• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Arts & crafts, healthy living, alternative therapies, what’s on Your Dorchester independent community magazine VoiceAlso serving local villages One-way Issue No. 11 system SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 abandoned COUNTY SHOW ROUND-UP SPECIAL FEATURE: Judge Jeffreys & the town’s tunnels Featuring Gig Guide and Out & About – full local listings Supporting Dorchester’s independent retailers, craftspeople ­­­and practitioners Experts in Wills, Probate & Estate Management At Nantes, we have a dedicated team of professionals offering a range of legal services to help you get your family affairs in order and prepare for the future. • Drawing up Wills Hilary Neill • Inheritance Tax and Estate Planning Adam Hillier • Administering Probate • Putting in place Lasting Powers of Attorney Our team have extensive knowledge and experience, and an excellent local reputation. Kathryn Day We provide honest, clear advice to Michelle O’Leary suit your individual circumstances; we are always sympathetic to your needs and aim to make every step as straightforward as possible. For legal advice that gives you peace of mind Call: 01305 250100 or Email: [email protected] Cheryl Ford 48 High West Street, Dorchester DT1 1UT | 69 The Esplanade, Weymouth DT4 7AA www.nantes.co.uk Community News Drama as one-way system scrapped Plans for a controversial new one-way system in Junction improvements to help keep traffic moving Dorchester to help reduce air pollution have been (following Great Western Cross improvements). dropped after huge protests by residents. A report will be prepared for the county The new scheme (DTEP), announced last autumn, council’s asset management group on 28 would have seen High West Street and parts of High October. East Street become one-way. New traffic signals County councillor Trevor Jones said: “After 12 were to be installed at the junction of Princes Street years on and off, I think we’re nearly there. and Albert Road, and there would have been some “While there is a realisation that we’re never banned turns at the junction of Great Western Road. going to get widespread support for redistributing However, many families feared the move would traffic around the town and away from present simply funnel more traffic through residential areas, congestion sites, we believe it is possible to get and hundreds of people staged a public meeting at traffic through the town smoother and quicker the Corn Exchange to protest at the plans. than is happening now. Now Dorset County Council has scrapped the “What we have in mind is replacing the old scheme, opting instead for minor improvements to traffic lights with new linked signals, possible smooth traffic flow through the town centre. peak-hour loading bans on main roads, and some Plans for a one-way system were first drawn up in junction improvements.” 2003, but were later shelved due to funding issues. However, not all Dorchester residents are happy The original scheme involved creating a gyratory with the announcement. system at Maumbury Junction but this would have Robert Lunn, who lives with his wife over their required expensive engineering design. shop, the Box of Porcelain in High East Street, has However the scaled-down scheme announced to put up with continuous traffic noise and fumes. last year drew immediate criticism. “What they doing is absolutely ridiculous,” he In an article they prepared for the Voice at the said. “What they are going to do if they speed up time, residents said: “It was clear that DTEP did not traffic is encourage even more people to come aim to reduce the amount of traffic in Dorchester through town. but rather redistribute it. “The only reason you should be coming into “Air quality was to be improved in the High town is if you are a commercial vehicle to deliver Streets by effectively moving the pollution problem something, and if you are an individual you are south into residential areas around the Borough clearly going to a car park. Gardens.” “All the road systems should be designed to The deferred DTEP junction and pedestrian speed traffic to and from the car park, and then improvements could include: from the car park out of town.” � Top o’ Town: Pedestrian islands widened to com- ply with current crossing standards � Great Western Cross: Signals to be upgraded Advertise from just £30! and pedestrian facilities improved Advertise in the Dorchester Voice from � South Gate: Upgrade of pedestrian crossings just £30 for an advert this size! � Maumbury Cross and link road through car Trade Directory just £20! park: Junction improvements to help keep traffic Other price examples: moving and pedestrian facilities improved 1/4 page = £45 � South Street: Pave the remaining southern sec- 1/2 page = £70 tion of the road Free editorial support for a run of 3-4 