“All councillors are expected to represent and champion the interests of the community, businesses and residents in their ward.

"By representing the views of local people, as a community advocate, they can ensure that local community interests are listened to."

The statement above was copied from Dorset Council’s (DC) current website.

Dorchester’s electorate suffered immensely not long ago by having its ‘fate’ decided by an absentee ‘cartel’ in the shape of West Dorset District Council (WDDC)’s exclusively Tory Cabinet.

It’s now replicated once more in DC.

A major project was ‘railroaded’ through and the Charles Street ‘Titanic’ development was committed to and later aborted as predicted by everyone except WDDC but not before a fortune was wasted on new council offices.

These are now technically redundant due to Covid-19 and its intended occupants now apparently work from home without any reduction in productivity.

That’s a thought? DC’s councillors appear to be betraying their own published rules. Without listening to community views another project is now steaming ahead on full throttle.

4,000 mainly unnecessary homes are being planned against the wishes of Dorchester’s residents. Like Poundbury, it will devour open countryside but to what purpose?

Properties in it will be purchased mostly by retirees, second-home and buy-to-let speculators when what are urgently needed are truly affordable council houses and flats to rent.

WDDC was forced by Local Referendum some years ago to include councillors of other political affiliations into Committee and not Cabinet decision-making procedures.

It was back to the old ‘autocracy’ with the new DC. However, this new development appears to contravene DC’s own undertakings above!

Regardless of their personal political views, all of our councillors should be working towards harmony and cohesion in our towns by using fully democratic decision-making and not mirroring the destructive and divisive pantomime of First Past the Post at Westminster.

Since DC is apparently now misrepresenting itself publicly, shouldn’t all of its councillors be calling for a Vote of No Confidence in it?

MIKE JOSLIN

Dorchester