News in Bridport

Bridport's From Page to Screen festival will be going ahead this year online.

The three-day festival will be hosted by Bridport Arts Centre from Thursday, April 22 to Saturday, April 24.

Bridport Folk Festival will be going ahead in August, despite former revised plans of September.

The annual event was due to go ahead in July, but organisers decided in February to postpone it until the weekend of September 4 and 5. However, this date coincides with Bridport Hat Festival and organisers of the folk festival have decided to change the dates to August 13, 14 and 15.

It's Groves Nurseries favourite time of year - it's violet time!

Groves Nurseries holds the National Collection of Viola odorata and Parma Violets, a collection that was started by Charles William Groves, grandfather of Charlie and Becky, and continued by their father Clive, who also developed a passion for these highly scented beautiful little flowers.

Restaurants, cafes and pubs will not be open for Mother's Day this year, but that's not stopping hospitality businesses from offering special treats.

Mothering Sunday takes place on March 14 and we want to know what Bridport businesses are offering to try and make the day special for all mothers in the area.

The lovely Lily is at it again - raising as much money as she can for Weldmar Hospicecare.

This time, the 10-year-old has produced her own cards with 10 photographs she has taken around Bridport, West Bay, Burton Bradstock and Dorset.

From what started as an initiative to reduce waste to a weekly offering involving many local groups and businesses, the Bridport Garden Glut stall has grown throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

We caught up with the organisers and volunteers who bring the vital stall to St Swithun's Church car park each Thursday.

You may have spotted the striking new additions to Bridport's iconic Lyric Theatre on Barrack Street - a vibrant set of murals on the front doors of the venue as well as the side doors on Rax Lane.

These wonderful creations were painted at the end of February by two Bridport artists working in collaboration.

Pupils at St Mary's Primary School have received a bundle of new books for their school library for World Book Day.

The donation was thanks to the Morrisons Foundation in Partnership with the National Literacy Trust.

West Dorset MP Chris Loder "strongly opposes" plans for a Dorset National Park, stating it will fuel mass development.

The MP warns that a proposal for Dorset National Park is driving large-scale development and will make most of Dorset a museum, decimating the economy, threaten local democracy and fuel mass housing developments outside of the proposed areas.

The senior councillor in charge of planning in Dorset has defended the decision to go beyond the Government minimum 'housing need' figure.

Councillor David Walsh says that working towards having land for 39,000 homes in the local plan, rather than the minimum of 30,500 over the next 17 years, is a safer position for Dorset to be in.