If you are a South West water customer, you should have received a letter offering a you a small sum of money or shares in South West Water’s parent company, Pennon Group. Being a shareholder gives you the right to attend the annual general meeting and ask questions of the board of directors. It is […]
More than 30,000 people have read the story of the police visit to two women, and if you haven’t – you can catch up here! Fran Swan, of Fishpond, and Beverley Glock, of Lyme Regis, had registered for a public meeting for Chideock residents, which was held on Friday 25 November. They had to give […]
I was brought up in Kent and we moved to the countryside when I was about 11. One of my first memories is of dragging a dead blackbird back through the snow on my sledge to give it a burial in the garden, tears streaming down my face. I used to walk for miles and […]
Dear Editor Our exports are falling, farmers are discouraged from farming, fishermen from fishing, miners from mining, windfarms are blocked, and the London Stock Exchange has been overtaken by Paris. There is, however, still one profitable sector where the UK is genuinely a world leader – and Bournemouth is its second most important base. Publishing, entertainment, tourism, hospitality, […]
Having noticed the increase in sewage smells in their bay, Jovi and Sonny send a message to local water company, South West Water, to clean up their act. In 2021, South West Water intentionally discharged 680 hours of sewage into the River Lim – the equivalent to the whole month of February, 24 hours a […]
For the background to this story, please read: This summary is written particularly for the 3,081 people, including 2066 locals, who signed our petition of no confidence in the leadership of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. As a Facebook commenter noted: Brian Sutcliffe: This petition run by one resident on a Facebook site obtained 3000 […]
Kamikaze budget, casino economics, bankrupting policies, freezing taxes while increasing borrowing dangerously as interest rates soar. Sound familiar? No, not Number 10, but BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) Council leadership promising low tax/small state, but instead wasting millions on high-rise, big plan transformation vanity schemes while neglecting the basics. Consequently, BCP suffers some of the […]
Picture this scene. An embattled Conservative leader sees the failure of their headline economic policy. As the plan collapses, critics surround them from every side – even their own. With the economy plummeting, the leader needs others to bail them out financially. And then, at the moment of greatest humiliation, with public finances and services […]
Sewage discharges have been in the news across the country and beautiful Charmouth and Lyme Regis have also been affected. But we are not alone in our efforts to combat this scourge. Baroness Jenny Jones of Moulsecoomb, one of two peers representing the Green Party in the House of Lords, visited Lyme Regis on Thursday […]
But who’s consulting local residents on whether they want their areas turned into free-fire zones for developers and predatory corporations, asks Tom Scott. The government says that it is in discussions with 38 local authorities that have expressed an interest in having so-called ‘investment zones’, as announced in Kwasi Kwarteng’s special fiscal operation on 23 […]
Dear West Country Voices, We have beautiful beaches in East Devon; Weston Mouth, in particular, is very special to me: pristine, crystal-clear water and I have enjoyed swimming there all through the year. I am very sad that since sewage has been pumped into the sea; ALL of the beaches in Lyme Bay are now […]
In a previous article on these pages, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council (BCP) was likened to a shopping trolley, smashing from one side of the aisle to the other. Based on recent events, it looks like we’re gonna need a bigger metaphor. Yes, the south-coast disaster movie continues to amaze and astound. Even the council’s […]
Here at WCV, we’ve been intrigued by the goings-on at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Ian is the latest resident to contact us with a story about the rather shabby goings-on. Editor-in-Chief For the background to this latest development in the beach hut saga, please read this: If you want a masterclass on how to […]
Wow! It’s our second birthday on 23 July. We started out as West Country Bylines and now we’ve completed nearly 7 months as West Country Voices and all thanks to the same great team of editors and proof readers, excellent writers – some new, some longstanding contributors – and a growing band of loyal readers […]
Sometimes a small issue can cast a big shadow. It just depends how much light you shine on it. A small story can act as a signpost to much larger concerns. This is certainly one of those. In June 2022 a team of demolition vehicles entered a small village wood in Highcliffe, Dorset. They arrived […]
