Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward - Bridport Town Council

Bothenhampton & Walditch

Ward Information

Ward Clerk: Jo Hughes
Email: [email protected]

Ward Councillors: Bridget Bowell, Anne Rickard and Andy Holdridge – contact details and Committee Membership details can be found below.

Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward Mailing List: email the Ward Clerk to request to join the Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward mailing list to be kept up to date on relevant news and information within the ward.

Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward Facebook Page: the very latest news and information within the ward can be found by following us on Facebook –Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward Partnership.

The website of the former Bothenhampton & Walditch Parish Council which was dissolved on 31st March 2024 following a Community Governance Review can be found here. Bothenhampton & Walditch Parish Council – A History of Sorts by Graham Styles can be read here.

Bridport Town Council Wards

Bridport Town Council is the parish authority for the town of Bridport. The Town Council provides a large number of services in its area and also represents the town on all matters affecting Bridport Parish. The Parish is divided into five Wards, Bothenhampton and Walditch, Bradpole, Bridport Central, West Bridport and Allington, and West Bay. Each ward is represented by its own Councillors and a Ward Clerk. The population of the parish area is approximately 13,500.

Bothenhampton lies to the south-east of the town of Bridport and one mile from the sea at West Bay. The layout of the village dates from medieval times. Hollow Way with its unusual high pavement and Green Lane which leaves the meadows of the river Asker and leads more or less directly to the old church are certainly medieval. Mixed farming has been the main activity since the earliest times and the crops included sheep, cattle, cereals and apples. Flax and hemp were grown for the twine, rope and netmaking industry of Bridport. There was quarrying, brick and tile making and occupations associated with the sea have also been important.

Walditch neighbours Bothenhampton, about half a mile to the east of Bridport. The name Walditch is derived from an older term Waldyke, which alludes to the village’s location: Walditch is located in the valley of a curved hill that encompasses the village; the hill has a dry stone wall still partially in place, which continues over towards Bothenhampton. Walditch has a real tennis court, on the site of which King Henry VII played during his visits to the area. Walditch is composed of Old Walditch (the original Walditch) and lower Walditch, a housing estate built around 1998.

View a detailed interactive map of the Bridport Town Council Wards at: https://shared.xmap.cloud/?map=1613c0d9-ceb8-47c3-b7f8-20b172662fa8

Meetings

Details of upcoming meetings for the Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward will appear below, along with notes from previous meetings.

Notice of Meetings

Ward meetings with your Ward Councillors take place every 3/4 months and alternate between Bothenhampton Village Hall and Walditch Village Hall.

The next Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward Public Engagement Session will take place in the New Year at Walditch Village Hall – date and time to be confirmed. The last meeting took place on Thursday 18th November 2025, 2.00pm – 3.00pm at Bothenhampton Village Hall. Please see the meeting notes under ‘Notes from Previous Meetings when available’

Bothenhampton Village Hall

Walditch Village Hall

Notes from Previous Meetings

2024/25 Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward Meetings:

Notes from the Public Engagement Session held on 24th July 2024 at Bothenhampton Village Hall.
Notes including Updates from the Public Engagement Session held on 17th September 2024 at Walditch Village Hall.
Notes including Updates from the Public Engagement Session held on 28th November 2024 at Bothenhampton Village Hall.
Notes including Updates from the Public Engagement Session held on 4th February 2025 at Walditch Village Hall.
Notes including Updates from the Public Engagement Session held on 29th April 2025 at Bothenhampton Village Hall.
Notes including Updates from the Public Engagement session held on 18th September 2025 at Walditch Village Hall.
Notes from the Public Engagement session held on 18th November 2025 at Bothenhapton Village Hall.

In between meetings, please take a read of the monthly Bridge community magazine which provides the latest ward news and information from your Ward Clerk. The latest issue can be read here .

The Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward Facebook page also provides timely and relevant news and information.

