The November 2025 edition of the Bride Valley News can be read HERE

The deadline for copy for any month’s issue is mid-day of the second Thursday of the preceding month. All material for publication must be sent to the Village Correspondent. For Litton Cheney this is: John Firrell, Tel: 01308 482313 email: jfirrell20@gmail.com

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 West Bay Discovery Centre 'The Bridport Railway' with Douglas Beazer. We are delighted to welcome well-known model railway enthusiast and speaker Douglas Beazer to talk to us about the story of Bridport’s branch railway line. It will give an insight into how the line came about, its construction and opening and will describe a journey down the line by steam train, showing the line in its heyday. The talk will take place this Thursday 23rd October, 2.30pm at the Salt House, West Bay. Tickets are £5, available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre. Spooktacular October Half-term Come and enjoy the free children's activities this October half-term at the Discovery Centre. Spiders are scuttling around the centre, help us to find them, and autumnal craft activities will also be available. The centre will be open 7 days a week during the October half-term, from Saturday 25th October to Sunday 2nd November, 11.00am – 4.00pm. Free entry, donations welcome. Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre - Craft Fair The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre Craft Fair will take place on Saturday 25th October at Charmouth Community Hall from 10.00 - 4.00pm. Entry is free and items for sale will include jewellery, pottery, ceramics, patchwork, willow craft, baby knitwear, paintings, cards, gifts, bags, fused glass, cakes & home produce. There will also be fossil sales and an opportunity to meet the collectors, refreshments all day (12pm - 2pm bacon rolls and 2pm-3.30pm cream teas) and a raffle. St Catherine's Pre-school - Halloween Hop St Catherine’s Preschool are holding a Halloween Hop on Saturday 25th October, 10.45am - 12.15pm at Bridport Leisure Centre for children from 1 - 7 years. Entry is £5 per child and there will be a bouncy castle, diddy cars and soft play, cakes, crafts and stalls. Tickets can be purchased here. West Bay Days - Bonfire by the Beach Raising funds for local groups and charities, this year's West Bay Days Bonfire by the Beach event will take place on Saturday 25th October, East Beach from 4.00pm with a fun fair, food outlet and outside bar and live music. The firework display will take place at 8.00pm. There will be a free shuttle bus from Bridport to West Bay from the Bus Depot (5.00pm - 9.50pm). The Ceilidh You are warmly welcomed to come and enjoy music and dancing at the Ceilidh on Saturday 25th October, 7.30pm - 10.30pm at St Mary's Church House Hall, South Street, Bridport. Only £10 (children £1 with an adult) for a great night's dancing and no experience or partner needed. Music by Orion’s Ring with excellent calling by Ruth Thompson. For more information/booking call 01308 863552 or text 07456 730753. West Bay Car Boot Sale The last West Bay Car Boot Sale for this year will be held at West Bay Road Car Park on Sunday 26th October 2025. If you want to host a stall, the car park opens at 6.30am for traders to set up with the car boot opening to the public from 7.30am until 11.30am. All traders must be clear of the car park by mid-day. All vehicles are charged at £7.00, except for commercial catering, for which the charge is £15.00. Bridport Vintage Market The final Bridport Vintage Market of 2025 will take place on Sunday 26th October, 10.00am - 4.00pm at the Art & Vintage Quarter, St Michael's Trading Estate, Bridport DT6 3RR. There will be live music and food and the estate is dog friendly (on leads). Netherbury Repair Cafe A free community group for Netherbury, surrounding villages and towns. Bring your broken items and see if one of our team can fix them. We have volunteers who can fix: electricals, bikes, textiles, ceramics, electronics and metal items. The Repair Café opens monthly on the last Sunday of every month (except August and December) from 10.00am to 12.00pm at Netherbury Village Hall, New Inn Street, Netherbury DT6 5LR. Our next Repair Cafe is this Sunday 26th October. The café has a full range of teas and cakes so why not come along for a cuppa and see what we do. We're also always on the lookout for new volunteers - if you have a skill for repairing we would love to meet