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Keeping you up to date

Flood Warnings

To check the latest information for your area
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* Visit the GOV.UK website to see the current flood warnings, view river and sea levels or check the 5-day flood risk forecast: https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/target-area/111WAFSTOM

* Or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188 using quickdial code: 210033.

* Follow @EnvAgency and #floodaware on Twitter.

* Tune into weather, news and travel bulletins on local television and radio.

Useful Contacts
Flood Online Reporting Tool (FORT): https://swim.geowessex.com/uk
 Dorset Council Sandbags & Local Flooding Advice:
https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/emergencies-severe-weather/flooding/sandbags-and-local-flooding-advice.aspx
Dorset Council Urgent Highway Drainage Maintenance: 01305 221020
Dorset Council Non Urgent Highway Drainage Maintenance:
https://dorsetself.achieveservice.com/service/report-a-gully--drain-or-flooding-issue

 Wessex Water: 0345 600 4600 (24 hours)
Floodline: 0345 988 118 (24 hours) www.gov.uk/flood
 Environment Agency National Incident Hotline: 0800 80 70 60
Environment Agency Flood Resilience Team: floodwessex@environment-agency.gov.uk (office hours)
Flood Online Reporting Tool (FORT): https://swim.geowessex.com/uk


Dorset Council: 01305 221000

The next Parish Council Meeting:  Thursday 4th September 2025
Dorset Road Safe Website
Non-Emergency Directory
If you wish to report a non-emergency to Dorset Police you can do this on line at https://www.dorset.police.uk/.
Parish Council Vacancy 

One vacancy has arisen for a Parish Councillor.

The Council intends to fill this by co-option at the Parish Council Meeting on Thursday, 2nd October 2025.

Anyone wishing to put their name forward for co-option should contact the Parish Clerk on sturminstermarshall@dorset-aptc.gov.uk on or before 23rd September 2025.

Qualification as a Councillor: Candidates should be over 18 years of age and have resided or worked within Sturminster Marshall Parish or within 3 miles of it for at least 1 year prior to the date of appointment. Once elected you will need to sign a declaration of interest form and abide by the Council’s Code of Conduct.

If required, the Parish Clerk or any of the present councillors can give advice on the roles and responsibilities of Parish Council members.

 

Community Speed Watch

Following a recent meeting about concerns of speeding vehicles throughout the village, by both residents and people visiting or passing through, a Speedwatch group has been set up to gather data on vehicle speeds. No changes in speed limits will be considered by Dorset Council without data gathered by the group. All of the volunteers have concerns about the speed of vehicles within some areas of the village and want everyone to feel safe when walking around, crossing roads etc. and knowing that their children can play safely around the village.

Hopefully this will be achieved through education and careful consideration of their actions by individuals, rather than new restrictions. Our Speedwatch group will appreciate your support while they gather the data. They have everyone's safety in mind.

Dorset Local Plan

Have Your Say on the Dorset Local Plan! 

What is a Local Plan?
It’s Dorset Council’s blueprint for how our area will develop in the future — including housing, infrastructure, and the environment.

You can read the proposals and respond to the consultation here:
Dorset Council Local Plan Options Consultation 2025

Dorset Council Consultation Events (nearest to Sturminster Marshall):

Blandford – 4th September at the Royal British Legion Club from 2-7pm

Lytchett Matravers – 17th September at the Village Hall from 2-6pm

Wimborne – 1st October at the Allendale Centre from 1.30-5.30pm

Sturminster Marshall Drop-In Session (Dorset Council officers will not be present at this drop-in session due to resource constraints)
 Sturminster Marshall Memorial Hall
Thursday 18th September
5pm–8pm (with Dorset Cllr Chakawhata attending 6pm–8pm)

Please note: This is Dorset Council’s Local Plan, not the Parish Council’s. While we would love to hear your views in order to shape the Parish Council’s response, we may not be able to answer all questions directly. It’s important that everyone responds individually to the consultation to ensure your voice is heard.

 

About Sturminster Marshall Parish

Welcome to the Sturminster Marshall Parish Council’s website. On this website you will find details of all the Parish Council’s meetings as well as our policies and financial information. You will also find links to other community facilities and groups in the parish.

Sturminster Marshall (population 1,969 at the 2011 Census) is 3 miles West of Wimborne Minster and 7 miles NW of Poole in Dorset. The village lies on the right bank of the River Stour where it is joined by the Winterbourne. The outlying settlements of Newton Peveril, Almer and Mapperton are in the Winterbourne valley, whilst Henbury and Stoney Down extend to higher ground on the southern side of the Stour valley.

Two main roads intersect in the parish: the A31 trunk road running East to West and the A350 running North to South.

Although people have lived in and around Sturminster Marshall since Mesolithic times, the core of the present village was established in the twelfth century, when the parish church (St Mary’s) was established. The church in Almer (also St Mary’s) was built at about the same time, as was White Mill Bridge, an important crossing over the Stour and said to be the oldest bridge in Dorset.

In 1101 permission was given to hold a fair in the village and a maypole was erected. A modern replacement is still a major feature on Maypole Green.

For several hundred years, the parish was essentially an agricultural community, but the coming of the railway in 1860 provided the impetus for the opening of a milk factory, which later became the largest cheese factory in Europe. The site of the railway station and the cheese factory is now an industrial estate.

In recent years, we have become much more of a dormitory village but changing work patterns and a wider range of employment opportunities may influence the development of the parish in the