The Bridport Local Area Partnership (BLAP) is here for the community. Current members of the partnership include Bridport Town Council, 10 Parish Councils and more than 80 community organisations and individuals working to improve the social, economic, and environmental wellbeing of Bridport and surrounding areas. For information or if you have a piece you would like included in the BLAP Bulletin, please contact Jo Hughes by email at jo.hughes@bridport-tc.gov.uk Bridport Remembers - VE Day 80th Anniversary To commemorate VE Day, from 5th - 11th May, Bridport Tourist Information Centre have a special VE Day window display and the Town Hall clock is illuminated with the Union Flag. On Thursday 8th May just before 10.00am, the Mayor of Bridport, the Town Crier, the Town Clerk and others will gather in Bucky Doo Square to proclaim the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Please join us as we remember VE Day. There will be a WW2 jeep on view and music from the 40s. VE Day Celebration in West Bay The West Bay Discovery Centre located at Chapel on the Beach, West Bay DT6 4EN will have a slideshow "VE Day Celebration in West Bay in 1945", a series of old photographs celebrating VE Day 80 years ago in West Bay and the impact the war had on our community. The slideshow will be available on Thursday 8th May from 10.00am - 4.00pm. Royal British Legion Bridport - VE Day Coffee Morning The Bridport branch of the Royal British Legion will hold a coffee morning at the RBL Hall, Victoria Grove, Bridport DT6 3AD on Thursday 8th May to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. The coffee morning will start at 10:00am with the Mayor in attendance along with guest speakers and military displays. Refreshments will be available free of charge. Everyone is most welcome to come along to this event, we would love to see you on this historic day. Bridport History Society - Talk The next meeting of Bridport History Society is this Thursday 8th May and to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the Society will be welcoming military historian Christopher Jary who will give a talk titled ‘The 4th and 5th Dorsets in WW2 – from Normandy to Bremen’. The talk tells the story of the Dorsets during the final months of the war and their involvement at Arnhem followed by breaking through the Siegfried Line and crossing the Rhine. The talk will be held at the United Church Hall on East Street, Bridport. Doors open at 2.15pm for a prompt 2.30pm start. All are welcome, members £1pp, visitors £5pp. Bridport History Society meets on the second Thursday of each month (except July and August). Membership is open to all (£12 individual / £18 couple). For more information visit: www.bridporthistorysociety.org.uk. Burton Bradstock VE Day Beacon Lighting Burton Bradstock will be lighting their beacon on Thursday 8th May from 8.30pm at The Beacon, Cliff Road, Burton Bradstock to celebrate VE Day. There will also be HMS Singers, World War II songs and poetry. West Bay Guided Walks Friendly and knowledgeable volunteer guides will be available on Thursday mornings from May until October to help you enjoy exploring West Bay with a selection of walks covering the history and nature of West Bay. All walks leave from West Bay Discovery Centre, Chapel on the Beach, West Bay DT6 4EN at 11.00am. There is a £5 fee per person, payable on the day (no advance booking required) and the walks last around 90 minutes covering easy terrain. The full programme of guided walks is available here. Bridport Swift Town - Swift Summer Events Programme 2025 The Swift Summer Events Programme for 2025 is now available and provides a number of free events commencing Friday 9th May and running through the summer months that are open to all. View the programme here. Garden Plant Sale - Supporting Bridport Millennium Green Plants - Pots - Garden Tools - Book and lots, lots more! A garden plant sale in support of Bridport Millennium Green will take place this Saturday 10th May, 9.30am - 1.00pm at Bridport Millennium Green, Mountfield, Bridport. All proceeds will be used to maintain the green for the use of everyone. Please come and support us. Bridport Bowling Club - Taster Sessions Bridport Bowling Club, located at Priory Lane, Bridport DT6 3RW will be open to the public this Saturday 10th May and Sunday 11th May for free taster days for anyone to come along and try their hand at bowling. If you fancy giving bowling a try then just turn up between 11.00am and 2.00pm. There will be all sizes of bowls available and you will soon get going with our expert guidance. For more information and what to wear, follow this link. Dorset CAN Rivers and Beaches - Open Zoom Event Across Dorset, community action groups are working to clean up local rivers. But the range of challenges is huge and the problems are complex. Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN) are hosting an open Zoom event on Tuesday 13th May, 7.00pm - 9.00pm to discuss cleaning up Dorset's rivers: how to take action locally. If you’re part of an existing river action group, come and compare notes, hear what others are doing and see how we can coordinate for better outcomes. If you want to join a local group, come and find out where to start! If you are on a Town or Parish Council, come and find out what we are doing. Please come and share what you are doing and learn from others. All river groups in the audience can give a brief presentation (this will be organised once you’ve signed up), followed by a Q&A/discussion session. GUEST SPEAKER: Simon Browning of The Rivers Trust will offer advice on how groups can best act on behalf of their river – and work together across Dorset. To attend, please register at https://tinyurl.com/2t2u7pby Access Wellbeing West Dorset - Bridport Launch Please join us for the official launch of Access Wellbeing at The Harmony Centre in Bridport which will take place on Wednesday 14th May to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week. There will be a community brunch from 11.00am - 1.00pm, attended by the High Sheriff of Dorset. The Harmony Centre is located at Units 1 and 2, The Tower Building, St Michael's Trading Estate, Bridport DT6 3FN (entrance Unit 8, entered via courtyard at Foundry Lane). Access Wellbeing drop-in spaces are opening in Bridport, Beaminster, Lyme Regis and Maiden Newton offering mental health and wellbeing support to anyone aged 18 and over, with no appointment needed. Staffed by our friendly team, the new hubs provide a welcoming space to find support on the issues that matter to each individual. That might be mental health and emotional wellbeing, or practical help on topics such as finances, work, housing or support for carers. Jazzy Cafe - Holy Trinity Church Bradpole As part of Christian Aid Week, Holy Trinity Church, Village Road, Bradpole DT6 3EP will be hosting a "Jazzy Cafe" on Thursday 15th May, 10.00am - 12.00pm as the church becomes a pop up café for the morning. Dan Shackell will be on Sax with Sue Smith on piano creating a relaxing mood as you tuck into delicious home-made cake and if you enjoy the cake you can buy more at the ‘Bakes and Makes’ stall, plus there’s a flower and veg plant stall, Bring and Buy stall and more. Bridport Community Charter Fair The Bridport Community Charter Fair will take place on Saturday 17th May, 9.30am - 3.00pm at Millennium Green, Mountfield and Bucky Doo Square. A full programme of events is available here and will include music, food & bar, community stalls, children's area, maypole dancing and presentation of awards for outstanding service to the community. West Bay Beach of Dreams A free, drop in event outside the West Bay Discovery Centre on Saturday 17th May from 12.00pm - 3.00pm inviting residents and visitors to explore their hopes and dreams for West Bay’s iconic beach using creative writing, flag-making and beach windmills. Writer Ros Huxley and artists from Emerald Ant are inviting groups, residents and visitors who visit the coast and harbour to drop into the West Bay Discovery Centre and share their memories, hopes and concerns for our beach. More information on this event can be found here. Please join the Street to Sea litter picking teams across town on Sunday 18th May at 10.00am. For an hour of your time you can show how much you care for our wonderful town. This is the 9th town-wide litter pick by members of the community and it helps stop litter making its way to the streams, rivers and the sea. Just turn up at one of the locations detailed below, kit is provided. • Bradpole Village Hall • Bridport Co-op • Bothenhampton Pasture Way • Court Orchard Play Area • The Ropemakers Car Park • Morrisons • The Black Hut on East Pier Brilliant Bridport - Talk Popular local historian Bruce Upton tells the story of how we came to be – Brilliant Bridport. It may surprise you! The talk will take place on Sunday 18th May, 4.00pm - 5.30pm at St. Mary's Church House Hall, South Street, Bridport DT6 3NN. Light refreshments will be provided. There will be no charge, just donations to Christian Aid. Come along and discover more about our interesting past Bridport Stage Company - Alice Through The Looking Glass Another spellbinding charity performance from the Bridport Stage Company - Alice Through the Looking Glass will be performed at The Bull Hotel on Friday 30th May at 7.00pm and Saturday 