ads. � High Street junction with Trinity Street: Up- Call Richard on 07766 996540 grade signals and resurface area or email [email protected] � Damers Road junction with Williams Avenue: Printed by Henry Ling Limited at the Dorset Press, Dorchester DT1 1HD Henry Ling Limited at the Dorset Press, Dorchester Printed by www.dorchestervoice.co.uk 3 Dorchester Voice Letters to the Editor Wind farm protesters are weak on facts Sir, kicking. Is Broadview pressing ahead or simply Re the interesting article against wind farms going through the legitimate process? Some ways of (Dorchester Voice, issue 10), as a point of infor- presenting are very pejorative. Majorities may not mation it should be noted that in the planning always be right, but I think it is wrong for minorities application the ‘potential’ photos provided by the to claim to be majorities. developer have to conform to planning guidelines One might well imagine that in the Salisbury re location and angle etc, and cannot be adjusted Nimby Weekly for 22 July 1314, there was an arti- for dramatic effect. The anti-protesters are not so cle decrying the construction of the cathedral tower limited, hence the licence in their depictions. and spire, pointing out that it would dwarf both the All the government surveys on wind farm loca- city and Stonehenge, damage local amenities, and tions show the majority in favour. In the most recent while it might be suitable elsewhere, the marshy Public Attitudes Tracker* from the Department for land of Salisbury would be most unsuitable. Energy & Climate Change (DECC), 70% of people However, 700 years later we have generally got said they support the development of onshore used to it and some even think it beautiful – it’s all wind – the highest ever figure since DECC’s regular in the eye of the beholder. Do we think it despoiled opinion polls began in March 2012. the exceptional environmental surroundings? I saw a pro-wind farm stall in Dorchester and The concept of subsidy is complicated; nobody there was a queue to sign in support – presumably talks of the implicit subsidy to other forms of energy these were local residents, too. So the campaign production when the profits have been taken. The to progress the wind farms appears to be alive and decommissioning bill for nuclear energy is cur- rently £100bn and it costs £1.6bn a year to run the Sellafield site. Wind turbines pay for their cost of production in six months, and that includes all clean-up costs. It’s difficult to compete with that. Len Herbert Poundbury resident Sir, I picked up the Dorchester Voice as we were there on holiday and I read with interest the local residents thoughts on the broadview energy wind farm proposal nr. Maiden Castle. The calculations on the community fund seem a little off. If what you are saying is correct then each year approx £16.5m will be submitted as a sweetner to the local community and there must therefore be in excess of 8 million people living within 3 miles of the application. I believe the figure should have been stated as £5,000 per megawatt installed not per megawatt hour generated – very different indeed. Sam Clarke Do you have an issue of local concern? Email [email protected] Dorchester Voice 4 September-October 2014 BT error causes chaos at Casterbridge A catalogue of errors by BT left the owners of Dorchester’s Casterbridge Hotel without their normal business phone number for days. Monica and Melvin Curtis were left fuming in frustration after mistakes over the installation of a new wifi system for hotel guests cut off their adver- tised phone number. They say the fiasco has cost them hundreds of pounds in lost businesses and caused massive in- convenience for both themselves and guests trying to phone the hotel. To add to the chaos, BT did not even know the number of a temporary line they were allocated, and they were unable to have calls forwarded to that, or to their mobile phone. At one point in the process – which also in- Frustrated: Monica Curtis volved removing two of the existing three lines in the building – they even lost their temporary line, anything and we’re going to claim for compensa- and could not make any outgoing calls, either. tion for loss of business. It’s appalling.” “We’re getting no calls. They’ve cut off my main A BT spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear business number,” said Melvin. of the experience of Mr and Mrs Curtis. We are “We’ve had nine weeks of this – I’m going to working to provide a normal service as quickly as put in an official complaint. We’re not paying for possible.” www.dorchestervoice.co.uk 5 Dorchester Voice Sponsored feature Health and beauty experts on hand at Damers Road If you are looking for help to ease the stresses and strains of modern life, then Damers Road, near Dorset County Hospital, is the place to go.

Load more

  32

Copy Link