East Dorset

This article is about the former district. For the constituency, see East Dorset (UK Parliament constituency). For the village in the United States, see East Dorset, Vermont.

East Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council met in Wimborne Minster between 2016 and 2019.^[1][2]

East Dorset District
Non-metropolitan district
Coat of arms
East Dorset shown within Dorset
Coordinates: 50°48′59.84″N 1°58′53.36″W
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South West England
Non-metropolitan county	Dorset
Status	Abolished
Admin HQ	Wimborne
Incorporated	1 April 1974 to 30 March 2019
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	East Dorset District Council
• Leadership	Alternative - Sec.31 ( )
Area
• Total	136.8 sq mi (354.4 km2)
Population  (mid-2018)
• Total	89,400
• Density	650/sq mi (250/km2)
• Ethnicity	99.0% White
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	19UD (ONS) E07000049 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SU0130301959
Website	www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk

The district (as Wimborne) was formed on 1 April 1974 by merging Wimborne Minster Urban District with Wimborne and Cranborne Rural District, plus the parish of St Leonards and St Ives transferred from the Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District in Hampshire.^[3] The district was renamed East Dorset with effect from 1 January 1988. The district was abolished in 2019 at the same time that Dorset County Council and the other districts in the county were abolished, with the area becoming part of the Dorset unitary authority on 1 April 2019.

The popularity of the area, being close to the New Forest, Bournemouth and the Dorset coast saw a rapid expansion in housing from the 1970s with the Verwood, Ferndown, West Moors and Corfe Mullen populations more than quadrupling. Rural landscape prevailed in the north and west of the area. Wimborne Minster retained its identity as a historic market town.

The most notable geography is lowland heath, managed by East Dorset Countryside Management Services in partnership with the Forestry Commission. The expansion of housing has led to a massive decrease in the area of this unusual and unique habitat, which once covered 500 km² but now covers only 15% of that.

Statistics released^[4] by the Office for National Statistics show that life expectancy at birth for males in East Dorset was 80.1 years in 2001–2003, the highest in the United Kingdom. Female life expectancy at birth for the same period was 83.4 years, ranking seventh in the UK. The figures for East Dorset during 1991-1993 were 77.9 years for males and 82.5 for females.

Governance

See also: East Dorset District Council elections

East Dorset District Council was elected every four years, with latterly 36 councillors being elected at each election. After 1976 the Conservative party held a majority on the council apart from a period between the 1995 and 1999 elections when the Liberal Democrats had control. Following the 2015 election the council's politicians were:-^[5]

Party		Councillors
	Conservative Party	24
	Liberal Democrats	3
	Independent	2

The district and its council were abolished on 1 April 2019 and, together with the other 4 Dorset districts outside the greater Bournemouth area, formed a new Dorset unitary authority.^[6]

Settlements

Settlements with a population over 2,500 are in bold.

• Alderholt
• Chalbury, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, Cranborne
• Edmondsham
• Ferndown
• Gussage
• Hinton Martell, Hinton Parva, Holt, Horton
• Long Crichel
• Moor Crichel
• Pamphill, Pentridge
• St Ives, St Leonards, Shapwick, Sixpenny Handley, Sturminster Marshall
• Verwood
• West Moors, West Parley, Wimborne Minster, Wimborne St Giles, Witchampton, Woodlands

Premises

Until 2016 the council was based at Woodleaze, a large house at Furzehill in the parish of Colehill, just north of the town of Wimborne Minster. Woodleaze had previously served as the headquarters of Wimborne and Cranborne Rural District Council.^[7] In 2016 the council moved to Allenview House on Hanham Road in the town centre of Wimborne Minster.^[1]

See also

• List of civil parishes in East Dorset
• List of churches in East Dorset

References

1. "Relocation of East Dorset District Council offices". Dorset Council. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
2. "Contact East Dorset District Council". www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk.
3. "The English Non-Metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 30 June 2022
4. Life expectancy at birth in the United Kingdom, Office for National Statistics
5. "Local election results for Christchurch and East Dorset". dorsetforyou.com. 13 May 2015. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
6. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (25 May 2018). "The Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole (Structural Changes) Order 2018". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
7. "Town and Country Planning Act 1947". London Gazette (41718): 3405. 26 May 1959. Retrieved 30 June 2022. ...and at the Wimborne and Cranborne R.D.C. Offices, Woodleaze, Furzehill, Wimborne...