The Dorset Post is an independent news and information site for the Dorset Council area. We read the public record and publish what is in it, and we keep the everyday local information accurate.
The boundary that matters most
Since April 2019 there have been two councils in Dorset, not one. Dorset Council covers the rural two thirds: Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland, Sherborne, Shaftesbury, Gillingham, Sturminster Newton, Blandford Forum, Bridport, Lyme Regis, Wimborne, Ferndown, Verwood, Swanage and the villages between. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are a separate unitary authority with their own bin rounds, their own parking rules and their own council tax. Everything on this site about council services applies to the Dorset Council area, and we say so plainly rather than letting anyone assume.
No centre, and what that means
Dorchester is the county town and the council’s base but has only around 21,000 people; Weymouth is the biggest place at roughly 53,000; the north of the county looks to Yeovil and Salisbury as much as to either. There is no dominant town to speak for the rest, which is precisely why a single site reading the council’s paperwork is useful: the decisions are made centrally even though the places are not connected.
What we work from
Dorset Council’s planning register and committee papers, licensing notices, police.uk crime data, HM Land Registry sold prices, Food Standards Agency hygiene ratings, Environment Agency flood and coastal warnings, and company filings in The Gazette. Where a record is unclear we say it is unclear rather than filling the gap, and every fact carries a link to the original.
Tips and corrections
In a county of small towns and villages, residents nearly always know first. Email hello@dorsetpost.co.uk with a tip, an event worth listing, or a correction. Tips are treated in confidence, and corrections are made quickly and noted on the page.
The Dorset Post is part of Future Business Media.