A consultation on the Dorset Council Local Plan begins on 18 January and will last until 15 March. Once adopted, the Local Plan will guide decisions on planning applications in Dorset until 2038.
Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council portfolio holder for planning, said:
“This is the time for local residents to have their say on the future of Dorset. We want to get everyone’s views on the draft plan.
“We are working closely with all our stakeholders, our own councillors and town and parish councils to make sure we reach all parts of Dorset.”
For people who don’t have access to the plan online there are paper copies available for loan at libraries through their click and collect service.
There are displays in windows of empty shops, libraries and Tourist Information Centres in some town centres.
There will also be a phone line that people can call to ask questions. This number will be available Monday – Friday 10am – 2pm. The dedicated phone line is 01305 252500
A series of webinars will allow people to phone in and listen to, or view presentations about various sections of the plan. Once published, the webinars will be available to view at any time on our YouTube channel. Questions can be submitted in advance for the team to answer either as part of the webinar or afterwards. We will aim to respond to all questions asked to each webinar on our webpage no later than 2 weeks afterwards.
There are also bespoke surgeries for particular groups and town and parish councils available upon request
A series of animations and podcasts have been developed to help explain The Dorset Council Local Plan. These can be found through Dorset Council’s social media channels or on the podcast platform Anchor.
The consultation closes on 15 March 2021.
The plan will go through several phases and will include a further chance for feedback on the ‘soundness’ of the plan. It will also be scrutinised by the planning inspectorate before its adoption.
Schedule for webinars:
1.Distribution of development: including functional areas, settlement hierarchy and spatial distribution of development. 26 Jan 12pm – 1pm. https://youtu.be/EeMCbPCjSOk
2: All things environmental: including climate change, renewable energy, flooding and biodiversity. 28 Jan 12pm – 1pm. https://youtu.be/wwO7b3j24QI
3 Central Dorset towns, housing and employment sites and heritage.2 Feb 12pm – 1pm. https://youtu.be/OWt02uhJNTw
4: Western Dorset towns, housing and employment sites and landscape. 4 Feb 12pm – 1pm https://youtu.be/fjID4InPMh4
5: Housing: including housing need, neighbourhood planning and affordable housing. 9 Feb 12pm – 1pm. https://youtu.be/t5dEY4ldamw
6: South Eastern Dorset housing, employment and town centres and the Green Belt. 11 Feb 12pm – 1pm. https://youtu.be/2QHNO8abakk
7 Northern Dorset housing, employment and town centres and Design. 16 Feb 12pm – 1pm. https://youtu.be/ZjGMN1ywcP4
8: The Economy, community and collecting money from development.
18 Feb 12pm – 1pm https://youtu.be/ENFn5QtDHSw
Location of town centres displays:
- Dorchester
- Sherborne
- Weymouth
- Ferndown
- Bridport
- Wimborne
- Blandford
- Wareham
- Corfe Mullen
- Upton and more…
Social media links
Extend to at least 12 weeks – normally 8 weeks would be too short for such an important consultation; but this is during a pandemic!
I welcome that there is some public engagement methods that Dorset Council is planning, and appreciate the massive challenge of public engagement during a pandemic, but I question how much information can be imparted in each hour webinair which cover such wide and diverse subject areas . In addition, the amount of public engagement planned is grossly inadequate compared to what each district area would have provided historically. I urge Dorset Council to extend the length of this consultation to at least 12 weeks!
I am concerned that for people that live in and around Swanage, the nearest Town Centre display is listed as being at Wareham which is well outside of the 5 miles we led to believe we are permitted to travel under Covid restrictions. Are we even permitted under Covid restrictions to visit such a Town Centre display?
However we are all allowed to visit our local food shops and supermarkets, so perhaps it would lead to wider and more effective public engagement if Dorset Council put banners up at the entrances to supermarkets and village food shops and other prominent places informing residents of the existence of the consultation and directing them to how they can respond (include deadline date).
Perhaps Dorset Council could send out postcards to every household informing them about their opportunity to respond the this Consultation, as they are doing for raising awareness about the Covid restrictions?
Hi Jose – Thank you for your comments. We are working on a display in Swanage, but at the time of going to press this hasn’t been finalised. The town centre displays are using empty shop windows, TICs and library windows so they are available to view in a covid safe way. We are prepared to extend comnsultations if we feel there is a need for this – we have done this with many consultations over the last year. Rest assured I am using as many channels as we can to get everyone who wants to comment can. We are working with town and parish councils and groups to get to very local areas.Fiona
Josephine is quite right about extending the consultation period.
