Celebrating Poundbury Magazine Issue 6: The bright thinkers and entrepreneurs | Page 70

HELPFUL SERVICES M HEW LUC S Funeral Directors & Monumental Masons Poundbury’s resident Funeral Director providing a Dignified, Professional and Caring 24 hour service LOCKSMITH PAUL PARROTT Independent Professional UPVC or Composite Multipointsystem & Wooden door /window lock Specialist. Insurance approved Police recommended High Security locks for wooden & Multipoint systems. BS3621:2007 & TS:007 3 star rated available. Pre-Paid Funeral Plans Available Down House, Widcombe Street Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3BS 01305 753533 www.dorchesterfunerals.com Additional Security for garage, gates, patio & French doors. Diffi cult to lock doors? Save money & call a locksmith fi rst. Key safes, Safes and code locks. Internal & external door furniture including door chains & viewers supplied and fi tted. Free Insurance compliance check on site 07709 545701 Members of the Recommended by [email protected] www.parrottlocks.co.uk COUNCIL news THE MALTINGS BOOSTS FUNDRAISING POT 2018 is a crucial year to fund a new arts space in Dorchester Kitchens | Living Spaces | Bathrooms | Studies | Replacement Doors | Worktops Experience matters ¢ 6 All work guaranteed for ¢ ¢ YEARS ¢ Projects on a fixed and agreed price Project management from start to finish Over 20 displays in showroom Over 30 years of experience 01305 772014 [email protected] www.kitchen-craft.co.uk 7a Cambridge Road, Granby Industrial Estate, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 9TJ 70 WWW.CELEBRATINGPOUNDBURY.CO.UK Plans for a dedicated and modern theatre, arts and heritage space in Brewery Square’s The Maltings building inched closer to realisation when Dorchester Town Council said it would add £250,000 to the fundraising pot. If the total sum can be raised to get the project underway, the future of the project will become clearer after the results of a key grant application due later this year in September. Maltings Arts, the charity established to oversee the project, has set a target fundraising total of £8.8m to transform the grade-II listed building into a 450 seat theatre, 100 capacity studio, café and bar with an additional target of £2.4m to fund an annexe to house commercial activities to generate income and make it self- sufficient. The redevelopment would also serve as a permanent home for Dorchester Arts, which is currently operating out of the Corn Exchange. The project was given a major boost last year when it was awarded £1m from Section 106 funds accrued largely from the development of Poundbury and earmarked for the development of community infrastructure. Earlier this year, councillor Robert Freeman was appointed as representative of West Dorset District Council to the Maltings Arts board to act as an observer as the charity steps up its efforts to raise the additional sum needed to fulfil its plans. Maltings Arts said it has made good progress with raising development funds and hopes to announce further progress soon. Meanwhile, new plans have been submitted for the Brewhouse building that sits alongside the Maltings site after developers went back to the drawing board. Planning consent had originally been granted to convert the listed building into a luxury hotel but these plans have now been scrapped in favour of an apartment block of 29 units with commercial space on the ground floor to complete the Brewery Square development. West Dorset District Council will consider the new application later this year. NEW LOOK DORSET COUNCIL Proposals dating back to 2016 to streamline the county’s councils are expected to take effect next year Legislation to reduce the number of Dorset’s councils from nine to two will be put before Parliament in July and, if passed, the new structure will take effect from April next year. Existing councils will be disbanded and replaced with Dorset Council, which will house East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset and the borough of Weymouth and Portland, and a separate council for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Existing councils will form shadow authorities to prepare and set budgets for the new structures, which it is hoped will reduce operational costs and provide integrated services across the area. Savings over the first six years of the new structure are estimated to be at least £108m will the potential to exceed £170m. Under the new structure, Dorchester will be divided into two electoral wards, Dorchester East (formed of the existing Dorchester East and Dorchester South wards) and Dorchester West (comprising of the cur rent Dorchester West and Dorchester North wards, which both cover Poundbury). Dorset Council will become the unified local authority for the area with no separate county council and district council as at present. Elections will be held in 2019 to appoint two councillors in each ward, reducing the number of seats in the Dorchester area to four from 20. WWW.CELEBRATINGPOUNDBURY.CO.UK 71