Here’s the latest news and updates (as of 9th April 2020) from Dorset Council, regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak:
Please stay at home and love your local area
This Easter and, indeed while this crisis continues, we’re urging you to stay home, and take exercise directly from your front door.
Read the press release
Chief Constable James Vaughan has also issued a video reinforcing this message.
Watch the video here
We want visitors to stay home too
We’re urging holiday makers and second home owners not to come to Dorset until this crisis is over. Our message to them is simple: If you come to Dorset, you risk spreading the virus, and endangering your own lives and those of the people who make Dorset special. Please stay home and stay safe.
Bins, recycling and litter – Service update
- Most food, recycling, rubbish and glass collections are taking place as usual, including on Good Friday and Bank Holiday Monday
- Household recycling centres remain closed as trips there are not covered by central government “essential travel”
- Street cleansing (inc. bin emptying) is still happening in most areas, if less frequently
- Garden waste service remains suspended – we are continually reviewing the situation and available staffing, and will resume the service as soon as we can
To help our front-line collection crews and other teams, there are many things you can do:-
- Slim Your Bins – The less rubbish and recycling we receive, the better
- Take your litter and bagged dog waste home
- Please place excess recycling out for collection in a sturdy container that can be easily lifted by one person without the contents spilling or falling out. Do not use cheap plastic bags
- Consider home-composting to deal with your garden waste
- Report fly-tipping to us directly and take care if handing waste to someone else
Thank you so much to everyone in Dorset who has shown love and support for our workers during the pandemic. It really does make a difference.
What’s PPE and who should be wearing it?
All public sector workers are working very hard to keep essential services going as well as keeping residents and employees safe during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
All our employees who are well and working are routinely wash their hands whenever possible or use alcohol hand gel when this isn’t possible. Where social distancing or working remotely is not practical, that is where the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is considered.
We’ve written an article explaining what PPE is and when our employees are required to use it.
Business rate grants available
We are reminding small businesses in Dorset to provide their details online to get access to coronavirus cash grants, having already handed out £9.1m this week.
To help lessen the impacts of the shutdown, firms which already receive small business rate relief or rural rate relief may be eligible for a £10,000 grant, while retail, hospitality or leisure businesses operating from property with a rateable value of up to and including £15,000 may also be eligible for a grant of £10,000. Those in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector with a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000 may be eligible for a grant of £25,000.
Click here to find out more and register
Easter arts, sports and music fun for children
Our Easter Artz+ and Sportz+ workshops are being posted on Facebook every day at 2pm.
The workshops, which can be viewed at any time, offer everything from singalong fun with Mr Crow to ball game ideas using everyday items like rolled up socks.
Grants available from our Leisure Development Fund – apply now!
Looking forward to when life gets back to normal, we’ve got some news about grant to support a range of projects, from arts, community, sports or heritage projects, to village halls.
The grants are available to help improve the lives of people living or working in Dorset.
Find out more and how to apply here.
