News review of the year - Dorchester

Dorchester town councillors branded ambitious plans for the former Eldridge Pope Brewery site in the town too dense and some of the buildings too high.

Hospital chiefs announced plans to install a hi-tech CCTV system at Dorset County Hospital. The system would include 31 cameras.

Councillors raised fears of more attacks in a town car park because of broken street lights. The concerns were raised after a woman was attacked as she walked to her car.

An investigation was launched after a blaze swept through a scrap yard in St George's Road in the town.

Green homes being built in Poundbury proved a hit with buyers who snapped up all of the environmentally-friendly properties within a few weeks of them going up for sale.

An auction of vintage clothing held at Athelhampton House raised more than £70,000. Items up for grabs included a sash of material reputedly worn by Marie Antoinette.

Peace broke out between the different sides involved in the continuing saga of where a new pool for Dorchester should be sited.

A meeting of the Thomas Hardye Leisure Centre Committee heard that talks were going well and it looked like a solution to the problem was going to be found.

Extra police powers were introduced in Dorchester to crack down on boozers. The introduction of the special order gave police the powers to move on anyone found drinking in an anti-social way.

FEBRUARY: Some 50 staff faced redundancies following the sale of Eldridge Pope to brewery and pubs company Marston's. Others needed to relocate in preparation for the closure of the Dorchester office at Weymouth Avenue in March.

Time was up for motorists who parked all day in a lay-by within walking distance of Dorchester. The pull-in off the B3147, just north of the town, looked set to lose its free parking attraction as councillors discussed introducing a two-hour time limit to clear it for tired drivers.

Two Kingston Maurward horses took centre stage when they demonstrated how they could help people overcome addictions, with help from top American equine therapist Don Lavender.

New badges were given to members of the Territorial Army by town mayor Robin Potter to mark their new chapter as the Rifle Volunteers - following the Devon and Dorset Light Infantry regiment becoming the 1st Battalion The Rifles.

Significant job losses were expected at the award-winning Dorset Archives Service in Dorchester.

The service, based at the Dorset History Centre, faced severe budget pressures as authorities decided it must save £85,000 over the next three years.

Plans to site a new telecommunications mast on top of the Keep Military Museum in Bridport Road came under fire at a public meeting. Anxious residents listed possible health risks and made it clear the masts were not welcome.

Red-faced Dorset County Council bosses launched an investigation after its newsletter advised readers to throw stones inland in a bid to slow coastal erosion. The report in Your Dorset emerged to be a joke after it was delivered to 200,000 homes.

A daily park and ride scheme planned for Dorchester was delayed for a second time while negotiations were continued, bus drivers recruited and bus shelters put up.

Dorset County Council was seen to be losing the fight to cut carbon emissions after a report revealed it was creating nearly 48,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year from its buildings, transport, street lighting and waste.

MARCH: A dog walker called for a crackdown on illicit behaviour at a popular Dorset beauty spot. Betty Cooper of Puddletown said she felt too intimidated to walk her pets in the local forest because of the 'seedy' activities of men who congregate there.

Pubs and clubs across West Dorset were being urged to swap traditional glasses for plastic ones. West Dorset District Council backed the use of new plastic glasses which it said would not only save money but potentially lives.

Archaeologists found Roman pottery during a dig in a Dorchester town centre car park. The Cotswold Archaeology team reached the layer that marks the end of the Romans in Durnovaria at the Charles Street site.

Plans for a park and ride service in Dorchester were finally given the go-ahead. The scheme - aimed at reducing congestion in the town - was originally due to launch last November but ran into delays.

Books went under the hammer for nearly £1 million at an auction at Duke's of Dorchester. The collection of rare books included a Kelmscott Press copy of the Works of Chaucer which went for a record-breaking £74,000.

Centenarian Norrie Woodhall was the star of the show in Dorchester - aged 101. She joined the cast of the New Hardy Players for Dorset Voices, performed in front of television cameras as well as to an appreciative audience in the United Church.