This document will affect the lives of thousands of people for decades – you must extend the window for comments and make more effort to involve more people in the consultation.
Hi Alastair – I have already given this feedback to the project team. Fiona
It is really hard to believe that the Council do want feedback if this is the approach to letting people know about the Plan. When we had the last 15 year plan in East Dorset we ALL got an explanatory guide through the door; now, it seems that even a postcard to tell people it exists is too much.
I only found this because a friend emailed it to me from a Facebook feed. I, like many people, don’t use Facebook; even if I did I’d presumably have to be signed up for that feed. And the notifications will be posted in town centres where most people aren’t going at the moment. As Jose’s comment said, there would be a better chance of people seeing it if it was posted near supermarkets and food shops – is that too much to ask?
And I find it hard to believe that the Council will step up to really letting people know – at least if the totally inadequate consultation on the ‘Transforming Travel’ changes to Leigh Road and Wimborne Road West in Wimborne is anything to go by – didn’t ask residents but held events in a few places so people might just be lucky and be in those places at the time, but probably wouldn’t.
Hi Geoff – Thank you for your comments. rest assured this is not the only way we are communicating with Dorset Residents. There are numerous ways in which people can be involved. Information has been sent to all parish/community newsletters in time for inclusion in their editions that cover the consultation period. We’re involving town and parish councils to ensure local comments are heard with posters being delivered to be placed in noticeboards. There will be displays in many major towns using empty shop windows, Tourist information centres and library windows. The plan can be loaned from local libraries as part of their click and collect services. These are just a few of the non-digital ways we are involving everyone. There are also many digital ways we are using to include all age ranges and demographics of our residents. Fiona
Totally inadequate response which only serves to confirm the feeling that you really don’t want to tell people or give adequate time for response. I am definitely not assured.
Why only 8 weeks during a lockdown?
Why do you think putting posters in places where people aren’t going at the moment is helpful?
Why can’t you put posters where people ARE going, supermarkets and food shops, as Josephine said?
Why can’t you at the very least deliver a postcard to everyone?
I am told that Wimborne library will have only 5 leaflets and they’ll have to be quarantined for 72 hours if used and returned. True? If so how can you believe that is adequate?
WHAT digital ways are you telling people?
You need considerably better engagement with the people that are paying your salaries and hoping you will do the best for us.
Hi Geoff – I’m sorry you feel this way. The elected councillors have agreed to 8 weeks of consultation and to conduct it in this manner. There is a timescale attached to getting the plan agreed so we have no option to go ahead in the current situation. As for the posters – we are asking local people (town and parish councils) to put them in the places that people are going. Local knowledge is everything. A postcard to every address is not the way to get the message to everyone and it would cost thousands of pounds. I am using ALL the channels at my disposal to get the message to as many people as we can. As far as digital goes – we are not only using this article (which has your attention), our own social media channels I am advertising on particular digital channels to ensure a good cross section of our demographic profile responds to this consultation. I sincerely want as many respondents to this consultation Fiona.
So what happened to my previous reply/questions and your non-answer to that??? I know it existed as a friend phoned me about it and I looked but didn’t have time to respond then. Another example of your not engaging with the comments? We have to provide an email address to make a comment but then you can’t be bothered to actually send a copy of your reply there, so people keep having to check back here.
I asked about at least sending a postcard to every Council taxpayer and you said it would cost thousands – not if you got involved with locals to do voluntary mail drops… a lot of people would be only too happy to have something useful to do.
If I recall, you still glossed over the point that people aren’t going to the places you’re putting posters but are going to supermarkets and food shops where you don’t have information. And what use is ‘click and collect’ at libraries if people don’t have computers; the main reason for getting a hard copy I’d have thought?
And, I think you said you’re doing lots of digital stuff, without saying what. Well, I’ve still certainly seen nothing and I imagine that’s true of the majority of residents. But I did get a letter from my MP today telling me of the plans. He, at least, can be bothered to engage individually with his constituents.
And having posted a further comment, my earlier one (18 January) and your last reply suddenly appeared – is there a way to make this happen that I (and everyone else?) am missing?
Hi Geoff – I have no idea. I have been keeping a daily eye on comments approving and trying to answer as soon as I can. Fiona
Hi Geoff – I am now in a position to share the comms activity that we are doing for this consultation: Comms activity for Dorset Council Plan from 1 December to 9 February.
