CHAMBER VIEW

11:28am Friday 2nd May 2008

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By ALISTAIR CHISHOLM
President, Dorchester Chamber
of Commerce, Industry and Tourism

THE question on everybody's lips is, So what happens now to the Dorchester Transport and Environment Plan, or DTEP as it's more frequently termed?' Seven years have passed, £300,000 of public money has been spent and it would appear that this most vital scheme does not even register on the county council's radar despite the regular deliberations of a dedicated sub-group of councillors drawn from the town council, West Dorset District Council and the county council who were charged with progressing plans agreed upon by a wide spectrum of opinion both within and beyond the county town.

I believe a grave error has been made through a fault in the process of scoring projects to ascertain which deserve to be funded.

DTEP is a vital part of the 21st century renaissance of the county town and must be implemented to ensure that the benefits of the major developments currently under way in Dorchester are fully realised.

However, I am cautiously optimistic that this procedural error will be recognised and that DTEP's importance will once again put it in pole position for funding in the 2008/2009 financial year.

Meanwhile, the Chamber continues to grow, with some 12 new members joining our ranks over the past few weeks.

The second edition of Dorchester Business News has now been published and, understandably, praised by its many readers.

The Chamber recently purchased 10 robust quality gazebos measuring 2.5 metres square, each of which comes complete with four side panels and weights.

These are being stored in the town council's depot in Loud's Mill near the recycling centre and, in addition to their use by stallholders at events run by the Chamber such as street markets, they will be made available for a modest hire fee to the community as a whole, thereby assisting other organisations to run those events that add to the vibrancy of the town.

The Dorchester Music and Performance Group, which developed from the Chamber's town promotion sub-committee, has been successful in its application to the town council for funding.

It is now working on the programme of live music and performance which will begin on Saturday, May 31, coinciding with Dorset Made', the Dorset Farmers Market and local art and craft market, to be held in lower South Street.

The programme continues every Saturday through to September, echoing and enhancing other events in town such as Veterans Day and the Hardy Festival.