you. For more information contact 07870 950666 or visit our website. Bridport Millennium Green Talk In support of Bridport Millennium Green and back by popular demand, Tim Gale will give an illustrated talk on Downe Hall and Bridport through the ages 1700 to 1944. The talk will be held at the WI Hall, North Street, Bridport on Thursday 30th October at 2.30pm. £5 payable on the door (£4 members). Bridport Carnival - Bingo A special Bridport Carnival Halloween Bingo will be held on Thursday 30th October at The Beehive, Beehive Clubhouse, St Mary's Field, Skilling Hill Road, Bridport DT6 5LA. Doors open at 6.30pm, eyes down at 7.30pm. Bridport History Society - Talk The next meeting of Bridport History Society is on Thursday 13th November when the Society will be welcoming Dr Mark Forrest who will give a talk about the Black Death in Dorset in the fourteenth century. 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. Bridport Area Neighbourhood Plan (BANP) Review The Bridport Area Neighbourhood Plan 2020 - 2036 has been a valuable resource for the local community and has been drawn on extensively in planning related matters. It is good practice to review the plan every five years and as part of the review process, comments from the public are sought. Come and hear how the BANP review shapes the next chapter of our community. Paper copies of review documents will soon be available in Bridport Library, Bridport Tourist Information Centre and Bridport Town Council offices or at the Ward events detailed below: • Bridport West & Allington Ward - Thursday 23rd October, 6.30pm at Bridport Youth & Community Centre, DT6 3LR • West Bay Ward - Wednesday 12th November, 6.30pm at the Salt House, West Bay, DT6 4HB • Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward - Tuesday 18th November, 2pm-3pm at Bothenhampton Village Hall, DT6 4BP • Bradpole Ward - Saturday 22nd November, 11am-1pm, at Bradpole Village Hall, DT6 3JA • Central Ward - Tuesday 25th November, 3pm, at the WI Hall, North Street DT6 3JQ To avoid confusion, a fuller promotion of the Bridport Area Neighbourhood Plan review will commence once the Local Plan consultation has ended. Dorset Council Local Plan Consultation - deadline extension Dorset is changing - make sure to have your say on the Local Plan options consultation before the closing date which has been extended to Friday 31st October. Find out more and respond here. Bridport Millennium Green - Have Your Say! Have your say on the future of Bridport Millennium Green - your opinions and suggestions matter. Complete our survey and tell us what you think of the proposed projects for the next 5 years. • Continue to landscape the area around the path from Mountfield up the hill • Provide open viewing access to what was known as the 'icehouse' • Re-arrange the raised beds in the gardens • Make the northern access path onto the hill less steep • Introduce more paths • Maintain existing paths To complete the survey visit our website. Jurassic Coast Primary Care Network - Resource Sheets Whether you live in Bridport, Beaminster, Lyme Regis or the wider West Dorset area, the Social Prescribing Resource Sheets bring together a range of trusted local and national services that may help with health, wellbeing, social connection, and daily living. Each resource sheet includes contact details, referral information, and links for further help. Age Friendly Dorset Dorset is on a journey to become an Age-friendly County and the first step is to survey people from across Dorset and understand what life is like for older people in the community. The survey is for adults 50 years and older and covers 8 key areas of life from health and housing to social life and employment. The results will provide a well-rounded picture of what life is like as people grow older in Dorset. The survey runs until Friday 19th December and can be completed here. NHS Dorset - COVID-19 and Flu Vaccinations NHS Dorset is urging eligible people to book their flu and COVID-19 vaccinations now, or they may be left unprotected against these serious illnesses as winter approaches. Appointments can be made here. Mayor of Bridport Blog The latest edition of the Mayor's Blog is now available and features Monique Pasche’s Honorary Townsperson Ceremony, Bridport Hat Festival, Yeovil Civic Day, Cupola lighting at St Swithun’s Church, Christchurch Civic Day and Allington Arts Week opening & Art exhibition preview.

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