Back to Diddly Squat

5 March 2023

The farming community was unanimous in its praise for the first series of Clarkson’s Farm. Does the second series hold up, asks Andrew Livingston

When he’s not out bashing members of the royal family with the written word, Jeremy Clarkson is able to make funny, engaging, fantastic television.
The eight-episode series of Clarkson’s Farm features all your favourite characters from the hit first series, with the now-celebrity Kaleb Cooper, the farm’s advisor Charlie Ireland and of course Gerald the incomprehensible head of security.
Series two of Clarkson’s Farm spends a little less time on a season-to-season look at farming and instead tackles the big issue that faces all farmers at the moment … diversification.
After Brexit, the UK government announced that our farms would no longer be receiving the EU Basic Payment Scheme, which pays farmers a yearly lump sum based on the land they own.
Instead, farmers will now be paid by the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS). The problem is, the government still hasn’t actually said what this will look like or consist of, and simply keeps bandying the phrase “Public money for public goods.”

Diddly Squat Farm
Clarkson not receiving his Basic Payment is a loss of £82,000 a year to his business. The vast majority of UK farmers won’t lose quite that amount of money – it is increased by the number of hectares of land you own.
However, just like Clarkson, for most farmers that money is the difference between breaking even or running at a loss.
In an attempt to increase his profits, Diddly Squat Farm goes to war with the West Oxfordshire District Council to gain planning permission for a restaurant in order to sell the meat from the farm’s new Shorthorn cattle.
I implore everyone to watch the show – simply to save me describing each funny moment from the series.
I do, however, believe that some of the intrinsic character of the first season wasn’t quite there. Interestingly, the gripes I have with Clarkson’s Farm I also have with his other Amazon Prime show, The Grand Tour. I’m not sure if it comes with his increasing age, but his shows are becoming more and more blatantly scripted.
I’m not an idiot (most of the time). I know the show is scripted. Unusually for a rural-themed TV show, season one was universally popular with the farming community – mostly because Clarkson’s chaotic actions in season one were believable because it felt off the cuff – it resonated, as it showed what being a farmer is really like.

Farming comeback
Jeremy should count himself a lucky man. No matter what your view of the Royals, or where you sit on the everlasting Meghan and Harry debate, what he said in the Sun newspaper wasn’t good.
His career was in tatters.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire didn’t want him and Amazon was looking the same. They did announce that they are to part ways after 2024 – but after the success of the second series of Clarkson’s Farm, don’t be surprised if they renege on that in the future.
Almost 4.3 million people have watched the 62-year-old prat around on his farm, making it the streaming service’s biggest ever original production.
Jeremy might not ever be the greatest farmer – his own show is video evidence to prove it. But you can never deny the passion that he has for the industry. Farming is an under-appreciated world that seems just that little bit more significant with him in it.

The Farming section is sponsored by Trethowans – Law as it should be

Everything Goes – MPO are celebrating 100 years of musical theatre

Editorial team

5 March 2023

Richard Gaunt plays Stan the Man, and Linda Mumford, Edith the tea lady in MPO’s Everything Goes
Images: Paul Gumbrell

Everything Goes is the exciting new show by the award-winning Milborne Port Opera (MPO). It’s a foot-tapping backstage musical about … performing in backstage musicals! A group of actors are rehearsing their next show on stage. The theatre cleaner (who knows nothing) wanders in and demands to know what is going on. The director and the cast obviously explain by performing their show – managing to provide a potted history of musical theatre from Showboat to Chicago (and back again via Hamilton and Les Miserables).
The challenge for MPO is to perform all of the show’s numbers out of context and not in full costume, in order to respect copyright and licensing laws. Matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof is suddenly about Tinder dating. A group of men getting ready to go out on the town for the night may just find themselves Putting on a White Tie. Naturally, Oklahoma is the cast’s go-to holiday destination.
The show was devised and written by drama teacher Karen Pankhurst, who also co-directs. She joined MPO in 2019 for their smash hit Anything Goes, playing Bonnie, the gangster’s moll.
Rachel Milestone (Trial by Jury, Anything Goes and Merry Widow) and Allison Gosney are Karem’s co-directors.
Caroline D’Cruz, who joined the company in 2006, continues as musical director.