Workers at Dorset County Hospital were being asked to clean their own offices. Changes in the way the housekeeping team operated meant offices would no longer be cleaned while cleaning staff concentrated on medical areas, one disgruntled worker claimed.

County councillors were set to visit Dorchester Road in Weymouth before deciding whether to give a controversial cycle lanes scheme for the area the go-ahead.

A woman was told she could not have surgery at Dorset County Hospital because she is too fat - on the day she booked in for an operation. Amanda Dennett, 41, said she was left shocked and confused by the last-minute decision not to operate.

A new craze of filming friends hurling themselves into hedges arrived in Dorchester. Two short films of hedging' appeared on the website YouTube with one entitled The Dorchester Hedge Massacre shot in the Weatherbury Way area of the town and the other set in the Borough Gardens.

APRIL: Plans for a new swimming pool for Dorchester cleared another hurdle when Dorset County Council agreed to pay £1.5 million towards the project. The new pool will be built on land next to the existing Thomas Hardye Leisure Centre.

Runners from across Dorchester stepped out in the London Marathon to raise thousands of pounds for charities including the Weldmar Hospice Care Trust.

A rough sleeper who set up home in a public toilet left behind a pile of rotting food, police revealed.

Shoppers and townsfolk were invited to have their say on plans to breathe new life into Charles Street.

The Duchy of Cornwall completed a major programme to plant 380 trees in and around Poundbury. Trees went up across the urban extension to Dorchester including near the Great Field.

Buskers were encouraged to fill the town with the sound of music as part of a new initiative designed to ensure that they were fully licensed.

Office workers were encouraged to take the bus following the launch of Dorchester's Park and Ride scheme. The weekday scheme was designed to ease congestion in the town centre.

Mum Fiona Baker was celebrating after completing a degree with the Open University - 16 years after she first started it.

More than 4,000 Scouts marked the centenary of the Scouting movement with a celebration in Maumbury Rings attended by the Bishop of Sherborne, the Rt Rev Tim Thornton.

Two renaissance paintings by artist Fra Angelica sold for £1.7million when they went under the hammer in Dorchester. The paintings were discovered hidden behind a door by Dorchester auctioneer Guy Schwinge.

Villagers in Crossways were left fuming after trees were felled near their homes. Magna Housing Association said the trees were axed for safety reasons.

Homeless pensioner Robert Newnham robbed the Halifax in Dorchester to get back into prison a court heard. He admitted the offence.

Volunteers took to the streets to give the town a spring clean as part of the Dorchester Business Improvement District initiative.

MAY: Dorset County Hospital welcomed a royal visitor as the Earl of Wessex flew in to officially open the new Dorset County Cardiac Centre. Patients came out of their wards in dressing gowns to greet Prince Edward before he took a tour of the new unit.

Commercial premises in Dorchester received a warning from police after a spate of break-ins across the town targeting office computers. Police believed that 10 burglaries including commercial, local government and NHS offices were all linked.

Actor Julian Fellowes dropped into town to officially open Dorchester's revamped borough gardens. The opening marked the culmination of more than a year's hard work after Dorchester Town Council was awarded almost £1milllion by the Heritage Lottery Fund for improvements.

Villagers at Crossways were left fuming after a developer apologised for sending in bulldozers to clean up a site before carrying on regardless. Ravine Investments was accused of felling trees without a licence.

Patients with breathing problems complained about the postcode lottery that meant sufferers of respiratory problems were not getting the same quality of treatment in Dorchester as neighbouring Weymouth.

Traders in the town complained that rough sleepers hanging around The Hub were making their lives a misery. Businesses claimed the drunken and offensive behaviour by homeless people outside the centre in Great Western Road was affecting trade.

Three Dorchester middle schools were accredited with specialist status. Dorchester Middle, St Mary's School and St Osmund's Middle Schools were all designated science and mathematics specialist colleges.

Age Concern Dorchester unveiled plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary by taking on the town's youngsters in a mobility scooter grand prix. The race was one of a host of events planned to bring together the elderly and teenagers.

