Dorset Coastal Connections celebration video launched
Posted : May 18, 2021

Dorset Coast Connections – people and places film launched this week showcasing 18 projects connecting communities with our spectacular coastal region by improving physical, digital and emotional interactions with the Dorset Coast.

The projects are located along the coast ranging from Lyme Regis to Christchurch with an aim of improving physical, digital and emotional interactions by improving public places we use and cherish to make more attractive, functional and providing a sense of place with artistic interventions to enhance these special coastal places.

The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) awarded £5.6m Coastal Community Funding (CCF) in May 2017 following a successful partnership portfolio bid to deliver this collaborative approach of projects, and was coordinated by Dorset Coast Forum. Together with match funding from many partner organisations, the portfolio has invested £18.5million to connect our urban and rural coastal areas, working with communities to promote and sell the Dorset coast .

Rhiannon Jones, Dorset Coast Forum Coordinator said:

“The DCF team are very proud to be part of such an amazing collection of collaborative projects which were made possible by the Coastal Community Fund, match funding and the great work of everyone involved, including the project partners, funders, artists and construction teams. We feel the film celebrates all the time and effort everyone has put in to delivering Dorset Coastal Connections.”

With most of the Dorset Coastal Connections projects completed by December 2019, the final few are due to be completed by Summer 2021.

The Dorset Coast Connections – people and places video showcase how this portfolio of projects connect communities with our spectacular coastal region.

Watch the Dorset Coastal Connections video HERE

Find out more about the projects by visiting website below.

 www.dorsetcoasthaveyoursay.co.uk

Main photo of Fossil Forest seating area. Fossil Forest is an important geological site on the Jurassic coast located east of Lulworth Cove which as part of this project benefited from new steps, seating area and interpretation.

Tags: CCF, Dorset Coastal Connections

August Team news
Posted : August 9, 2019

DCF NEWS

We are pleased to announce that Nikki Parker-Goadsby has been appointed to the Support Officer role; she will switch roles as of September 9^th, and will be your first point of contact when you contact the Forum. Nikki has been with us for just over two years working on the Dorset Coastal Connections project and is delighted to be staying with the Forum in this new role. She has a wealth of experience in similar roles prior to DCF and we’re sure she’ll continue to be a real asset to Rhiannon and the team going forwards.

Natalie recently ran a ‘Deep Dive’ workshop for Dorset LEP to inform their forthcoming Local Industrial Strategy about coastal issues, strengths, needs and opportunities in Dorset. The workshop focussed particularly on how the coastal parts of the county are different to other rural and urban areas, with unique challenges and opportunities, and how these might be addressed in the LIS. Similar ‘Deep Dives’ have been carried out on specific sectors (e.g. small business, tourism and others) by the LIS, and the body of evidence they gather will be used to write the final Strategy due for draft release around Christmas.

It’s reports season for DCF at the moment as we are writing up a number of other workshops and projects we’ve been working on with Dorset Wildlife Trust, Southern IFCA, Cefas and our own projects funded through the FLAG and MHCLG; thank you to all those partners and stakeholders who have contributed to each of these projects and are helping us pull the data together.

Dorset Coastal Connections (DoCC)

• Litter Free Food & Drink: ‘Leave only footprints’ sculptures were installed at Bournemouth, Weymouth, West Bay and Lyme Regis beaches at the end of July and will be on display until the end of August. It is great to see families and visitors to the beaches stopping to take in the sculptures, together with the facts and options of how to be more plastic clever and reduce their single use plastic waste.
• Fossil Forest access: Construction work to rebuild the steps leading to the Fossil Forest started on the week of 22nd July. Access to the Fossil Forest will remain closed whilst work is taking place.  Dorset Council Highways are the contractor and will be working to repair the steps whilst the MOD (Ministry of Defence) ranges are open during the summer holidays. Any remaining work that does not happen over the summer will take place during the Autumn when the ranges are open at weekends. It is expected the improved steps and viewing area will be open for all visitors by December 2019.
• River Lim path: The final element of the project is now complete. The restoration of a stone ramp leading to the Ford at the end of Millstream provides the final touch by enhancing both the natural character and restoring the natural heritage of the path.  This specialist stone work on the Ford was carried out by Tom Trouton.
• Poole Seafront: Plans for Shore Road and Branksome Chine improvements as part of the Poole Seafront Development project have taken a step forward with the appointment of the contractor, construction specialist Stepnell Ltd. Work is planned to start early September 2019.
• West Dorset Walkers Welcome: Local artists have been invited to create concepts for ten parish boundary markers, each celebrating and telling stories about parish boundaries in West Dorset. The first element to improve sections of the South West Coast path in West Dorset is now complete.
• Weymouth Seafront artistic lighting: Engineers have conducted important on-site testing of the new artistic scheme. This involved testing the installation methods, the electrical equipment and the wireless technology; all of which need to be fully tested before the team can plan the full installation. Installation of the scheme is expected by November.