(L-R) Karen Pankhurst, Allison Gosney and Sukie Read, rehearse Ladies who Lunch from Company

The MPO company has a well-deserved reputation for beautiful choral singing in light opera, often with a modern slant. Over the last decade the company has also staged several Broadway or West End Musicals, culminating in the sell-out Anything Goes which was performed in the round on an arena stage in the village hall in 2019.
MPO is an amateur company. Its members come from all over South Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire and are farmers, teachers, business owners, scientists, students, retirees and many other occupations. It welcomes new performers, particularly younger ones. Enthusiasm, the ability to hold a note, and not knock the scenery over are the only qualifications required. You do not need to be able to read music (although you might find yourself acquiring this useful skill).

Everything Goes plays in the Milborne Port Village Hall 7.30pm 12th to 15th April. Tickets £15 (£10 concessions only on the first night).
Box Office www.mpopera.co.uk. Also from Waynes butchers, Milborne Port

Say YES to solar, but NO to huge greenfield solar power stations

Editorial team

5 March 2023

Rupert Hardy, Chairman of North Dorset CPRE, shares his thoughts on current planning applications for two huge solar farms in Dorset

View from Chalbury Hill towards North Farm, the site of the proposed Horton/Woodlands solar farm near Wimborne

A few months ago in this column we compared the merits of rooftop solar panels, which CPRE wholly supports, with the damage caused by huge greenfield solar farms – or industrial power stations, which they are, and their potential to desecrate our beautiful Dorset countryside (Rooftop panels vs. solar farms, The BV, Jan 23).
We are currently awaiting a planning hearing to determine the outcome of the Mappowder/Pulham greenfield solar application in North Dorset. There are also two other large greenfield solar proposals in Dorset – one situated around Horton in East Dorset and the other north of Chickerell in West Dorset – which, if approved, would be one of the biggest solar farms in the UK. It will take all your support to stop them.

Horton/Woodlands Solar
The Horton/Woodlands solar farm envisages two adjacent sites, covering an area up to 260 acres, within open sight of the nearby Grade II* listed Georgian folly, Horton Tower.
A lot of the site is classified as best and most versatile land, which currently grows crops vital for national self-sufficiency at a time of very high food price inflation.
The Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) adjoins the proposed site. It will suffer significant adverse effects both to its views and its setting. There is a public footpath, much used by residents and visitors, running through the site. These are all excellent reasons to object to this development, which is expected as a formal application imminently. There is a very proactive opposition group, as many local residents are aghast at the damage it would cause.

Chickerell Solar
Last year Statera Energy announced they wished to build a huge solar farm and battery storage facility covering 1,400 acres between Chickerell and Hardy’s Monument, close to the UNESCO World Heritage Jurassic Coast. The development would be nearly as large as Dorchester.
Curiously, it appears the company has no previous experience of installing solar farms and yet here it is proposing one of the biggest in the country. The location is close to an existing National Grid substation, which was designed partly for a traditional power station that never got built, so it may have spare capacity. It has already received severe criticism from the local MP Chris Loder, as well as the Dorset AONB, the Thomas Hardy Society, Dorset CPRE and local residents. Ironically, the government has just paid £116m to remove pylons and bury overhead cable to transform views of the beautiful protected landscape in the adjacent AONB!

Three miles of solar panels
The developer proposes that a third of the site would be within the AONB, despite the damage it will do to the setting and views. The site includes land classified as best and most versatile, used for arable as well as pasture. Again, therefore, food security is a major issue. There are Grade I and II* listed buildings in close proximity; heritage is another area of concern.
The footpaths that criss-cross the site are a valuable amenity; many tourists visit the area each year – more reasons to object. Imagine expecting a pristine view of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex rolling out in front of you from Hardy’s Monument only to see miles of industrial glass panels – equivalent to 885 soccer pitches (quite literally miles of it – the planned area runs 1.86 miles east to west, and more than three miles north to south). The landscape is the very one that so inspired Hardy, with his Budmouth (Weymouth) and Isle of Slingers (Portland) close by.