A suspected unexploded bomb brought traffic to a standstill in Puddletown but was discovered to be just a stage prop. Couple Gary and Amanda Callow discovered what they thought was TNT dynamite at their new home but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Opposition group leader on West Dorset District Council, Liberal Democrat Councillor Stephen Friar, accused Conservative deputy leader Coun Tony Alford of misleading colleagues in a debate on the council's new political structure.

JUNE: A simulated terrorist attack on a major conference saw Dorset's emergency services test their new emergency equipment. More than 70 volunteers took part in the mock mass decontamination at County Hall as part of a training exercise.

Dispersal orders came into force in Dorchester, giving police added powers. The new order enabled officers to disperse groups of two or more people in the town centre who are acting anti-socially or likely to cause distress to other people.

A proposal to name streets in Poundbury after Dorset war heroes was rejected by Dorchester Town Council. The council's planning committee argued that adopting the names of several Victoria Cross soldiers from the Dorset Regiment was inappropriate for the development and could set an awkward precedent.

Highways chiefs unveiled plans to make Dorchester's main shopping street a vehicle-free zone. One of the options put forward by the Dorchester Transport and Environment Plan, aimed at easing congestion and improving life in the county town, was to close South Street to traffic.

A fun-packed Dorchester Carnival weekend was kicked off by the Party in the Park in the Borough Gardens. Other entertainment laid on by Dorchester Round Table included a firework display at Maumbury Rings, the carnival parade and a duck race on the River Frome.

A land train for visitors to Dorchester was proposed by the county town's steering group BID, the Business Improvement District. BID manager Phil Gordon suggested that the train would link old and new parts of the town to ensure that established businesses did not miss out as developments at Charles Street and the former brewery site open up.

Dorset County Council embarked on a £20,000 scheme to repaint yellow lines after it emerged that motorists were getting away with parking on double yellow lines because they were too faded. Dorchester was identified as the town with the most serious problem as traffic wardens said they were unable to issue fines where the markings were not bright enough.

A driver who had a lucky escape at an accident blackspot called for urgent action to make the road safer. 21-year-old Josie Glen had to escape through her window when her car crashed into a wall at Hurst Bridges near Affpuddle and was left hanging perilously over a river.

JULY: Network Rail came under fire from councillors and residents for stripping a railway embankment of trees. The company said that the trees on the Bristol line were removed for health and safety reasons.

The scheme to redevelop Dorchester's former Brewery site was described as 'once in a lifetime' by West Dorset District Council planning officers. Members of the council's development control committee backed the scheme.

TV star Griff Rhys-Jones dropped into town to film a new documentary on the life of Thomas Hardy. The show - The Heart of Thomas Hardy - will air in the new year.

Women of all ages pulled on their running shoes to take part in the annual Race for Life at Kingston Maurward, raising thousands of pounds in the process.

Threatened Dorset libraries were saved from the axe but at a cost to opening hours, jobs and books.

A special monument dedicated to the memory of hard-working fundraiser Nicko Seaton was approved by Dorchester Town Council. The memorial - a fundraising wishing well - was proposed by Dorchester Round Table, of which Nicko was a member.

Dorchester councillor Tim Harries called for extra markings to be installed at a busy town centre junction to ease traffic congestion. Coun Harries said the yellow box junction at Trinity Street should help improve traffic movements.

Reptile breeder Jerry Cole won the right to stay at his base near Dorchester after planning officers approved the change of use for the site.

Houses prices were revealed to have gone through the roof since work started on Prince Charles's Poundbury, it was revealed by the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Martin Clunes proved a big hit when he dropped into Dorchester to open the annual fete at the town's Joseph Weld Hospice.

Work neared completion on a Chinese version of Dorchester. Officials fell in love with the county town after seeing it on a Christmas card and decided to build their own version at Chengdu in the Sichuan province.

North Square in Dorchester was closed after a main sewer pipe broke sending sewage spewing all over the road.

AUGUST: Teenager Laura Smith pledged to raise hundreds of pounds for charity after receiving a grant from the West Dorset Youth Bank towards the work.

