Residents can give their views on latest plans for Dorchester's Charles Street development

12:00pm Saturday 20th October 2012 in News By Harry Hogger

WEST Dorset residents will be able to add their voices to growing calls to consult on the latest proposals concerning Dorchester’s Charles Street development.

More than 400 people have already signed an online petition calling for West Dorset District Council to delay a decision and consult on an amended phase two proposal for the town centre scheme that would see it spend up to £2million of taxpayers’ money.

West Dorset Liberal Democrats will be in Dorchester’s South Street outside Starbucks from 10am to 1pm on Saturday to chat to residents and give them an opportunity to sign the petition. Campaigners will also be in Bridport’s Bucky Doo Square from 10am to noon and outside the Three Cups in Lyme Regis from 10am to 1pm.

Liberal Democrat councillor Andy Canning said: “All we are calling for is the decision on October 25 to be delayed for a short while to allow the council to conduct a proper exercise in public consultation.

West Dorset District Council faces a choice of sticking with the current scheme, which it admits is not viable in the current economic climate, or amending the details of phase two of the development at considerable cost.

The amended scheme proposed by developers’ Simons would see the planned hotel scrapped in favour of 24 apartments and the basement car park axed while a single-deck facility was built on the Fairfield market site instead.

The report warns if the council does not take action the two anchor tenants lined up for the scheme, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, could withdraw.

The first phase of the scheme has already caused widespread anger as the council voted to build its new headquarters and a new library on the site.

Despite calls for wider public involvement, the district council will not hold a public consultation before the decision is made. Instead, plans will be put on display at a venue to be confirmed, with staff on hand to answer questions.

 

PREPARATORY WORK TO COST £2M

To move the project forward the council is considering preparatory work at a cost of £2million.

That includes:

  •  Relocating the Dorchester Community Church from Acland Road to Trinity Street to a new church building provided by the council and acquiring the church’s freehold interest by means of a land swap.
  • securing the pedestrian access and landing rights through the Tudor and Hardye arcades
  • securing other access rights including making the appropriate traffic regulation orders
  • securing rights of light and other legal costs.

Anyone who wants to sign the petition online can visit charlesstreetpetition.org.uk

Comments(5)

Micke12 says...
12:47pm Sat 20 Oct 12

I wonder whay WDDC are refusing to hold a consultation - is it because they know they will get an overwhelming rejection from the people of West Dorset, not because they truly object, but because Gould and his cronies refused to have real consultation when this plan was first introduced. Any council and/or councillor that refuses to attend public meetings and explain their reasons for doing something without public consultation obviously has something to hide, whether underhanded back-handers from the developers or some other reason for not wanting this aired in public. Last I heard, councils and councillors are elected by the people they are supposed to serve, and therefore, I believe that when the people ask for an explanation or a consultation, that should be done in open 'court', not behind closed doors with the attitude of 'stuff the electorate, they were stupid enough to vote for us, so we will do what we like without explaining it to the people'. It is plainly obvious that a great number of councillors and councils are corrupt in Dorset, and I am sure all of knows at least one - it is our duty as an electorate to root out these corrupt and unscrupulous councils and councillors and bring them to book. I am fed up to the back teeth of corruption in local and national government and that is why next year, I am going to stand for my local ward in Weymouth, mainly to serve the peole in a way they deserve if they put their trust in me, and secondly to start rooting out the corrupt elements in my local council. If people want to stop this sort of croniiesm from happening in their councils, then they need to do the same, and return government, both local and national, to the old way of 'government of the people, by the people, for the people.

That is my moan for the day, time to get off my soap-box.

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CoogarUK.com says...
1:43pm Sat 20 Oct 12

Dorchester residents have been giving their views on this for years but no-one listened and now it has gone from bad to worse, with even worse in the pipeline.

No anchor tenant is in danger of withdrawing because as yet no anchor tenants have signed up to the scheme!

How many of you realise that the bulk of the additional £2m of OUR money will be spent on BUILDING A BRAND NEW CHURCH ON TRINITY STREET CAR PARK!, Not many, I suspect! (maybe because Gould & his cronies slyly fail to mention this fact).

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alan_h says...
1:22pm Sun 21 Oct 12

As more shops close it soon won't matter much how much car parking space disappears. In the last week or so the butchers in South Street has gone and Stead and Simpson has put up "Closing Down Sale" signs. Some of the problem will be due to the national recession but matters certainly aren't helped ;by the blight due to WDDC's continuing incompetence. The managers of the Tesco and Lidl stores must be delighted.

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CoogarUK.com says...
2:57pm Sun 21 Oct 12

Sad but not surprised to hear about the butchers.

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alan_h says...
3:24pm Sun 21 Oct 12

CoogarUK.com wrote:
Sad but not surprised to hear about the butchers.
Yes, it is sad. I'm not sure if the company that ran the shop for the last six months had any prior retail experience - their main business appears to be wholesale - but the quality of their meat was, with one rare exception, excellent.

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