Recommended not to submit
Residents are also concerned about the fire risk, with possible toxic fumes, posed by a battery storage unit being sited so close to Chickerell, as well as the appalling congestion construction will cause. Access to the site will be via typically narrow country lanes.
It is interesting to note that the AONB has stated that ’the envisaged proposal will be unable to achieve consent, and therefore recommend that an application is not submitted.’
Astonishingly strong words for an AONB to use!
The reasons given by the AONB included key protective policies, a previous refusal of a much smaller solar farm on the site, and a need to demonstrate exceptional circumstances.
The battery storage facility will be assessed by Dorset Council, but the huge solar farm qualifies as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) due to its scale, and will be handled by the Planning Inspectorate, with the decision passed to the Secretary of State. The NSIP process is lengthy and complex, so a decision would be unlikely to come until 2025, at the earliest, unless the development is recommended for rejection by the Inspectorate at any early stage, which is possible, given the many reasons for objections.
The only NSIP proposal thus far in Dorset has been the Navitus Bay offshore wind farm, which was halted after concerted efforts by local authorities and campaigners. An action group is now being formed to fight this monstrosity.

We (CPRE) ask anyone wishing to help stop these two solar power stations from desecrating our countryside to email me on [email protected] so that I can forward on action group details. Remember these developers are motivated by profit, and NOT by protecting the planet.

Leters to the Editor March 2023

Editorial team

4 March 2023

From the editor…

Today I popped down the garden, and paused for a second. There it was. That inescapable, inevitable scent on the wind. Spring. It wasn’t a conscious choice, but my mood immediately lifted, and I took a few moments to smile at a suspicious robin who was waiting for me to leave.
This winter has been so very long – endlessly, ploddingly, dully long. But you can’t keep a good year down, and as the days lengthen our gloomy northern-dwelling brains, despite their best grumbling intentions, will start to feel that positivity that comes simply from a little brightness in the day.
Sometimes, you have to stop thinking so much about how wretched the world is and just feel the spring.
We have had long conversations with our son in America today as he tussles between two excellent job offers. One with a stellar global company but a rigid, restrictive work routine, the other with a young company without the name, the recognition or the stability – but all the flexibility and autonomy he could desire. Ultimately his decision won’t be made in a neatly thoughtful pros and cons list. He’ll simply go with which feels right. And rightly so.
Our front cover isn’t necessarily the most technically perfect image that was in our submissions this month. But that happy, pollen-coated fat little bee with his foolishly dangling legs gave us both that same warmth of optimism that a little sunshine in March brings. He’s heading down to just-one-more sticky yellow crocus stamen like it’s a packet of chocolate digestives that it’s frankly rude to say no to. It’s perfect. It feels right.
Highlights in this month’s issue for me are the Country Living focus on Toby Hoad the horse logger, the weirdly interesting insight into where our rubbish goes, and if you never venture as far as the Health columns, don’t miss Karen Geary’s comments around the news that our GP’s will be mass-prescribing statins. As you’d expect, she has Some Thoughts.
And finally, in a bit of a scoop by Edwina, the BV can give you a tour of some of the wonderful art inside The Red House, the winner of the Royal Institute of Architects (RIBA) prize for the UK’s best new architect-designed house. It is nestled in rolling hills south of Shaftesbury.
Enjoy March – don’t forget to go outside and lift your face to feel the sunshine when it shows up.

Second home owners
As I write this I note that Dorset Council has just voted through the additional levy on second home owners. Thank goodness. Second homes are the death by a thousand cuts for any small community. And it’s no good a holiday home owner suggesting that they contribute to the local economy – of course you do, but nowhere near as much as a family who work locally, attend school, shop, use the GP and pharmacy etc. It’s a nonsense argument. At the end of the day, if you can afford a second home, you can afford a little more tax on it to aid the community you are stripping of an asset.
(Terry’s interview with Cllr Peter Wharfe on the podcast was an excellent follow up to last month’s article, I urge others to go and listen to it.)
John Reid, Shaftesbury