31st May at 2.00pm and 7.00pm. Tickets cost £10 and are available from The Bull Hotel. All profits will be donated to charity. Charmouth Parish Council - Housing Needs Survey Anyone with a local connection to Charmouth Parish is being encouraged to complete a short survey to identify open market and affordable housing need. Responses are being sought primarily from residents and also workers, people with a family tie to the parish or anyone who has moved out the area, because they could not find open market or affordable housing to rent or buy. Open for four weeks, the survey will contribute to the Charmouth Neighbourhood Plan and form part of a thorough needs analysis to identify the right type, size and tenure of housing for the parish. The survey runs until 12th May 2025 and can be accessed here. Voluntary and Community Sector Engagement with Dorset Council Working with Volunteer Centre Dorset, Dorset Council want to understand how they can work better with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS). They want to hear what the VCS needs to continue to do their work across the county – and how we can collectively work together to meet the needs of communities. This is you chance to have your say by answering a few quick questions. Dorset Council - Towards a New Model for Day Opportunities Dorset Council are proposing changes to day opportunities services across Dorset and would like to share their ideas with you about their proposed hub, spoke and specialist model. These are services currently delivered at or from Bridport Connect in St Andrews Road. Dorset Council want to hear your thoughts and understand how this might work in your local community. No one will lose access to a day opportunity but if, following consultation, the proposals are agreed there may be changes to how they are delivered. The proposed changes in West Dorset can be viewed here. The formal consultation period is open until midnight on 9th June 2025 and the online survey can be accessed here. There is also the opportunity to join an online event to share your thoughts:Wednesday 7th May at 6pmThursday 15th May at 6pmWednesday 4th June at 6pmThe events will start promptly with a presentation about the proposed model. Please click here for further information and to join an event. BLAP Members' Meeting The next BLAP Members' Meeting will be held on Thursday 5th June at 2.15pm, Mountfield, Bridport. There will also be the option to join via Zoom. All BLAP members are very welcome to attend and the meeting agenda will be circulated nearer the time. Dorset Council - Social Housing Tenants Survey Dorset Council are wanting to engage with local residents who live in social housing to understand their views & feedback, specifically regarding downsizing - it is aimed at people who are living in social housing and under occupying their home. Social housing tenants can provide their feedback by following this link to the survey which is open until 30th June 2025. The Bridge Magazine This month's edition of the Bridge Magazine features updates from Bridport and surrounding parish churches, Christian Aid Week 2025, Bridport Town Council farewells and hello, a feature on the work of BLAP, reports from the five Bridport Town Council Wards and upcoming events and community groups. The Eggardon & Colmers View The May edition of the Eggardon and Colmers view magazine is now available. This includes updates and events from Askerswell, Broadoak, Dottery, Eype, Loders, Powerstock and Symondsbury. Book Release - Bridport Hospitals and Health Services Finally, congratulations to BLAP member, Sylvia Stafford, who has published a book entitled "Bridport Hospitals and Health Services" - a history of local health and wellbeing and the development of hospitals, health centres, practices and services. The work is based on published accounts of local health and wellbeing and the various hospitals, health centres and individual practices and services available over the last 150 years. The book is available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre, West Bay Discovery Centre, The Book Shop, Bridport, Waterstones, Bridport and Beaminster Books, Beaminster. Copyright © 2025 Bridport Town Council, All rights reserved.

The Puncknowle, Swyre and West Bexington History Group hold monthly meetings to discuss the local history of our area, and during the spring and summer months also organise history walks. Recently there was a presentation by our own historian-in- residence Paul Kingston on Litton. If you would like to know more about the group, and learn more about your local surroundings please contact Paul Bullen 07527141560 paul.bullen@icloud.com