You wait three years for a resignation, and then thirty-five come along at once… Boris Johnson may have vowed to stay on to fight the expected vote of no confidence (VONC) in his premiership, but at this rate it will be all over, bar the shouting, before the 1922 Committee have even had a chance […]
According to the Bournemouth Beach Huts Association, there are some 20,000 private beach huts in the UK and, despite their limited size and lack of home facilities, they have become icons of the British seaside resort. Many beach huts were former fishermen’s huts, boatsheds or converted Georgian or Victorian bathing machines, which looked like beach […]
With our oceans quickly filling up with plastic and fish stocks dwindling, it’s time to start talking about the massive whale in the room: ghost gear. An enormous environmental problem caused by commercial fishing and fuelled by our ever-growing appetite for seafood. Kristy Westlake talks to some of the heroes on the ocean’s frontline and […]
On 24 February 2022, I saw the first footage of Putin’s invasion of a sovereign nation, Ukraine: the beginning of what will be a long journey of suffering for so many innocent civilians. I’m sure we all agree that this conflict doesn’t belong in the 21st century, whether here in Europe or anywhere else in […]
Back in May 2021, Boris Johnson’s former guru, Dominic Cummings, painted a scathing picture of the Prime Minister. Describing a culture of U-turns, policy changes and general chaos, he likened Johnson to “a shopping trolley smashing from one side of the aisle to the other”. Since then, Cummings’ tweets and blogs have often referred to […]
Few BCP Council committees were more highly regarded than the Overview & Scrutiny Board (OSB), which tracked and challenged Cabinet policy, grilled the leadership, and benefited from a truly impartial chairman … Clearly it had to go. It was abolished under a proposal brought by the Council’s deputy leader, Philip Broadhead, on 10 May 2022. […]
In 2020 the anti-corruption group Transparency International UK published a paper on the potential for corruption in English local authorities. Fifty key councils were assessed on how they manage corruption risks such as lobbying, oversight and conflicts of interest. One council was deemed by far the worst in England: Bournemouth-Christchurch-Poole (BCP). Why was BCP Council […]
Industry backs it, business leaders are calling for it, charities are begging for it, but they still won’t do it. Why? In whose pocket do they live?Nothing more to say.
If you think your local government is chaotic, just take a trip to the Bournemouth-Christchurch-Poole region. BCP Council was only formed three years ago, but already we’re on our second administration, with possibly another change next year. There’s been corruption fears, departments in special measures, budget scandals, and major concerns raised about everything from the […]
Moral and economic madness? That is the charge being laid at the door of Dorset Council, by local environmental activists, who question whether the Council understands the realities of the climate crisis. Just six months ago, the UK hosted the UN Climate Change Conference (‘COP26’) in Glasgow, in November 2021. That conference concluded with a […]
It’s story time:A land politically divided. Run by a controversial Conservative group. Where public services are visibly failing, and accusations of cronyism are growing.No, not the UK. Welcome to the metaphor that is Bournemouth-Christchurch-Poole Council.Let me begin… Tonight sees a vote of no confidence (VONC) in BCP council leader Drew Mellor. It’s the first VONC […]
Fire Authority stealth cuts put lives and property at risk, argues Tony Morris. Just a couple of years after Ashburton residents successfully fought to save their fire station, the Conservative controlled fire & rescue authority has stabbed them in the back. In a secret move, Ashburton’s properly equipped fire engine has been removed and replaced […]
More than a year ago we published this article about two small businesses being ruined by Brexit. We now have an update from the second of those profiled – Steve Shovlar. Over to you, Steve. (Oh, and just to explain, ‘Sir’ Steve references the ludicrous award of a knighthood to Gavin Williamson, a serial failure […]
In late January 2022, Dorset had a strong and healthy wildlife cop presence. Positive messages abounded far and wide…. However, by February 10, there was a severe climate change…. Storm Loder blew in from the west and wrought havoc across the land: By the next day, the wildlife team was unable to communicate further! On […]
I first heard late on Tuesday about the call from the European Movement (EM), for their members and local groups to come to the ‘London stands with Ukraine’ rally and march on Saturday 26 March. They had joined with London mayor Sadiq Khan, who’d asked Londoners to stand in solidarity with Ukraine. Could I attend […]