Dorchester elections - is anyone bothered? Or will WDDC offices make this one huge hot potato?

The row over new offices for West Dorset District Council in Dorchester could be a clincher for tomorrow’s local elections. Or is anyone really bothered?

The council want to spend £9.7 million on new offices in Charles Street, part of a bigger scheme to regenerate the area.

But the proposal – which has been talked about for years – has angered many. Campaigners say it’s is wrong to spend so much public money in a time of austerity, particularly when it helps a developer.

According to a report on the This is Dorset website, a total of 72 candidates, when quizzed by the Stop Council Offices Now (SCON) group, said they were against the proposal, with just five agreeing and 40 not responding.

The latter were all from the Conservative party. The other parties – Labour, Lib Dem and Green – are all against the new offices.

So will it affect how you vote tomorrow? Or is it all a load of hot air?

And then there is the whole debate around AV, as reported here on Dorchester People. Does anyone understand it, and does anyone, apart from the politicians themselves, care?

Let us know what you think.

We’ll be publishing the results of Dorchester’s elections here at Dorchester People  on Friday.

Picture: Alan Cleaver