Your Dorset Council

You may have heard that local government in Dorset has gone through some big changes. From 1 April 2019 the county’s nine councils will be replaced by two entirely new organisations:

• Dorset Council, and
• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

The new Dorset Council replaces the existing district and borough councils (East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland) and Dorset County Council, all of which no longer exist. Dorset Council delivers your local services, working in partnership with parish and town councils.

Why did the councils change

There are several reasons why we’ve come together as one Dorset Council:

1. to protect important services for residents including bins, housing, road maintenance, schools and social care
2. to reduce costs and give better value for money and cutting duplication
3. to give Dorset a stronger voice nationally which will help attract business investment and government funding and support local economic growth

How the changes may impact you

Although it sounds like a big change, you shouldn’t notice any major changes to the council services you get. For example, your bin day stays the same, you’ll be able to park in the same car parks, we’ll continue to maintain roads and public spaces as normal, and we’ll still be caring for our most vulnerable people. We issued a perception survey to local residents to find out what you know about Dorset Council and how the changes might affect you. Based on that survey we’ve compiled a number of answers to commonly asked questions that we know you have been asking.

How do I get involved?

We have set up a new People’s Panel to help residents have their say on council services and plans. There will be different ways you can get involved including online surveys and focus groups. If you would like to join this panel, please provide us with your details.

Transfer of personal data to Dorset Council privacy notice

From 1 April 2019, Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) will succeed the current county, district and borough councils in Dorset.  Responsibility for providing many of the services currently delivered by the authorities being succeeded will transfer to the new councils. Please review the privacy notice.