many similar stories of small builders going out of business and large builders mothballing sites. There is much talk in the media about the hospitality industry being brought to its knees – but little about the building industry. The economy cannot survive without itand the government says it is promoting it, promising to build more new homes … But in our experience this could not be further from the truth. Historically, when budgeting for a new build, the land would cost one- third, the build would cost one-third and the profit would be approximately one-third. Now, with additional costs and a stagnant housing market, we would be lucky to make any profit at all.
The Grumbler
Example one: The build, Gillingham We purchased a plot of land in Gillingham in April 2024 for around £130k including fees. The build was a painful experience, with new regulations changing constantly. The cost grew steadily, with materials and labour continually increasing. Regulations now require all new homes to have low-carbon heating systems such as air source heating. This is a huge expense in itself, but the additional cost of fitting and setting up, with plumbers charging £350 to £400 per day, is a significant increase not factored into the original budget. The build eventually cost around £220k, making the total cost for this small four-bedroom house around £350k. We initially put the house on the market for £395k – now, after a year, we have reduced it to £365k. By the time we eventually sell and pay agents’ fees there will be no profit left. In the meantime there are the ongoing costs of an empty house – utilities, insurance and Council Tax. As we are a small builder, buying one plot, building on it and then selling the house to fund the next project, our development has been at a standstill – which also then means less work for sub-contractors. The real kicker – and why I have finally ‘Grumbled’ today – is the new Council Tax ruling. Historically there were subsidies on Council Tax for empty homes and we did receive a small discount for one month. After that we have paid full Council Tax for the past year on a house we are desperately trying to sell to keep our business going, as well as Council Tax on our own home. We have now received a bill stating that as the property has been empty and unfurnished for over a year, our Council Tax will be doubled to more than £500 a month. We are aware that this rule came in to protect second-home hotspots like Cornwall and the Dorset coast. But this is not our second home. It is our business – and a business from which we will now make no profit, probably a loss with this additional cost.
Stock image of a house under construction in the UK
Example two: The land at Bere Regis We purchased this corner plot in 2019 with planning permission for a four-bedroom detached house. In 2022 we applied to change the permission to allow two semi-detached, two-bedroom homes, as we felt these were more urgently needed and more suitable for the area. Planning was granted in principle but, as the land lies within 20 miles of Poole Harbour, development was put on hold until nutrient neutrality could be mitigated. This took around four years of hard work. We have now finally secured mitigation and full planning permission. The initial cost of the land, plus additional costs over the years, totals around £145,000. Nutrient mitigation is £26,000, payable by 1st April, bringing our total outlay to over £170,000. As the Gillingham house has not sold, we cannot start this build ourselves. To sell the land we would have to be transparent about further costs. The Community Infrastructure Levy when we first bought the land was around £3.5k. The new fee for 2026 is approximately £28,500 (£210 per square metre). There is also now an Affordable Housing contribution because we are providing two smaller, more affordable homes rather than one executive four-bedroom property. That additional cost is around £38,000. With these costs, any possible profit is gone, and no one wants to buy the land and build under these circumstances. Who can blame them? The land development director at Goadsby recently valued the plot at £45k – a loss to us of over 70%. We are left with land that cannot viably be developed and a house build we cannot profit from. Yet the Government claims to be doing so much to help the building industry and provide millions of new homes …
***The Grumbler – the open opinion column in The BV. It’s a space for anyone to share their thoughts freely. While the editor will need to know the identity of contributors, all pieces will be published anonymously. With just a few basic guidelines to ensure legality, safety and respect, this is an open forum for honest and unfiltered views. Got something you need to get off your chest? Send it to [email protected]. The Grumbler column is here for you: go on, say it. We dare you.***