Dorset and East Devon Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG)

• FLAG has now paid out just over £300,000 in claims to projects that have completed and Martin is continuing to work with project managers to process even more claims.
• The FLAG Board will be meeting on September 17^th for a retrospective look at the work the FLAG has achieved over the last two and a bit years.
• The Future of Inshore Fisheries Conference is being held in London on October 8^th and 9^th and Seafish are offering bursaries to commercial fishermen who wish to attend that will help cover their travel costs. If you know or are a commercial fisher and would like to attend, please contact Holly Kaiser at Seafish via e-mail at: holly.kaiser@seafish.co.uk. You can find out more about the conference here.
• Martin will be attending the Aquaculture Common Issues Group meeting in September in London. These meetings focus on issues that direct affect the aquaculture sector in the UK and with the High Potential Opportunity for Aquaculture in Dorset currently being promoted through the Department for International Trade the ACIG meetings give the chance to ensure that Dorset is in the forefront of the sector’s thinking.
• The final Dorset Coastal Stories short film “Aquaculture: Open for Business” was premiered at the Portland Port open day last week and is now available to view on the Dorset Coast Forum website and YouTube channel here. The film has been well received by the aquaculture sector in the FLAG area and the Dorset Growth Hub team.

Litter Free Coast and Sea (LFCS)

• Sustainable Swanage continues to gather momentum, with Project Officer Sarah Spurling working with the community and supporting the community social pages with tips, experiences and best practice on how to help make Swanage a Plastic Free Town. Find out more about Sustainable Swanage here.

• LFC&S Business Awards It’s good to know there are businesses out there going that extra step, and we’ve had four more businesses apply to become accredited since the end of July. The common denominator is that they know how important clean beaches with high bathing water quality are to the local communities, tourism and the environment and by making simple changes, recognise how they can support and help create cleaner seas and beaches. If you are, have or know a business that that would be eligible; click here and go from good to great with simple measures that make all the difference.
• Beach Cleans Summer heralds a marked increase in enquiries from individuals and large corporate groups, all wanting to ‘do their bit’ and help keep our beaches clean. We’ve been busy coordinating beach cleans up and down the coast with our beach clean partners and volunteers from Highcliffe to Lyme Regis working with; HMP Avon & South Dorset Prison Group, Planet Bofa, Utility Point and the Chiesi Group. It’s great to help, either with a conversation or by sending our step by step guide to organising a beach clean…it as easy as A B Sea!  See what our beach care groups have been up to here.
• We want you to help spread the message! We can all do our bit to help look after our beautiful beaches by :
  • Not pouring fats/oils/greases down the sink
  • Picking up dog poo, even if it’s not near a beach
  • Taking part in a #2MinuteBeachClean
  • Switching to reusable plastics
  • Taking your litter home

• The Art of Food and Drink…’Leave Only Footprints’ Take only memories, leave only footprints…If you go down to the beach today, you’re sure of a big surprise! This summer Litter Free Coast and Sea are encouraging visitors enjoying the Dorset coast, to be plastic savvy and ‘litter free’, to reduce the amount of rubbish entering the sea and littering our beautiful Dorset beaches. Architectural designer Jack Raisey was commissioned after an open call for submissions and has designed and built 4 installations which will reside on Bournemouth, Weymouth, West Bay and Lyme Regis beaches until the end of August. Leave only Footprints is part of the Dorset Coastal Connections portfolio, and involves working in partnership with our friends at Dorset Food and Drink and the Arts Development Company as well as Dorset Council, Lyme Regis Town Council, West Bay Harbour Master’s office, Weymouth Town Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Read more about the project here.
• For news and updates about our work, why not subscribe to our Litter Free Paper ?

Tags: Dorset & East Devon FLAG, Dorset Coast Forum, Dorset Coastal Connections, Litter Free Coast & Sea

July Team news
Posted : August 9, 2019

DCF NEWS

DCF is recruiting! As readers will be aware, our previous Support Officer Sophie Franks has moved on to pastures new, and we are looking for somebody to fill her post. Full details of this exciting opportunity to work in our small, fast-paced team are available here. Application deadline is 7^th July.

It has been another busy month for the DCF team, as we have been working away behind the scenes to progress a number of projects and DCF core work.

Natalie attended the Climate Change Adaptation Framework for Dorset workshop, run by Dorset LNP, and a workshop hosted by Natural England on ideas to reduce the environmental pressures of recreational boating in the Solent (with a mind to sharing experience of Dorset’s successes, and how other ideas might be applied in Dorset).

