Market makeover ahead of council takeover
CHANGES to the pedestrianised section of Dorchester’s Fairfield Road could be completed by next year when the town council take over the running of the Wednesday market.
Half the road has been re-surfaced and closed to traffic with not enough budget to finish the job with planters, trees and seating at the time the work was finished.
Now town councillors are pressing for the work to be finished in time for its it take over of the market in April 2026 from private contractor, Ensors.
Apart from providing a pleasant area to meet the works will include features which will reduce water pollution from the run-off from the large car park and slow the speed which water enters the drainage system, ultimately going into the River Frome at London Road.
The target is to now start the works, which are now fully funded, during this winter – along with additional lighting for the main car park.
“I’m very pleased to hear this… it would be perfect if it could be ready for our take-over of the market,” said joint markets committee chair Cllr Molly Rennie.
Among the design idea, which have yet to be finalised, are a mini-avenue of small species trees, benches and a rain garden.
Until the works on the road were completed, Fairfield Road, which runs between the two sections of the market, has never had a pavement with cars parked either side forcing pedestrians into oncoming traffic. Over the years there have been accidents – some of them serious.
Cllr Rennie has said that the landscaping could help the area become an important ‘urban oasis’ in the town centre as well as providing a pleasant link for the market and a safer route between the town’s two railway stations.
The Dorset Council officer leading the Fairfield Rd project, Chris Peck, said the rain garden idea had been tried, successfully, in other towns, looked attractive and also provided a means of managing water flows at times of excess rainfall. At the moment all the water from the upper car park flows into just one surface drain in Weymouth Avenue, often leading to flooding in the past. A rain garden would soak up some of that excess water and slow the flow.
Market background
The operation of the market has long been contentious – the town council claiming that the it should have taken control in 1974 when it was passed to the previous West Dorset District Council and then, in April 2019, at another local government reorganisation, to Dorset Council.
Wimborne-based Ensors have managed the market operation and the Sunday car boot, but is not having the contract renewed in April 2026.
A relative of John George from Ensors is credited with starting the weekly market on the existing site in the mid-1800s although the town has had other markets and other market sites.
While other local stall markets have closed, including Weymouth, the Dorchester market has continued to operate, even through the Covid period, although profits have seen a gradual decline year after year.
Figures for the 2024-25 financial year show a net surplus for the market and Sunday car boot of £86,448, less than the £119,500 budget prediction, giving £12,732 to the car boot reserve; £47,915 to Dorset Council and £25,801 to Dorchester Town Council.
The car boot profits are shared, each year, between local community groups.
illustrations – How the road might look with the addition of trees, planters and seating.
Pics – Dorchester market visitors and stalls
Pics – Fairfield Road – recently pedestrianised area awaiting a re-make