Re. The original Blackmore Vale Magazine
I saw a mention in a recent article about being printed since 2020 and could only think you referred to your own tenure of the BVM.
In 1987 it was recommended to me by a local while I was searching for a place to live in North Dorset. It was packed with useful information and in fact lead to me finding a home. It provided details of employment, local events, Council activity and much much more over the years – I think it deserves a bit of a drum roll for a lengthy and informative history.
Suzanne Webb, by email

This question is raised frequently – you might like to read the article we wrote in November 2020 to clear the confusion. It may also interest you to know that we’re very proud to have the long-time editor of the original BVM Fanny Charles and equally-long-serving Dorset journalist Gay Pirrie-Weir as sub-editors – Ed

Developers in Marnhull
The arrogance of developers and their agents is breathtaking. Despite approval in recent months for nearly 300 homes, Marnhull is once again having to resist a major planning application on a greenfield site.
But the applications and supporting documents submitted are an insult to the intelligence of local people. Quite apart from the skewed arguments in favour of ‘sustainable development’ and ‘enhanced bio-diversity’, the casual incompetence of professional consultants beggars belief. Out-of-date plans and photos, inaccurate measurements and incorrect statements abound. It is evident that basic research has not been carried out and that no site visit has occurred.
On one recent application a consultant re-routed a public footpath through our garden and across the patio.
You couldn’t make it up. Except they do, as a result of cynical, sloppy and unprofessional practice. It’s bad enough to impose unwanted, unnecessary and excessive expansion on the rural community with all the harm to the landscape and environment that implies, but to do so with such incompetence adds insult to injury.
Stephen Boyce
Marnhull

On the flood at Bourton
Further to Roger Guttridge’s The day the Dam burst (The BV, Feb23):
We live right next to the dam in question on the road to Gasper and I’m pleased to say that a) it looks very solid and b) there is a very effective run off system now.
The lake is drained every year to manage the fish stocks. There is a plaque on the dam commemorating the events of that night.
Nick Allott, Facebook

For Barry and Pete
I just wanted to write and thank
Barry Cuff and Pete Harcom for their gardening columns. I don’t even grow veg except a few tomatoes – but I never miss Barry’s column, much like I never miss Gardener’s World.
I enjoy the gentle, calm tone and the obvious experience and passion that comes through his
words. Who knows, maybe I’ll plant some carrots this year, just to join in.
And Pete’s column always has a couple of jobs for me to get on with – despite not having a huge garden, I do love to keep on top if it. His timely reminders on a Friday always give me a task for the weekend ahead.
Could you thank them both for me, and tell them they are much appreciated?
Iris Bell, nr Blandford.
(you just did so yourself – Ed)

Leading law firm supports Dorset Business Festival

Editorial team

4 March 2023

Dorset Business Festival, the first of its kind in Dorset Chamber’s history, has partnered with Lester Aldridge, a leading law firm, as the lead partner.

FESTIVAL: Law firm Lester Aldridge has backed the Dorset Business Festival. From left are Dorset Chamber vice-president Tony Brown, Lester Aldridge partner Grant Esterhuizen, Dorset Chamber president Caron Khan and Dorset Chamber chief executive Ian Girling

Dorset Chamber has revealed its partnership with leading law firm Lester Aldridge as more information about a major business festival is revealed.
The Dorset Business Festival, which is the first event of its kind in the chamber’s 74-year history, will be held from 10th to 12th October. The three-day event is expected to attract delegates from across the region and will feature a conference, expo and the eagerly anticipated return of the Dorset Business Awards. Lester Aldridge has committed as the lead partner for the summit.
Ian Girling, CEO of Dorset Chamber, said, ‘We are delighted to have Lester Aldridge as our lead partner for the Dorset Business Festival. As a long-standing supporter of the chamber and a leading local business, they are the ideal partner for this event, which will showcase the success of the region’s businesses and consider the major challenges that they face today. We are confident that it will be a fantastic showcase for Dorset’s business community.’
Lester Aldridge, a full-service law firm headquartered in Bournemouth with offices in Southampton and London, is a Premier Partner of Dorset Chamber and the first business to commit to the festival, which will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Bournemouth town centre.
Grant Esterhuizen, Partner at Lester Aldridge, said, ‘We are excited to be a part of the Dorset Business Festival. It will provide a tremendous opportunity to bring the business community together after the turbulence of recent times, and we hope that many other Dorset businesses, organisations and individuals will also participate.’
Additional details about the Dorset Business Festival have been revealed. On 10th October, a conference will be hosted by presenter and former BBC Breakfast business correspondent Declan Curry. It will feature a keynote speaker and expert panel discussions, with topics likely to include technology and the environmental, social and governance agenda. There will also be networking opportunities. On 11th October the expo will feature stands, presentations and networking, while on 12th October the revamped Dorset Business Awards, which have been on hiatus for four years, will be presented in ten categories following judging by an independent panel of business leaders and experts.

