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Dorset History Centre Survey 2025
Dorset History Centre is the official archives and local studies service for Bournemouth, Christchurch, Dorset and Poole, based in Dorchester. Archives are records created by a wide range of organisations and people which are kept for their value as evidence of the past - the "raw material" of history. Our collections date from the 10th century to the present and include a wide range of formats, from paper and parchment to audio-visual and digital. Archives are important for everyone in...
Dorset and BCP Councils Local Transport Plan Survey
We’re creating a new Local Transport Plan (LTP) that will guide how people and goods move around Dorset and the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area from 2026 to 2041. This joint plan between Dorset Council and BCP Council sets out a long-term vision to make travel easier, safer and more inclusive. The plan looks at how we can improve travel choices, reduce congestion, cut pollution, and make it easier for people to get to work, school, healthcare and leisure. It...
Dorset Council Call for Sites
Please use this online form to submit sites for assessment by the Council. Whilst the Dorset Council 'call for sites' 2024 is now closed, sites that may have potential for new homes (including for the settled and Traveller communities), and employment development can still be submitted through this online form. We will be assessing submissions received before 20 December 2024, in 2025. Sites submitted after 20 December 2024 will likely be assessed at a later date. Please note:...
Dorset Council Local Plan options consultation 2025
About the Local Plan consultation We’re asking for your views on how Dorset should grow and develop over the next 17 years. This consultation explores how we could meet development needs across the Dorset Council area between 2026 and 2043. Your feedback will help shape the Local Plan. Once adopted, the plan will guide planning decisions in Dorset. The Local Plan will be Dorset Council’s response to the Government’s commitment to: addressing the shortage of...
Energising Dorset's Economy
Energising Dorset’s Economy – Developing a Better Future Dorset is on the brink of something truly transformational. We’re transforming our region into a thriving hub of clean energy , innovation, and opportunity. Energising Dorset’s Economy is more than an ambitious Economic Growth Strategy - it’s a movement. One that’s rooted in our heritage, powered by our communities, and focused on a future where prosperity and...
Dorset Design Code Survey
Work is starting on the development of a Dorset Design Code. The Dorset Design Code will raise design standards of future development through clear rules and guidance. It will help make sure that new buildings and spaces are: locally distinctive high quality sustainable The code will show how to apply policies from the Dorset Local Plan for new developments. This will include how developments are designed and built including how: energy is...
Closed consultations and engagement
Dorset National Landscape Management Plan Consultation
Dorset Council and its partners in the Dorset National Landscape Partnership have a statutory responsibility for reviewing and developing a 5-year management plan for the landscape. These are plans for the Dorset National Landscape Partnership and team, individual partner organisations, farmers and landowners, communities and businesses. The purpose is to set out how we all may contribute towards the conservation and enhancement of natural beauty in this special area. A new draft plan has...
Marnhull Neighbourhood Plan 2024 to 2038
Marnhull Parish Council has prepared a neighbourhood plan. Dorset Council must now arrange for its independent examination. Before the examination, Dorset Council is consulting on the neighbourhood plan for a period of 6 weeks. This is a regulation 16 consultation and will take place between 8 August and 19 September 2025 (inclusive). Representations made at this stage can include a request to be notified of Dorset Council's decision under regulation 19 in relation to the...
Pleasure Boat, Vessel and Boatperson Licensing Policy Consultation
Dorset Council is proposing to introduce a new policy for the licensing of Pleasure Boats, Vessels and Boatpersons. A new draft Policy has been prepared by officers for consultation. The policy is intended to give a fair, consistent and equitable approach across the Dorset Council area. This would give the Council, as Licensing Authority greater control over the licensing of pleasure craft and ensure that all operators and boatpersons are subject to the same application,...