Ward Noticeboards
There are also six noticeboards within the ward displaying not only ward specific information but also details of events and activities taking place further afield in the local area. The ward noticeboards are located at:
The Crown Roundabout, Pasture Way, Bothenhampton Village Hall, Jelly Fields, Valley View and Walditch Main Street.

Councillor information

Councillor Bridget Bolwell
12 Maple Gardens, DT6 4DP
email: [email protected]
Committee Membership: Environment & Social Wellbeing Committee

Councillor Andrew Holdridge
9 Elwell, DT6 4DX
e-mail: [email protected]
Committee Membership: Finance and General Purposes Committee, Neighbourhood Plan Joint Councils Committee, Best Value and Scrutiny Sub Committee

Councillor Anne Rickard, Town Mayor
“Rydens”, Westown, Bothenhampton DT6 4BQ
01308 456722
email: [email protected]
Committee Membership: Finance and General Purposes Committee, Planning Committee, Environment & Social Wellbeing Committee, Staffing Appeals Sub Committee, Best Value and Scrutiny Sub Committee

Planning

The Town Council is not a planning authority and as such does not make final decisions on planning applications; this is the responsibility of Dorset Council. However, the Town Council is a statutory consultee and as such receives all planning applications relating to the town wards for comment. All planning applications previous and current can be found on the Dorset Council Planning Portal.

Planning applications for Bothenhampton & Walditch Ward are dealt with by the Bridport Town Council Planning Committee. The meetings are open to the public. There is a public forum at the start of each meeting and members of the public who wish to speak on a planning application should arrive at 6.45p.m. and register their intention to speak with the Town Clerk. You can also raise any comments regarding a planning application with your Ward Councillors or via your Ward Clerk – email: [email protected]

Useful Information

Bridport Local Area Partnership Fortnightly Bulletin:
The Bridport Local Area Partnership (BLAP) is here for the community. Current members of the partnership include Bridport Town Council, 10 Parish Councils and more than 80 community organisations and individuals working to improve the social, economic, and environmental wellbeing of Bridport and surrounding areas.

1st December 2025
18th November 2025
4th November 2025
21st October 2025
7th October 2025

Bridport Winter Warm Venues 2025/26 and Food and Clothes Support
Bridport Winter Warn Venues provide refreshments free of charge or for a small donation. They are open to everyone in the community and a great chance to make new friends and chat. No need to book, just turn up. Food and clothes support is also available from a number of local organisations including Bridport Community Fridge, Bridport Food Bank, Bridport Clothes Bank and the Beacon Church Community Kitchen. Find out more here.

Christmas and New Year Rubbish and Recycling
Your rubbish and recycling collections over the festive period will be different from your usual day of the week. Collection days will return to normal from Monday 12 January.
Table of revised collection days.

Ward News

Come along and chat to your Ward Councillors at the next Public Engagement meeting in the New Year at Walditch Village Hall – date and time to be confirmed.

Have your say on the Bridport Area Neighbourhood Plan (BANP) Review which is currently out to consultation until 30th December 2025.

A Bothenhampton & Walditch 20mph Resident Survey was delivered to every household in Bothenhampton and Walditch as an insert in the October 2024 edition of the Bridge magazine to seek resident views/support on 20mph within the ward. The survey results indicate that 96% of respondents are in favour of reducing speed limits from 30mph to 20mph on certain roads in the ward. The Town Council met with the Dorset Council Road Safety Team in May to discuss coordination of multiple 20mph applications for the Bridport Town Council wards including Bothenhampton & Walditch. Following the meeting it was agreed that the wards would submit individual 20mph applications. Bothenhampton & Walditch ward have had the the required speed surveys carried out and the 20mph application was submitted to Dorset Council at the end of August 2025. Dorset Council have since confirmed that all applications submitted this year will be included in Phase 4 which they intend to present to the internal 20mph Panel in February 2026. Currently, Phase 4 includes nineteen 20mph applications across the Dorset Council area.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Precept Survey – A message from your Ward Councillors – the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner has launched his residents survey into police funding. Have your say here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MPCllrStakes