Author Archive: dorchadmin

Dorchester Museum News

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We’re opening again very soon! Come in and see us!

We’re reopening the Museum on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 May, 2.00-5.00pm

(subject to government guidelines)

After that, we’ll be open every Wed, Thurs, Sat and Sun, 2.00-5.00pm until the end of September, as well as bank holiday Mondays.

So please do come in to say hello and have a look at the exhibits and the wide selection of greeting cards and small gifts in our shop.

Volunteers needed!

Please come and join our friendly team of volunteers who welcome visitors to the Museum. It’s a great way of meeting people from the village and visitors from afar. You don’t need detailed knowledge of our collection; you’ll get plenty of support. Time commitment is not extensive, just an afternoon session a couple of times a month, until the end of September.

For a look round the Museum and a chat about what’s involved in volunteering please contact:

Candy Madeley e mail candymadeley@hotmail.com

Edith Stedman

To mark the 60th anniversary of the Museum’s first opening by Edith, we have a new display board celebrating the major contribution she made to Dorchester Abbey and the village, for which she was awarded an OBE. We are also reissuing Edith’s charming and amusing account of Dorchester life in the 1950s and 1960s, A Yankee in an English Village, with added photos and explanatory notes. Further details in next month’s Dorchester News.

Oxford-Cambridge road scrapped after cost analysis

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Plans for an Oxford to Cambridge expressway have been scrapped as it was deemed to “not be cost-effective for the taxpayer”, the government has said.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said the decision was made after “extensive analysis” of the scheme, which was paused in March 2020.

The road would have linked Oxford with Milton Keynes and Cambridge.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government remained “committed to boosting transport links” in the area.

The expressway had been a key part of infrastructure plans since 2017, and the National Infrastructure Commission said the new road and the East West Rail project had to “be built as quickly as possible to unlock land for new homes”, in the area known as the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.

However, DfT said: “Extensive analysis and local engagement reveals the expressway would not be cost-effective for the taxpayer.”

It added: “The benefits the road would deliver are outweighed by the costs associated with the project.”

DfT said it would “work on alternative plans” to the expressway alongside building the East West Rail scheme.

 

More info: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-56443084

Bonfires

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Some residents have complained to the Parish Council about bonfires and nuisance smoke. The District Council is urging people not to light bonfires at this time to protect the respiratory health of the vulnerable and to avoid unnecessary burden on the NHS. COVID-19 is a respiratory disease and smoke inhalation can impair people’s breathing. In addition to this, with larger numbers of people now working from home and also looking after children, the smoke from such bonfires can cause unnecessary nuisance to your neighbours.

 

If you feel that having a bonfire is the only option, it is important that you follow this advice:

  • out of courtesy, inform your neighbours you are proposing to have a bonfire
  • only burn dry ‘clean’ wood/garden waste
  • do not burn household rubbish, such as plastic, foam, paint or rubber.
  • do not light bonfires when the material is damp because this will generate more smoke
  • do not use old engine oil, meths or petrol to light the fire
  • do not light bonfires when the wind is likely to blow smoke into neighbours’ homes or gardens
  • do not leave bonfires unattended, even if it is just smouldering.

 

 

To complain about a bonfire contact

www.southoxon.gov.uk/ Tel: 01235 422410