A dad forked out almost £500 to clampers to get his son's car back after it was taken away after being left in Somerleigh Road.

Tougher measures introduced to deal with beggars and boozers were working, police said. The special order gave police the powers to move troublemakers on.

Police launched a crackdown on disabled drivers who were causing a hazard because of the way they were parking.

Magna Housing Association unveiled plans to build affordable homes on old garages in Dorchester. The association later decided to push ahead with homes on two sites in the town.

Pioneering spinal surgery was proving a hit with surgeons at Dorset County Hospital, who said that the surgery literally transforms the lives of those receiving it.

Historical re-enactors were forced to cancel an event at Maumbury Rings after English Heritage gave their gladiator games the thumbs-down.

Workers at The Hub revealed that they had found accommodation for more than 10 rough sleepers, which meant they no longer had to live on the streets.

Oscar the cat sparked a search after going on the run from a vets in Dorchester. The errant cat was later reunited with his owners.

Dorset County Show organisers announced that they were carrying on regardless despite a ban on animal movements, which meant there would be no livestock at this year's show.

Druids and witches gathered in Maumbury Rings to honour the memory of Mark Channing, who was executed there in 1705.

Students at the Thomas Hardye School were celebrating after getting outstanding results in their GCSE and A-levels.SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER: Crowds flocked to Dorset County Show despite the lack of livestock. The attendance on the Saturday was the show's highest ever even though cattle, sheep, pigs and goats were missing from the line-up due to restrictions imposed after the foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey.

Archaeologists uncovered a Roman stone coffin and skeletons at Poundbury. The team also discovered traces of ditches, post-holes and pits from Neolithic times during an archaeological survey prior to development on land near Poundbury Hillfort.

Flowers were banned from Dorset County Hospital over fears they carried an infection risk.

Town councillors agreed to fund the restoration of a German war memorial in Dorchester after Germany refused to foot the bill.

Dorchester Town Council backed the scheme for a private hospital in Poundbury. Councillors approved the proposal for the conversion of a former photo lab in Poundbury after Dr Mark Hughes told them it would complement the NHS-run Dorset County Hospital and the existing private Winterbourne Hospital.

Dorchester Citizens' Advice Bureau revealed it had helped people deal with debts of more than £5 million over the course of 12 months. Debt advisor Ken Greening also warned that the problem could get worse.

Soldiers exercised their right to march through Dorchester town centre. The Rifles, one of the British Army's newest regiments, went on parade to celebrate being awarded freedom of the town.

Thomas Hardye School's headteacher Dr Iain Melvin announced his decision to step down at the end of the academic year after 20 years in the post.

The Duchy of Cornwall unveiled plans for a pioneering green heating system as part of the next phase for development at Poundbury. Plans involved a series of energy centres across the development to provide electricity, heating and hot water for businesses and 190 new homes.

Town crier Alistair Chisholm appeared on national television to call a truce with Langton Herring crier Doris Eastwood. The pair appeared on Channel 5's The Trisha Goddard Show after a high-profile turf war over town crier rights for Weymouth.

Dorchester prison was recognised as one of the safest in the country with its safer custody team leading the way in tackling suicides and self-harm in the jail.

OCTOBER: A major review of school places in Dorset revealed education chiefs were struggling to recruit enough headteachers to run schools where pupil numbers are on the decline.

Rare Rupert Bear annuals went under the hammer at Duke's in Dorchester. Two 1973 annuals were among a dozen printed with a bear with a brown face on the cover, and their lots sold for £23,000 and £22,000.

A Dorchester doctor claimed his car was 'ravaged' by disgruntled residents after he parked in a quiet street near Dorset County Hospital. Dr Tim Hinks's Nissan Micra was scratched and gouged when he left it in Louise Road.

Council chiefs were facing up to a funding crisis after the Government revealed an increase in grants for local services would be kept to a minimum.

Plans for a private hospital in Poundbury were withdrawn because of issues of parking places on site. The scheme for a 30-bed hospital in Paceycombe Way attracted criticism from Winterbourne Hospital and neighbours.

