Dorset Local Information
Practical local information for the Dorset Council area: house prices town by town, trains to London, roadworks, days out and planning, each one linked back to the official source.
Top story
Dorset bin collection days: no bank holiday changes
Dorset collects on every bank holiday; only Christmas and New Year move. Garden waste is £74, pauses only at Christmas, and is not on your round calendar.
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Local Info
Parking in Dorset: 70p for 30 minutes, free after 6pm
Most Dorset Council car parks charge 8am to 6pm and nothing after. Weymouth seafront bays cost £7.30 overnight, and Portland's Chesil charges round the clock.
Local Info
Dorset council tax 2026/27: £2,625.43 before your parish
Band D is £2,625.43 before any parish precept. Sturminster Newton adds £303.52 on top, 28 parishes add nothing, and two percentages on the council's page do not match its own figures.
Local Info
Dorset house prices: £326,381 average, town by town
The Dorset average is £326,381, still 7.3% below its 2022 peak. Our read of 5,528 sales gives medians for 19 towns, from Portland to St Leonards.
Local Info
Dorset trains to London: 2h07 Gillingham, 2h51 Weymouth
Gillingham reaches Waterloo in 2h07 and costs £8,212 a year. Weymouth takes 2h51 and costs £10,260. Times, fares and first trains for every Dorset station.
Local Info
Dorset Roadworks This Week: A31 Shut Nightly, Esplanade
The A31 Bere Regis to Roundhouse is shut 9pm to 6am nightly to Friday 9 October. Weymouth Esplanade shuts nights to 17 October; Dorchester Road from 19 October.
Local Info
Things to do in Dorset: free Durdle Door, £15 car park
The arch and the beach cost nothing. The clifftop car park is £15 for six hours, £25 for nine, every day of the year, and Lulworth Castle is £4 all day.
Local Info
Dorset planning: 2.53 years of housing land, not 5
Dorset can show 2.53 years of housing land against the five required, and its Local Plan will not be adopted until 2029. Consultation opens 21 September.
Schools
Dorset school term dates 2026/27: half term 26 October
Dorset half term is 26 to 30 October 2026 and Christmas runs 21 December to 1 January. Thomas Hardye and Bryanston break earlier. 2027/28 dates listed too.
Trains
Dorset Christmas trains 2026: no service 25 and 26 December
No trains on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Last year Waterloo shut 27 December to 4 January and the last Weymouth train left at 7.35pm on Christmas Eve.
Bins
Dorset tip opening times: 9am to 4pm daily this winter
All ten Dorset tips now open 9am to 4pm daily, closed only on 25 and 26 December and 1 January. Four need a booking for every visit, even on foot.
Half Term
October half term in Dorset 2026: 26 to 30 October
Dorset Council's half term is 26 to 30 October; Thomas Hardye pupils are off from 21 October. Flying Scotsman at Swanage and nine more days out, with prices.