PLANS for a late-night supermarket at a former Poole police station have been rejected by Poole planners. Borough of Poole planning committee members unanimously ruled against proposals that could have paved the way for a new Co-op convenience
FRUSTRATED Christchurch traders are calling for swift action on plans to improve an integral part of the town centre. Despite Dorset County Council pledging to look at much-needed improvements to the pedestrian subway linking Bargates and Christchurch
WITH entries trickling in slowly, organisers of Poole’s annual swimarathon are hoping to be deluged with a wave of applications in the next few weeks. Now that Christmas and New Year celebrations are out of the way, Poole Lions Club is urging people
Steven Spielberg’s civil war drama Lincoln leads the charge at this year's Oscars after receiving 12 nominations. Daniel Day-Lewis has picked up a nomination for best actor in the biopic for his portrayal of the 16th President of the United States
The RNLI has received planning permission from the Borough of Poole allowing the charity to build a facility at its Poole HQ in Dorset to bring all-weather lifeboat production in-house. This secures the future of all-weather lifeboat production
ECO campaigners have warned that controversial fracking could be used in Dorset to extract oil and gas. The technique – hydraulic fracturing – is used to released natural resources from the fractures or veins in rock layers. The West and South
SHOPPERS have been taking advantage of a sale at troubled camera chain Jessops while talks continued to try and save the business. The chain went into administration yesterday, with administrators warning that branch closures were inevitable.
CRIME on Bournemouth’s Townsend estate has plummeted by 20 per cent during the past year with the number of antisocial behaviour incidents down by almost a quarter. The Dorset police figures were released at a meeting of the Townsend Together Team
A CENTENARIAN who was born and raised in Bournemouth has marked his big birthday with five generations of his family. Stanley Whitbread turned 100 on Tuesday and was surrounded by scores of family, who had travelled from across the country, to
GRITTERS will be back on Dorset's streets tomorrow as a band of cold weather sweeps in. After weeks of mild temperatures, the Met Office has issued a yellow alert of ice for Dorset for Saturday night, with snow also expected in the Midlands over
CHARITY workers at Poole Sailability are reeling after being targeted by heartless thieves for the second time in just over a year. On Sunday night the £8,000 engine from the charity’s safety boat was stolen from Rockley Boat Park, Hamworthy, Poole
THE fire that caused a three-storey Poole office block to be evacuated this morning started because of an electrical fault, firefighters say. Briggs House, Ashley Cross, was evacuated after alarms sounded and smoke was spotted billowing from an
A STURMINSTER Marshall woman has been found guilty of benefit fraud amounting to more than £13,000. Melanie Halsall of Churchill Close claimed housing benefit and council tax benefit as a single parent of two children from 2000. In reality,
CHAMPION HURDLE winner Katchit has died of colic at the age of ten. The Alan King trained champion was the first five-year-old to win the prestigious Grade 1 since See You Then in 1985. The race, in 2007, was his final victory, but he remained
HUNDREDS of protesters are expected to flock to Swanage seafront on Sunday to link hands in protest at a sprawling wind farm planned off the protected Jurassic Coast. The Navitus Bay wind farm, a joint venture by Dutch firm Eneco and French power
AN MP has welcomed news that the proposed merger of Bournemouth and Poole’s Hospital Trusts has been referred to the Competition Commission. Christchurch MP Chris Chope has repeatedly called for a full inquiry into the merger of the Royal Bournemouth
As much as half of all food produced in the world– amounting to 2bn tonnes worth - ends up as waste, a new report has claimed. The UK’s Institution of Mechnical Engineers (IME) blames the “staggering” figure on strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one-free
PEOPLE receiving council tax benefit in Bournemouth could soon be hit by changes to the system, with councillors set to consider a new scheme on Wednesday. A report going to Bournemouth’s cabinet asks members to adopt a new Local Council Tax Reduction
LATE-opening Bournemouth restaurant Peppinos has been granted permission to extend its weekend opening hours up to 3.30am. The Italian restaurant, in Charminster Road, will be able to serve food and alcohol up to 3am on Saturday and Sunday mornings
After last month’s focus on the UK Youth Parliament House of Commons Debate, December has been a time of getting back to working on my priorities. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing during the month: I attended the Borough of Poole
A BLAZE which killed a frail 80-year-old Christ-church woman was probably caused by an electrical fault, an inquest heard. Marie-Noelle Holliday suffered 30 per cent burns and died of shock following the tragedy at her home in Avon Buildings, off
UNSETTLED Cherries striker Wes Thomas could spark a bidding war after being linked with a host of Championship clubs. Thomas this week resumed training with Eddie Howe's squad after returning from a fruitful loan spell at Blackpool where he
