'A stimulating session' - news from March meeting with diary dates

Our meeting on 14th March provided an opportunity for discussion with members of the Sustainable Shaftesbury working group for the first time since the town council adopted a comprehensive vision statement and masterplan - Shaftesbury's response to the climate & nature emergency. The working group will continue to support council and community activity and is already preparing for the council's review of the plan in July (could commitments around sustainable food and roadside trees and hedges be reinforced?) and budget-setting in the autumn (will there be money to support additional sustainability projects?). Our discussion recognised that a lot of necessary work will also be dependent on volunteers and that whilst Shaftesbury has many people 'doing their bit to make a difference' we fall short in some areas (Planning was mentioned - see below).

Meanwhile we're approaching local elections. Prospective councillors for both Dorset Council and for local parish and town councils have to submit their nomination papers by Friday 5th April. Several of Shaftesbury's existing councillors are not expected to stand again and, because of the growth in our population, we're looking for a council of 15 (an increase from 12 at present). An opportunity for renewal? If you might like to stand, there's still time to consider it: Brie Logan, Shaftesbury's town clerk, can provide information to help you decide (BrieLogan@shaftesbury-tc.gov.uk).

At our meeting we agreed that Planet Shaftesbury could usefully host a hustings, an opportunity for townspeople to hear candidates tackle questions from the community. We set 4th April as the date for a planning meeting so that we can get the ball rolling as soon as details of the candidates are published (on 8th April). Please come along to join in shaping a constructive public event. The most likely date for the hustings is 25th April - just one week before election day.

Our Website ... is getting a Spring Clean making it simpler, and easier to keep up-to-date. The homepage is getting a new look (and logo which will also appear on a new PS poster). The 'Forum' has gone, as has the comment facility on Blog posts. These were intended to enable interaction across our network but required membership of the site and were never much used. 'Project' pages are also being tidied up, separating continuing activities/groups from an archive of past projects or events. There's also a new section for projects linked to Sustainable Shaftesbury - to include both the working group (SSWG) and spin-off initiatives linked to the themes within the action plan. This is a work-in-progress, it's a good time to provide updated information for continuing groups and initiatives. Send your feedback on the ongoing changes, or edits for your project pages, to planetshaftesbury@gmail.com

HELP PLEASE - Planet Shaftesbury needs to be out there on social media platforms. If you might be able to help, just do it!

Sustainable Shaftesbury Projects: our most recent meeting only had time for a brief review of the projects we selected last month. We arranged a separate meeting for 9th May when we'll be better able to get things moving. There's a lot of support available for us to tap into ... the initial ideas are based on practical initiatives researched by SSWG members and already being successful somewhere. Please join us if you have an interest in supporting any of these initiatives:

Build support for a community climate resource space (hub) to encompass information on energy, recycling, repairs, sharing tools etc. For inspiration see https://weymouthclimatehub.com/ Current contact: Richard Thomas

Planning: monitoring applications submitted and subsequent development to ensure that opportunities for enhancing biodiversity are recognised, commitments fulfilled and appropriate continuing management plans sustained. Current contact: Diana Harris

Promote sustainable local food producers, outlets and consumption, linking to the Wellness programme and food poverty initiatives. (Much of the relevant information was compiled during 2023 and this links to the Dorset-wide discussion of Sustainable Food Places. Current contact: Karen Wimhurst

Explore alternative local transport solutions to reducing car use such as car club, cycle taxis (eg. tuk tuk), electric shuttle bus, scooters. Current contact: Richard Thomas

Implement a land mapping exercise for Shaftesbury & surrounding area to detail land use, area, ownership and other key information with the potential to identify opportunities and trade-offs for energy, nature, food, connectivity and other uses. Current contact: Beth Lewis

Support the creation of a community interest company (CIC) to produce clean energy with profits used to benefit the community (eg. insulation retrofitting or PV installations). Current contact: Rachel Bodle

Support the council in improved land management and natural area maintenance to ensure that the philosophy that underpins (updated) management plans is embedded in the activities undertaken by staff and contractors. Current contact: Mike Cummings 

Please send news or event details to planetshaftesbury@gmail.com for sharing across our network