Wonders for a nature-loving brain

Editorial team

4 March 2023

BV readers have long been fans of our wildife writer Jane Adams, and the power of her words. Her column is a favourite of many as she gently shows us the secrets, beauty (and humour) held within the Dorset landscape, always encouraging us to see something new in its wild inhabitants. This month sees the launch of her first book, published in association with the National Trust.
As if taking us with her on one of her walks, Jane wanders gently through the year, her evocative writing sitting alongside her beautiful photography. No sooner are you trying to recall what an oak apple gall* looks like than, there is a handy picture.
*… used in the production of iron gall ink. This water-resistant and permanent ink was used by Leonardo da Vinci and the scholars of the Dead Sea scrolls

A small problem
I’ll be honest, there is one issue with this book. It is impossible just to flick through it. I expected a rather obvious walk through the seasons (“spring wanders from south to north at a leisurely pace of one to two kilometres an hour”), filled with things that I, as a keen walker and nature lover, already knew. Instead I’m still here, half an hour later, enjoying cockchafer names (kittywitch, billywitch, mitchamador, snartlegog, humbur, bummer…) and the fact that “in 1320, exasperated with the damage cockchafers were causing, a court ordered the insects to be exiled to an area of cordoned-off woodland. Unsurprisingly, the beetles didn’t comply.”
Jane’s book is so much more than seasonal saunters. It’s a reminder to pay attention to the very smallest of details. In an always-busy modern world, it is a pause, a way to feel those ever-more important connections to nature, no matter where we are, no matter how small they may be
“… experiencing them reminds us nature isn’t something separate or out of reach. It’s here, now, entwined throughout our lives. Sometimes, though, we forget … we can become engrossed in, and exhausted by, the modern world and the pressures that come with it. We forget to go in search of shooting stars in the winter skies, or listen for the garden robin’s serenade whilst putting out the bins.”
After one read, this book is a firm favourite I will return to again and again. I will give it to others. It’s such a wonderful celebration of so many small, apparently insignificant facets of our English countryside, and it is packed with constant nuggets of delight.
“In October and November, jays begin to hide acorns.
Not just a few beakfuls, but thousands upon thousands – each jay stuffing as many as 5,000 acorns into holes they have dug in the ground.”
They constantly make me want to go and tell someone.
So here I am.

Nature’s Wonders (£15) is available locally at Winstone’s in Sherborne, Folde in Shaftesbury, Gullivers in Wimborne, Little Toller in Beaminster, plus all good online bookshops.

Time to get started in the garden

Editorial team

4 March 2023

March is here – and it’s finally time to get started on the outdoor jobs, says gardener Pete Harcom. But keep an eye on the forecast!

A bullfinch enjoying the winter berries of the guelder rose (Viburnum opulus)

The clocks may go forward on 26th March and spring might be in the air, but March can be a cold month. It can be late April or even May before night-time frosts are reliably over.