THE year 2013 has begun with a depressingly familiar ring to it. The economy is once again in the spotlight. Camera chain Jessops – which has several stores locally – has gone into administration. Administrators have said branch closures are
PUT some people in a car, it seems, and they enter a bubble in wet weather. Their own little world is cut off from the courtesies and considerate behaviour expected in normal day-to-day living. In life generally I find the vast majority of people
I WAS surprised to read some of the comments in the Daily Echo (January 3, 2013) regarding the lack of a Cemetery problem in Ferndown and residents having to travel more than two miles to the Hampreston Cemetery, which has nearly reached capacity and
WITH reference to Christchurch Hospital. As someone who was born and grew up in Christchurch and whose family have lived here for over 100 years I cannot believe that such an important planning application was taken by a small number of councillors
MIKE Fry writes somewhat bitterly about the cuts to Dorset Police budgets. He blames the Labour party for the high cost of pensions and the brand new Dorset Police Commissioner, Martyn Underhill, for having been a long serving policeman. No mention
I HAVE no doubt Martyn Underhill, the new Police and Crime Commissioner, has good reason to write to government about the police funding formula for Dorset (Daily Echo, January 7). However, when a recent Taxpayers’ Alliance report (December 30
I READ with interest the piece about the dog, Alfie, that I found in my back garden after 10 days missing and the kind comments (Daily Echo, January 7). I am so pleased that we have a happy ending. Alfie is beautiful and I was so pleased to help
YOUR readers may recall that just over one year ago there was a vast feeling of anger and disappointment when the county council proposed the sale of most of the playing fields at Wareham Middle School. Opposition to this was made in writing by
Another year, another diet, another failure. It’s a vicious cycle for many women trying to lose weight, but Kathy Bell claims to have the answer. Following an 11-year career as a personal trainer, lifestyle coach training and a long history with
INTERNATIONAL solo artists and award-winning West End stars Ben Lake (The Voice, Phantom) and Jason Jay (Mr Swing, Oliver) bring their sensational two man concert, An Evening of Three Halves to the Tivoli theatre for the first time. The first 40
A woman was cut free from her car following a collision with a lamppost at the junction of Sterte Road and Westview Road in Poole on Wednesday evening. Firefighters from Poole were called around 6.30pm as the woman was medically trapped. They
SINCE leaving Bournemouth to find fame on the stage, Earl Carpenter has carved a niche for himself a one of the most popular Phantoms to have ever stalked a West End stage. The actor has now returned to his most famous role – in Phantom of the Opera
YOU’VE read the book and seen the movies, now witness Frankenstein on stage in this bizarre monster mash-up at the Lighthouse Poole. The Miracle Theatre Company bring their unique interpretation of Mary Shelley’s classic to Poole on January 26.
FORTY-EIGHT households across Bournemouth are watching their favourite programmes using black and white televisions, according to the TV Licensing authority. Figures released yesterday showed more than 13,000 homes across the UK are still using
A man seriously injured in an attack in a Bournemouth road two weeks ago remains in hospital, police said yesterday. The 46-year-old Bournemouth man suffered serious in the attack in Branksome Hill Road on December 27. Any witnesses or anyone
AN EAST Dorset church which was all but demolished when an HGV crashed into it is set to be turned into six flats. All Saints’ Church in Stapehill was hit in August 2005 after a lorry driver from Carlisle fell asleep at the wheel, driving through
A FACTORY that provides employment to disabled people is set to close in just two months. Dorset Enterprises, in Elliott Road, Bournemouth, is likely to close at the end of March after Bournemouth council decided it could no longer financially
THREE Dorset girls will be looking to emulate Team GB’s London Olympic heroes in Australia next week. Georgia Hall, Izzy Songhurst and Lynnlette Aung are among 120 athletes selected for the Australian Youth Olympic Festi-val in Sydney between January
TAFFY Richardson – who has been dubbed the Peter Pan of non-league – has revealed how he often gets asked to pay to watch Poole Town as rival clubs think he is too old to still be playing. The 46-year-old midfielder, a veteran of more than 1,200
LINCHPIN defender Tommy Elphick has revealed how reminders of the early-season dark days have been helping to keep Cherries grounded during their 17-match unbeaten run. Elphick, who has been short-listed for the League One player of the month for
A ROYAL Marine had a miracle escape after a rock was dropped from a bridge on to his car on a busy motorway. Corporal AJ Orchard from Bournemouth was driving at night along the M3 under the A27 bridge at Chilworth when suddenly a three-inch by
AN £11.2million development that will allow the RNLI to build its own life-saving boats at Poole is due to go before planners today. Officers are recommending that Borough of Poole’s planning committee gives approval to the scheme at the Lifeboat
BOSS Steve Cuss was left to rue some errant defending as Wimborne Town bowed out of the Red Insure Cup following a topsy-turvy third round clash at Sholing tonight. Magpies twice fought back from a two-goal deficit and looked destined to take the