Dorset Coastal Connections (DoCC)

• The Weymouth Promenade Artistic lighting scheme is now back on track and will be installed during the autumn. Unavoidable delays have been due to cost and technical issues during the tender process for the manufacture and installation of the scheme, which have now been resolved. The final cost of the project is £265,000, with Weymouth Town Council approving a contribution of £5000 following a presentation by Natalie at their meeting on 26th June.
• Carved timber seating and wooden animal homes designed by local furniture maker, Alice Blogg are now in place at three locations along the River Lim path that runs between Uplyme and Lyme Regis. The new seats are inspired by the local mill industry and the animal homes have been created for birds, bees and bats as part of an animal architecture workshop for local students.
• Groundworks at the West Bay ‘Hub’ are progressing well with the paving and concreting creating a circular design and radiating lines which are now complete. Contractor, Dorset Highways, pressed on during recent wet weather to complete the ground surfacing and re-opened the hub area on 25th June for everyone to use, including motorcycle parking. Installation of the hub’s artist-designed circular seating has been delayed due to additional modelling requirements needed by the fabricator for their casting process. Work to install the seating, central bronze orientation feature, and lay the resin bound aggregate surface to the outer circle, will require the area to be closed again for a few days in early September.
• Also in West Bay, improvements to the shared route along the old railway line are coming along well with the section from Burton Road to Meadowlands subsurface grounds works complete with the top, natural gravel layer to be laid shortly.  Works along the section from Meadowlands to West Bay Road car park will take place in July.  All improvement works will be put on hold over the summer holiday to be completed early September.

Dorset and East Devon Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG)

Martin has been busy supporting applicants to get their claims submitted to the MMO for payment, as well as continuing to assist with working up applications to the core EMFF fund.

He has created an infographic which shows the key achievements of the FLAG to date. You can view this on our website here.

Litter Free Coast and Sea (LFCS)

Swanage

• Sustainable Swanage has launched! It’s a very exciting new community group who already have lots of positive changes already in motion. Driven by LFCS Project Officer Sarah Spurling, who is supporting the community with tips, experiences and best practice, the group is working hard to make Swanage a Plastic Free Town. Find out more about Sustainable Swanage here.
• Swanage also has a new 2-Minute Beach Clean Board. Thank you to Dean from Quay Desserts for hosting it.
• There are new several businesses in Swanage who have joined up to the Refill scheme. Look out for the Refill logo in windows (not just in Swanage- it’s nationwide!) or download the app. You can also fill up from the taps on Shore road. Save money and reduce the millions of water bottles used and discarded every day.
• Litter-free Purbeck ran a ‘Blitz the Butts’ campaign in Swanage town centre, collecting 6 large jars full in 3 hours with 16 volunteers. It’s the most common form of ocean litter, worse than plastic straws, so it would be great to continue this campaign over the summer, encouraging more smokers to dispose of ‘Butts’ responsibly.

Business Awards

• We’re delighted to announce that three more businesses have been awarded a Litter Free Coast and Sea Award. Congratulations West Dorset Leisure Holidays at Highlands End, Teachers Building Society, and The Dorset Wildlife Trust at Lorton Meadows Conservation Centre.
• All our Business Award holders know how important clean beaches with high bathing water quality are to the local communities, tourism and the environment and by making simple changes, recognise how they can support and help create cleaner seas. You too can take your business from good to great with simple measures that make all the difference. Find out more here.

Confetti Gate

• An episode of Don’t Tell the Bride was recently filmed at Castle Cove Beach but a series of unfortunate incidents culminating in a shower of ‘glitter confetti’ as the happy couple tied the knot, was not a happily ever after fairy-tale for the beach. Speaking to the BBC, Renegade Pictures series producer Bob Gowing said “We apologise unreservedly for the upset we have caused to the local community, who had been so welcoming and helpful during our filming period. Renegade Pictures are committed to sustainable filming practices including reducing plastics, however, we will be thoroughly reviewing our procedures to make sure that in future, we have a clear plan in place to avoid unexpected environmental damage, as that seems to have caught us out this time.”
• LFC&S helped coordinate the clear up and subsequent beach inspections with the Portland Port Authority, Dorset Wildlife Trust and the Friends of Castle Cove Beach, and the production company kept their word; paid for a beach clean and came down themselves from London to help! LFC&S has suggested that Renegade might wish to add an addendum to their filming policy re plastics, and have sent information about sourcing sustainable alternatives to glitter confetti.

Beach Cleans

• The LFC&S team have been busy coordinating beach cleans up and down the coast with our beach clean partners and volunteers from Highcliffe to Lyme Regis and working with; UK D-Zero class sailing, the Royal Yachting Association, Teachers Building Society, schools and colleges. We also get lots of enquiries about how to arrange beach cleans, so our step by step guide makes it as easy as A B Sea!

‘The Mary Dwen’ Trommel Launch

• A trommel which was funded by the Highstreet clean up fund was unveiled on Swanage Beach recently. The beach cleaning device which will be used to remove nurdles was named after local lady Mary who has spent thousands of hours sifting nurdles from the sands of Swanage beach. The Trommel will be used by Litter Free Coast & Sea’s Beach Clean Volunteer groups; this launch was in partnership with Litter Free Dorset.

Tags: Dorset & East Devon FLAG, Dorset Coast Forum, Dorset Coastal Connections, Litter Free Coast & Sea