It is an enormous privilege to have lived in Dorchester for over 30 years.

Now it is an even greater privilege for me to become mayor of our county town and to follow in the steps of Councillor Stella Jones.

Her work on behalf of the town has been an absolute inspiration.

One of my aims is to encourage organisations to work together for the good of the town.

The colourful display of international flags in the town centre, marking the Commonwealth Games and the World Cup, is the result of a good partnership between the town council, the BID and volunteers led by the town crier.

The Dorchester Festival, featuring some of our best local performers and internationally renowned musicians, comedians and entertainers, is another example of partnership working, involving Dorchester Arts, Dorchester Town Council, Duchy of Cornwall, Dorchester BID, local businesses and West Dorset District Council.

Yet another good example of partnership working is the recent publication of the new family guide to our towns ‘Let’s Explore Dorchester’.

This is an extremely informative and entertaining guide with lots of fun, adventures, games and puzzles for younger readers.

The text is by Kate Hebditch, former Mayor of Dorchester, and the guide is published by The Joint Dorchester Heritage Committee, which has been jointly funded by Dorchester Town Council and West Dorset District Council.

There is no doubt that when we work together we can achieve far more than when we work in separately.

May I please urge you to look for the Dorchester Town Council’s draft corporate plan on the future of Dorchester?

This can be found under the ‘What’s New’ tab on the council website, dorchester-tc.gov.uk We really would like to hear your views on the future of our lovely county town.

 

Peter Mann