COVID will be added to Dorchester Town Council’s risk registers – although there is little the authority is able to do about the global pandemic.

Councillors decided that the risk it could suffer was to the council’s reputation if it was thought it had failed to play its part in a co-ordinated response to the longer term impact of the Covid 19 lockdown.

The town council has already been helping, behind the scenes, with community and voluntary groups and has been working on a new tourism strategy which will promote the town as a ‘staycation’ destination post-Covid.

“A year ago this just wasn’t on our radar,” said town clerk Adrian Stuart as he presented a report on the strategic and operational risk registers to the council’s policy committee.

Cllr Frances Hogwood and Cllr Fiona Kent-Ledger said they believed there was likely to be an increased need for social housing: “We could end up with a lot of impoverished people who won’t be able to afford to pay their rents,” warned Cllr Kent-Ledger.

Cllr Alistair Chisholm said the council should do all it could to help the retail sector – by attracting more visitors for the town’s heritage attractions.