n Flooding concerns on road near land marked for homes

Show organisers set to Spring into action

The organisers of the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show have announced plans for a new Spring Countryside Show on Saturday and Sunday, April 23 and 24. Whether you are a garden enthusiast or a food lover, the show will have something for everyone, focusing on woodland and forestry with wood carving and axemen, gardening with show gardens and nurseries, local food & drink with a food marquee, street food area, beer, cider and gin garden, alongside showcasing rural life. Organiser James Cox said: “We wanted to create a new show that celebrated one of the most special seasons in the calendar. Spring sees the rolling countryside come to life in so many colours and shades while on the farm and in the woodland we see the birth of new life.” Show chairman Giles Simpson said: “The show hopes to support local businesses, especially in the food and craft Industries. Trading at the show starts at just £35.” Early bird tickets to the new show go online at the end of November for just £5 per adult and £1 per child. n gillinghamandshaftesburyshow.co.uk The flooding of a road bordering Gillingham’s planned housing expansion has raised new concerns over the impact of the project. Heavy rainfall on the morning of October 31 saw Cole Street Lane disappear under water, with some homes flooded for the second time in 10 days. The lane borders farmland on which Welbeck Land plans to build 961 homes, nearly half the total envisaged for Gillingham’s vast southern extension. Work has already begun on a new arterial road across the site, sections of which flooded due to the downpour and River Lodden bursting its banks. Resident Andrew Pring said on Facebook: “Water running into Cole Street Lane can’t get away, has flooded Cole Street Farm car park and up to my doorstep. First time ever.” Another resident, Vicki La Bouchardiere, added: “Cole Street Lane completely flooded. Our house is flooded for a second time but much worse than before. This never happened before.” The Lodden also flooded houses in the centre of Gillingham, covered a bridge and Wren Place playground. Resident Rachel Joan said: “We’ve lived here in Wren Place 16 years, bought from new and have never seen the river so high. “I’d say you wouldn’t want to buy at the back of the new estate.” She was referring to 90 new houses currently being built behind Lodden Lakes by Taylor Wimpey, which also has approval for 115 more homes in a second phase. Another resident, Verity Minns, posted: “I’ve lived here seven years and never seen the river so high until they started building work, cutting down all the blackthorn trees and turfing up the marsh grass.” This week, developers and house builders were invited to bid for the right to build 205 houses, the first phase of 971 homes planned on the Welbeck site. A further 634 homes are planned the other side of the Gillingham-

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RAIN STOPS PLAY: Wren Place playground Picture: Rachel Joan

WATER MEADOW: Lower Lodden Meadow at Gillingham Picture: Kane Armstrong

AWASH: The newly completed Durweston Causeway crossing the floodplain

Repair café in need of your expertise

Blandford’s repair café is being revived! And they are on the lookout for fixers. They are looking for amateur and experienced electricians, handy people, carpenters, engineers, bike experts and craftspeople who may be able to spare two hours to help at the Blandford Repair Café sometime in early December. The café is a place for people to bring broken goods and have them fixed or receive advice on how to fix them to reduce waste and encourage sustainability. Please email emmadesaram@ yahoo.com with some indication of your availability.

Concerns after road near land marked for homes left under water after heavy rain FEARSOVER FLOODING

SWAMPED: A30 flooded at Toomer Hill between Henstridge and Milborne Port Pic: MANDY PIKE

Shaftesbury road, making 1,800 in total, currently the biggest building project in Dorset. The artery road through the Welbeck site is part of groundworks which will include utility water and sewage pipes, as well as a surface water drainage system, drainage and ditches. New attenuation ponds will be needed to hold and slow run-off water, while new burrows are being dug on site to compensate for loss of flood plain due to the road construction. The fear is that future flood and rainwater may be forced into other, new areas. Many commentators noted the Madjeston roads flooded heavily on Oct 31, with many cars abandoned. But Simon McFarlane, major projects officer for Dorset Council, and who is overseeing the southern extension development, said he was confident the work planned will be robust. He told The New Blackmore Vale: “I think everybody acknowledges that part of

n The floods of October 31, a Sunday morning, were the second to cause chaos across the region within 10 days. The A30 was closed at East Stour and near Henstridge; Eccliffe was impassable even to 4x4s and houses were flooded in Motcombe. The Crown Inn at East Stour and Halsey Arms in Pulham were closed due to flooding, while a subsequent power cut shut the The Stapleton Arms in Buckhorn Weston. Trains between Exeter and London were also cancelled when the main line flooded near Gillingham.

this project lies within the flood zone by virtue of being adjacent to the River Lodden. “The application was designed with a flood risk in mind and taken into account, not just today but with future climate change in mind. Those climate change allowances are really big on top of what we know is the risk today.” He said the new road was a ‘key piece’ of infrastructure, now being built by the council’s contractor, Hanson. Project manager Vinny Veness told Gillingham News last month: “We’re working to a challenging programme to complete construction in spring 2022, with a very busy site and work being carried out across the area. ‘Our focus for the moment is to install all the primary utilities under the road and also working across the new route to stabilise the clay soils. The shape of the road will start to become more evident as ground stabilisation progresses.”

Trust acute care in UK’s top ten after patients’ praise

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust has been rated among the best acute trusts in England for patient experience. The trust came in the top ten for patient experience, scoring 4.39 out of 5 based on patient feedback. The data analysed in the What Patients Think Report comes from PEP Health’s Patient Experience Platform (PEP) which collects publicly available comments on what patients are saying about their care in every single hospital across the UK. The methodology used by PEP Health means it can compare and benchmark different healthcare providers across the country. The full report is at pephealth.ai. The trust’s CEO Stacey Hunter said: “We are humbled and proud that our patients think so highly of our staff and the care they receive at the hospital. As one of our core values we strive every day to provide an outstanding experience for every patient including the highest quality care. Positive comments from patients and service users are a huge motivational boost.”