Well, the sun certainly shone for the Bank Holiday weekend and school half term. It has been barmy hot. As is always the case when the sun comes out, the tourists arrived in West Dorset in their droves. Tourism is vital for the local economy – hospitality and the associated sectors bring in £320m annually. Tourism supports hundreds of small businesses and provides thousands of jobs. For many businesses, these spring and summer months are what sustain them through the quieter winter months. However, we have always had a slightly love/hate relationship with the seasonal surge. Our roads become even more clogged up: one accident or broken-down caravan can close the A35 for hours. Worse, some visitors do not respect our beautiful natural environment, and our beaches become litter bins for the most uncaring.
Antisocial behaviour and shoplifting also shoots up. Last week I met the Police and Crime Commissioner again. I am delighted that the number of neighbourhood police has been increased. The neighbourhood policing team covering Bridport, Charmouth, Lyme Regis and Beaminster has gone from one officer to four.
Visible policing is important: not just to make residents feel safe, but to deter crime. However, I did raise the point that too often, the officers are being pulled off neighbourhood policing to help the response teams, mainly in Bournemouth. While I understand the pressure, especially during the summer, that BCP is under, help cannot come at the cost of West Dorset being abandoned. We also discussed the ongoing issue of police funding. I have spoken often about the fact rurality is not accounted for in the Government’s funding model. Neither is seasonality.
During the summer months, the population of West Dorset increases by more than 40%. But while half of the Midlands decamps to the south coast, we do not get any more money to help police the influx of people and associated problems that come with them. Instead, each year we must write to the Home Secretary after the fact, and ask for a cash injection to cover the additional costs incurred. This is madness and has to change.
Edward Morello
LibDem MP for West Dorset