Jobs for March

If the weather allows and the soil is not frozen, annual flowers can be sown from March onwards – just rake the soil to a fine tilth on a dry day. Once you’ve planted, watch the weather forecasts for frosty nights and protect the seeds if necessary with cloches or horticultural fleece – or even some net curtaining.
Be careful on your shopping trips; the garden centres will have beautiful displays of annuals and bedding plants to woo you at this time of year. But it may be best to wait until late March before you purchase too many tender plants (fuchsias and pelargoniums, for example), unless you have good frost protection like cloches or even a cold greenhouse.
Keep an eye on weeds as they begin to emerge, taking them out with a hoe or similar.
Cover any bare soil patches and all around your shrubs with a good thick layer of mulch or garden compost. Also, top up potted plants with a similar layer of mulch or compost.
March is your last chance to plant bare-rooted trees and shrubs. Now the soil is warming up, shrubs will soon begin to grow and get established (container-grown shrubs can be planted at any time of year other than during very hot weather).
Prune bush and climbing roses quite hard back to strong stems, with a sloping cut, no more than 5mm away from a bud. Ensure your secateurs are sharp and clean!

Winter berries
During the winter months the garden can look decidedly devoid of colour – winter berries can add quite significant colour to a garden and will have the benefit of helping birds through the harsh winter months.
There are lots of native berry-bearing species including rowan, holly, whitebeam, spindle, dog rose, guelder rose (Vibernum), elder, hawthorn, honeysuckle and ivy. But you could also consider attractive shrubs like cotoneaster, pyracantha and berberis, all of which are especially good for a wide variety of birds.
But it’s not just our avian pals – berry and fruit-bearing trees provide food for insects and animals too. Hedgehogs, badgers, mice, squirrels and even foxes will all happily feed on them. All sorts of fruit are attractive to insects, and fallen fruit or spare fruit from the home will attract those insects to your garden, which will in turn attract a variety of birds.

What’s on at the Exchange in March 2023

Editorial team

4 March 2023

Details of all the events taking place at the Exchange in Sturminster Newton in March 2023 are in the poster below.

Visit the website – https://stur-exchange.co.uk or call the box office on 01258 475137

Is North Dorset overwhelmed with housing developments?

Editorial team

4 March 2023

The fast-burgeoning rate of new housing developments in Dorset is a hot topic for many local Facebook groups – Rachael Rowe investigates

Prices start at £292,995 on a typical recent local development of two, three and four-bedroom homes.

You don’t have to travel far in the Blackmore Vale to see a large building site and people in high viz jackets. It seems that almost every town and village has a housing development.
There is no doubt that new homes are required – there are currently 3,600 people on the Dorset housing register waiting for a home – but are we getting the right type of home, where it is needed? And is North Dorset overwhelmed with housing developments?

There have been 55 planning applications for developments of more than 20 houses in the past three years in North Dorset, which would provide more than 4,600 homes. Parish councils, and the majority of existing residents, understand the need to build more homes and for affordable new housing. However, most North Dorset residents could probably name somewhere developments have been agreed upon, and then along comes another planning application. Although a parish or town council objects, almost all are granted on appeal.

So what is happening with Dorset planning?

Cllr David Walsh leads on planning at Dorset Council, where a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to manage the situation.
‘We don’t currently have a five-year housing land supply and are not building at the rate expected by the government. So if a planning application is refused, the developers will automatically appeal.
‘At appeal, the Planning Inspectorate will immediately look to see whether the land supply is fulfilled – if it isn’t, they will grant the application. So smart developers target areas with an insufficient five-year housing land supply.
‘In North Dorset, we gave a lot of weight to the Southern Extension in Gillingham. However, these numbers should not have been able to carry so much weight for a 15-year development.’
One of the biggest concerns of many people over new developments is the lack of infrastructure required to support additional housing, such as roads and schools. Cllr Walsh continued: ‘The Southern Extension of Gillingham is the highest density housing allowed. So we insisted on having a new access road before any development occurred. We need to work differently, so the infrastructure is already in place to support new developments.’
Cllr Graham Carr-Jones is the lead at Dorset Council for housing. ‘The number of houses is not a problem. It’s the type of supply. Many of the houses being developed are for the market, whereas affordable solutions are what’s needed, to accommodate local key workers, for example.’
But how many houses are too many? Cllr Carr-Jones continued. ‘I have been to every appeal in Stalbridge, which has had a large amount of development in recent years.
We can’t stop developers from putting in appeals. And it all starts with the landowner.
‘My frustration is massive, and I know we need the homes.’
Some parishes have developed neighbourhood plans, but how valid are they in the current climate? David Walsh thinks they are useful: ‘Within the National Planning Policy Framework requirements, they are worth less, but not worthless.’
Chief Executive of North Dorset CPRE Rupert Hardy also has concerns. ‘We know that Dorset Council’s Local Plan was way too ambitious when it stated a need of 39,000 homes, and thankfully that figure is being reassessed. But there’s now a lot of new housing in Shaftesbury and Blandford – which is also now facing an application for an additional 500 new homes.’