Our Comms activity took into consideration demographics of all our residents, their communication preferences and how we can best communicate to them. I’ve been keen to ensure that even though we are in a pandemic that people who do not have internet access are not disadvantaged. I also was keen to ensure that we reached out to those residents who would not normally engage in face to face displays in town halls to get involved if they so wish.
I am sharing this information to explain how we are getting the message to as many residents of Dorset that we can so that there is a range of view from a representative sample.
In addition to this the planning team have a dedicated phone line (01305 252500) available Monday to Friday 10am – 2pm for people to phone in with issues about viewing the plan, asking questions of the planning team or submitting comments. Online surgeries have been taken up by town and parish councils and interest groups including CPRE.
The objectivesof this comms plan is:
To get people to visit the Dorset Council Local Plan web page and to add their views to the consultation. We also want to explain what the plans is, how it is compiled and what it can and can’t do.
This is the results of this activity so far (half way through this consultation):
Social media (as at 08/02/21)(Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram): Posts -81, Clicks 1.1k Reach -1.1m, Impressions – 162.7k, Likes – 374. retweets/shares – 250
Webinars (YouTube) – 5 webinars 2,122 (available at any time, with captions)
Newsroom articles: Articles -2, Comments – 27 (available at anytime)
Podcasts (Anchor FM) – 5 episodes, 532 plays (available at anytime)
Newsletters: 19 newsletters to 9 audiences
Advertising (paid for):
Facebook (started 18/1) – Clicks -360, Reach – 20,954 impressions – 73,343
Spotify (started 18/1) – clicks – 100, Reach -9,455, Impressions – 36,504
LinkedIn (started 31/1) – clicks – 35, impressions 2,163
Also using other online advertising to increase traffic to our web page
Advertising on 6 local radio stations across Dorset and conducting interviews on many outlets too.
Unique page views:
December – 344
January – 11,620
February (to date) – 6,375
So, the equivalent of 10.5% of Dorset’s residents have visited the Dorset Council Local Plan consultation page to date.
Articles for community and parish newsletters – 1
Media Releases – 2 sent to county wide contacts. With 37 individual articles published.
I hope this helps explain that we are using every channel in our arsenal to ensure residents of Dorset are able to take part in this consultation. Fiona
Any land being sold for social housing or for 75% or lower of market value should almost be guaranteed planning permission PDQ. Projects similar to the Worth Matravers scheme in the press this week.
Let land sellers suggest street names in recognition of their contribution to a village community obviously within decency criteria.
Suitable covenants on these for-sale properties to cover successors in title for no end date
There appears to be no direct link to the source documents from your consultation page ?
Please, please can you make it easier to respond to this consultation. The link provided just took me to a vast list of services where it was impossible to find the online response.
We can also respond via email or letter, but this needs a special form that has to be requested. Why, not put the form online so that we can download?
Many thanks.
Apologies Glenn – the link will be available on the webpage at lunchtime today when the online survey opens and people can start leaving their comments. Thank you for your support.
I have to agree with Josephine, Geoff and Alastair, the short timescale coupled with the current restrictions on movement suggest that our elected representatives are trying to sneak this in under the radar. Raping the Green Belt can only be permitted in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and these must be demonstrated openly. I further suggest that the plan needs to be co-ordinated with BCP since the lack of local employment means that East Dorset in particular is rapidly becoming a dormitory for BCP, with all the traffic and service issues that entails.
Hi Dave – please enter your comments into the consultation at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx. Comments made here will not be entered into the consultation. Fiona
It surprised me to find Blandford is no longer in rural ‘North Dorset’, despite being the ‘home’ of NDDC for many years. We are now in the “South Eastern Dorset Functional Area” and presumably classed with “The large built-up area of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole”
The plan to add many more houses in the Area of Outstanding Beauty, and the planned destruction of the Nordon Conservation area suggests that Dorset Council doesn’t quite realise where Blandford is!
It’s not the ‘green-belt’ which will be taken away but invasion into the AONB; just a small further expansion of the town will be a ‘blot on the landscape’ to be seen for many miles; but the plan is for significant growth.
Heaven help us.
Hi Dorset Person – please add your comment at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan.aspx anything mentioned on this news artickle will not be included in the consultation. The reasons for dividing the county into functional areas is explained in the video at https://youtu.be/EeMCbPCjSOk. We are not planning to build on the AONB – all of this is explained here https://youtu.be/wwO7b3j24QI. Fiona