POLITICS
Dorset Council are promising a major public consultation after confirming their multimillion pound purchase of the St Mary’s School site at Shaftesbury. by Roger Guttridge Latest news suggests newspaper rumours that David Beckham was hot favourite to buy the site were as wide of the mark as the former footballer’s infamous penalty miss against Turkey in 2003. Dorset Council have agreed to pay £10.05 million for the 55-acre site which includes a swimming pool, tennis courts and other facilities as well as a greatly extended Victorian mansion. The price is above the agents’ guide price of £7.5-£9 million. In a statement confirming the purchase, Cllr Tony Ferrari, holder of Dorset Council’s Economic Growth, Assets and Property Porfolio, said: ‘We are always looking at ways of improving delivery services for Dorset children and adults, and the purchase of the St Mary’s site will help us achieve that. ‘We are very ambitious for the site and are determined that it should remain an asset to our community. Council Leader Cllr Spencer Flower added: ‘This is a significant investment and I’m pleased we’ve been able to
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secure it for the benefit of our community. It is suitable for a broad range of services and community uses, which could include provision for Dorset children, supported living for our Dorset care leavers, provision for adults with disabilities, as well as a possible site for businesses to boost our local economy and more besides. ‘We are committed to working with local people and stakeholder groups to get the mix of activity right so together we can achieve great things for this site and our community. ‘I realise people are asking how we can afford it, but this is a clear example of investing to save in the longer term. ‘I don’t want to pre-empt any decisions about the site, as we want to work with local people and groups first, but building a facility like this from scratch would cost considerably more. ‘This is a unique opportunity and a very exciting chance to create something new that will greatly benefit our community.’ The digital Blackmore Vale understands that a steering committee has already been formed and is expected to meet early next month. Asked to comment on rumours that houses could be built on
the site, one of the steering committee’s members, Shaftesbury Cllr Tim Cooke, told the local radio station This is Alfred: ‘I have not heard anything to suggest that housing is in any way a possibility. ‘I will be pushing to make sure that all the facilities are kept intact.’ Cash-strapped Dorset Council is expected to borrow from government funds to finance the purchase. An unusual aspect of the deal is that Dorset is buying a property in Wiltshire – although St Mary’s Catholic girls’ school has always been regarded as part of Shaftesbury. The house – formerly Coombe House – was built in 1886 as a country retreat for Liberal MP and vinegar magnate Mark Hanbury Beaufoy. It was a hotel in the 1930s and a US Air Force rest home in the Second World War before becoming St Mary’s Convent in 1945. North Dorset MP Simon Hoare welcomed the purchase. ‘It’s great news,’ he said. ‘I know the site well and it will add an important new base for the council to deliver services in the north. The site has limitless potential and its purchase should be welcomed across the county.’