Town crier Alastair Chisholm fought off competition from 20 rivals from across the country to claim the Hastings National Town Criers Championship. The award, coupled with his previous British Championship win, marked him as the country's undisputed champion crier.

Negotiations to move Dorchester's public library as part of the town's Charles Street development were revealed.

A rise in house prices saw Dorchester ranked as the third most expensive area in which to buy a home in the South West. A 12 per cent rise over the year meant the average cost of a home in the county town had soared to £270,000.

Campaigners for Christmas lights in Dorchester warned that they were still £3,000 short of the funds needed for a full display of lights in the town. The Decorate Dorset Committee said that it would only be able to light up South Street unless extra funds were donated.

Two Dorset monuments fell victim to graffiti attacks claimed to be by Fathers4Justice. Hardy's Monument and the Nine Stones at Winterbourne Abbas were both daubed with white painted slogans supporting the fathers' rights campaign.

Waste managers at Dorset County Council revisited controversial plans to build a household recycling centre at Poundbury. The plan was originally met with considerable resistance from Poundbury residents but the council admitted it was looking at the proposal again after a proposed site at Eddison Avenue in Dorchester was ruled out.

NOVEMBER: Printing firm Friary Press announced that it was relocating 100 jobs to Somerset. The move was as a result of a need to increase capacity.

Teenager Tara-Lee Hollinshead was selected to take part in the Miss Teen British Isles 2007 competition despite being blind in one eye. The 14-year-old hopes to become a model.

Motorists in the county town were facing a bill to park in places that had been free. Dorset County Council was proposing to introduce the pay and display initiative on streets in the town centre.

Dorset County Council's Fit for the Future programme won an important vote of confidence as Tory councillors backed the scheme. Labour and Liberal Democrat members opposed the efficiency scheme but the Conservatives ensured a vote of 22 to 12 in support.

Organisers of the Poppy Appeal were shocked when they discovered collection boxes in the town were stolen. When she went to collect the boxes, Georgina Wakely found that the boxes at NatWest and the post office had been taken.

Thomas Hardye School was hailed as one of the best in the country following its Ofsted inspection. It received the top grade 1 mark for overall effectiveness, outstanding achievements, leadership, management and personal development of students.

Two teenagers came to the rescue of an elderly rail passenger who was trapped in a carriage door at Dorchester South Station. 17-year-old Chloe Smith said that the doors did not allow enough time for passengers to get off at the station.

Plans were unveiled for a new restaurant and fitness suite at Dorchester Town's football stadium. The club's bosses submitted an application to West Dorset District Council for the new facilities.

A cluster of farm buildings built by Thomas Hardy's father sold for around £4.5 million. The buildings in Higher Bockhampton were originally built in 1849 and had been converted into 18 luxury holiday homes.

Fresh plans were submitted for a private hospital in Poundbury on the site of a disused factory. The new proposals included increased parking spaces after councillors had originally rejected the scheme due to congestion fears.

DECEMBER: Plans were submitted to include a doctors' surgery as part of the development of Dorchester's former brewery site.

Proposals for new street names for Poundbury roads were put forward by Dorchester Town Council. Despite a campaign for the names to remember military heroes and campaigns commemorating the Dorset Regiment, councillors supported a move for the names to recall the area's past as strip fields.

Protesters angry about proposals to axe day centres across Dorset returned to the steps of County Hall to lobby the county council's cabinet members as they arrived for a meeting.

Dorchester Town Football Club turned on the town's Christmas lights as a bumper crowd turned out for a pantomime-themed Casterbridge Cracker Night.

Dorchester Prison came out top in a survey of the country's local prisoners for the quality of life it creates for its prisoners.

Fine art and lavish furniture went under the hammer at Newton Buckland Place as the contents of the home of the late Sir William Aykroyd went up for auction.

A new radio link was installed at Dorset County Hospital for A&E staff to contact police more quickly if trouble breaks out on the wards.

Businesses in Dorchester called for a review of the town's parking as potential price hikes for council-owned car parks emerged.