FOLLOWING its annual meeting, Portland Court Leet distributed £8,000 to locally-based organisations with the top amounts of £1,000 each going to Island Volunteers for You and Friends of Victoria Gardens.

The meeting was held at the Heights Hotel and attended by Crown steward Gareth Clutton, chairman and first commissioner of the Crown Estate Ian Grant, deputy Crown steward Christopher Jowett and John Pears, Crown mineral agent.

This was the last attendance by Mr Clutton as Crown steward and in appreciation of his 12 years’ service to the Court Leet he was presented with a framed extract from the court presentments for 2008 by the chief constable, Brian Otter.

Mr Grant officially appointed Christopher Jowett as the new Crown steward. Mr Grant gave an interesting account of the history and current functions of the Crown Estate and stated that this was the first occasion in the long history of the court that a chairman and first commissioner had been in attendance.

He also told the meeting that during his two days on Portland he had received updates on the Chesil Beach Centre, the stone mining activities at Bowers and Jordan’s quarries and the proposed Portland Academy that could be sited on Crown land at Easton.

Guests from the community this year were John Raymond, High Sheriff of Dorset, Sarah Curtis, president of Portland Rotary Club, Rev David Botterill, vicar of St John’s Church, Fortuneswell and Geoffrey Peters of the NCI Portland Bill Station.

Other beneficiaries from the disbursements were: National Coastwatch Institution, Portland Good Companions, Portland Women’s Institute, all Portland churches, Portland Singers, Age Concern Sunday Lunch Club, Harlequin & Weston Sports, Weston Community Hall, Portland Amateur Boxing Club, Islanders Club for Young People, Portland Minibus Association, the Portland Branch of Dorset Association for the Disabled, Community 2000, Portland Sea Cadets, Portland United Youth FC, Island Voices and Portland St John Ambulance.