DORSET’S environment needs to be protected because it is worth £2.5 billion to the economy, civic chiefs say.

In Dorset County Council’s recently published State of Dorset Report on the natural and historic environment, the county council says that Dorset’s ‘environmental economy’ was “worth between £0.9 billion and £2.5 billion per annum” and supported between 17,000 and 61,000 jobs across the county.

In total, this contributes to between 5 and 15 per cent of the county’s total economy, and the council says that this was good grounds to ensure the environment is carefully-managed.

This, the report says, was supported by the fact that 90 per cent of Dorset residents surveyed said the environment was “an important, very important or crucial factor” in their decision to live in the county and as a result put a significant “price premium” on their homes.

It also highlighted that Dorset contains part of England’s only natural World Heritage Site (the Jurassic Coast) and two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty covering 53 per cent of the county which alone influences around £111m and £65m of economic output.

Alongside this, civic chiefs highlighted that they had also seen a decrease in the amount of waste sent to landfill in the county by around 66 per cent in the last 10 years while the county’s ‘low carbon economy’ has the potential to grow by 11 per cent by 2030.

The report also said that Dorset’s natural systems provide a wide range of essential goods (food, fuel, productive soil, clean air and water) and beneficial services (pollination, flood alleviation, climate regulation and tranquillity).

It added: “The high quality natural environment that is so cherished by people living and working in Dorset means that we work hard to deliver mechanisms such as the Dorset Heathlands Planning Framework to ensure that development is led sustainably in the county.”

Commenting on the report, Cllr Daryl Turner, the county councils cabinet member for the Natural and Built Environment, said: “

“Everyone in Dorset knows how special our environment is.

“But this is the first time we have really been able to demonstrate its value in economic terms.

“We are much more than being a nice place to live and come on holiday, Dorset’s environment makes it a natural place to do business.

“It also shows the long-term value to the economy from investing in our World Heritage Site and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

“We would encourage businesses, public bodies and communities to use this evidence to show the value of Dorset’s environment and harness its potential to generate future jobs, investment and prosperity.”

The report concluded that Dorset’s “environmental assets” were “likely to become more valuable over time in response to rising relative scarcity and increased amenity and use values”.

The report was commissioned by Dorset County Council and written by consultancy Ash Futures.