Under Gillingham’s Southern Extension plans, around 1,800 new homes will be built between now and 2033, along with new roads, schools and employment units.

Are they the right type of homes?

Looking around at the many new developments, it’s easy to see that some are very uniform, with lots of semi-detached houses, while others have larger detached homes.

What I’m desperate to see are first-home schemes, where houses are discounted to 60 per cent of the market value and made available only to local people. They will then remain at that value in perpetuity.’
Cllr Graham Carr-Jones

What should be constructed locally to suit the needs of the population? A recent report by the Centre for Policy Studies shows that there is insufficient brownfield land for the number of homes required nationally. The report also indicates that although house prices and rental charges have increased significantly, the UK’s buildings themselves are smaller than the average size in other western European countries.
Concentrating on the housing needs of North Dorset, Cllr Carr-Jones says: ‘We need social housing and we need genuinely affordable homes. Shared ownership is an option. However, some “affordable” homes are actually unaffordable to local working people. What I’m desperate to see are first-home schemes, where houses are discounted to 60 per cent of the market value and made available only to local people. They will then remain at that value in perpetuity.’
Rupert Hardy wants to see different types of housing proposed. ‘Most developers are hell-bent on building four-bedroom executive homes. North Dorset needs more social housing, retirement homes and shared ownership schemes. And it would help if new builds were sited within walking or cycling distance of communities to reduce the need for cars. We’d also like to see Dorset Council increase solar panels on roofs and aim for net zero on new housing developments.’

The new Violet Cross development in Hazelbury Bryan exceeded planning conditions, providing 100 per cent affordable housing.

One developer providing 100 per cent affordable housing

With all the new homes appearing in North Dorset, just how popular are they? Violet Cross in Hazelbury Bryan is a new development of 21 houses. Twelve offer shared ownership and the remainder are let at affordable rents, some of them targeted at people with a local connection. Planning permission was awarded to the Dorset-headquartered AJC Group for a collection of 13 open market homes and eight affordable dwellings (40 per cent).
However, the company has an ambition to change the face of social housing, and AJC Group worked with developers Abri to provide 100 per cent affordable housing across the scheme.
David Cracklen, director of AJC Group, said: ‘We are extremely proud of this partnership project. Working together with Abri, we transformed a derelict brownfield site into 21 eco-focused new homes, in line with our aim and vision to produce higher quality affordable homes in line with the housing needs of underserved rural communities.’ The people interested in these houses are couples and families aged between 25 and 50.
Sam Stone, associate director of land and planning at Abri, said: ‘We know the importance of affordable homes in meeting local needs, particularly in more rural locations which frequently command higher house prices, and when it comes to buying, people that have been renting locally are often priced out of their countryside location.
We hope these homes in Hazelbury Bryan will allow more local people to get their foot on the property ladder without having to leave the area. Violet Cross is a great example of how a former brownfield site that was derelict for eight years can be redeveloped for the benefit of the whole community.’
Graham Carr-Jones visited the Norden housing development in Blandford Forum when the first occupants were moving in: ‘One young woman said she had purposely chosen one of these homes in the centre of town so that she didn’t live somewhere that had recently been a green field. She had really thought about the impact of her purchase.’
With large numbers on the housing register, and a need to attract key workers into North Dorset, there is an urgent, demonstrable need for more affordable housing.
However, there are opportunities for local communities to influence the types of housing provided, by encouraging affordable and sustainable options.

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