Around 30 objections have been received to amended plans to erect a dementia care home in Verwood.
Roy Martin
Morrisons has lodged an official objection to the building of a new Lidl supermarket in Verwood.
The annual Verwood Christmas Extravaganza is planned for Saturday 7th December 2019 from 5pm till 8pm.
The annual fireworks, bonfire and family entertainment event Flameburst is taking place on Saturday 26th October this year.
Renoufs, the award-winning wine & cheese bar, opened its doors last night & VerwoodToady was invited to check it out.
After a short walk into the town centre, we arrive to a cosy atmosphere, with fairy lights hanging off the ceiling & black boards back lit with blue lights.
The bar is buzzing with plenty of customers spread out amongst the variety of high & low tables.

Warm & inviting, it’s hard to believe this used to be Barclays bank!
We’re enthusiastically greeted by CEO, Trevor Ayling. He steers us to our seats at the bar, in the heart of the action. It’s a great spot & gives us the opportunity to quiz the barman. Lee certainly knows his stuff, he gives us a run down on how Renoufs works, patiently explaining the array of cheese & meat boards, along with the options of wine, beer & sprits.

We opt for the Ultimate Board which serves two, it’s crammed with olives, houmous, pate, tomatoes & a selection of cheese & meats.
Extra nibbles are optional addons, so some cooked chorizo makes it onto our order. Our personalised selection of cheese meats arrive, the presentation is amazing & we can’t wait to get stuck in.
Wookey Hole Cheddar is the wining cheese with a fight for who get the last piece!

Another bonus of sitting at the bar, the ever-helpful Lee is on hand to offer some advice. Wine is available by the glass, bottle or a flight. We opt for the Gold flight, one red & one white.
Each flight consists of three glasses, which are presented & explained.
Trevor admits the Gold flight is his personal favourite & I can see why. The Californian Zinfandel is my pick of the three & available by the glass, so this is pencilled down for our next visit!
If you’re not a wine lover then fear not, beer is available on draft, Meantime London IPA & a Czech Larger dominating the line-up, along with the usual host of bottles, spirits & gin you’d expect to see in any reputable bar or restaurant.
The team behind the bar are exceptionally friendly, we get chatting to Sam who will be our regular barman in Verwood. He’s a Verwood resident & has been working for Renoufs for some time, we also discover that he’s running the Bournemouth Marathon on Sunday – so good luck Sam!
We had high expectations before visiting this evening & were not disappointed. It’s lovely to have such a charming establishment on the high street of Verwood & we look forward to returning soon – Renoufs has a big thumbs up from us!
If you’re planning a visit, make sure you book in advance, weekend bookings are almost sold out for the next few weeks.
Their online booking system is easy to navigate & available on their website.
A road traffic collision on the B3081 sliproad towards the A31 on Wednesday afternoon caused a second incident moments later.
Two cars collided when a Ford KA passed in front of a Ford Galaxy people carrier.
Moments later, two cars approaching from the opposite direction pulled over to offer assistance, but the first one then reversed into the second.
Traffic was slow in the surrounding area with delays for commuters, as the incident happened just after 5pm. Details of the event were posted in the Verwood Traffic Alerts Facebook Group, and on @VerwoodToday on Twitter.
You can see the full drama unfold in the dashcam footage below.
Accident on the B3081 from the A31 junction. Short delays heading towards Verwood. pic.twitter.com/AvAfjvXvtK
— VerwoodToday (@VerwoodToday) June 19, 2019
Verwood teenager to play for under 18 Great Britain Handball Squad
16-year-old Verwood resident Joseph Sanyal is flying to Sweden to represent Great Britain with his Poole Phoenix Handball teammate Joe Trent in Handball.
The pair have recently made the selection for the under 18 squad and will compete in the European Open this July. Both are in sixth form currently studying for their A-Levels.
Joseph, aged 16, is from Verwood and at Wimborne’s Queen Elizabeth School. He first tried handball when he was 14 at Poole Phoenix and was selected to play for Dorset.
Joe is 17 and from Corfe Mullen is at Corfe Hills School.
They will be facing Sweden, Czech Republic, Russia, Switzerland and Luxembourg allowing them to experience the game on a whole new level.
As the Handball Program currently receives little funding from national schemes, the squad is crowdfunding and would be incredibly grateful to any person or business willing to help via this page.
Officers are appealing for information after a cat was shot and injured with an air rifle in Verwood.
On the evening of Sunday 2 June 2019 the female cat returned to the family home in Hainault Drive injured. It was taken to the vet and underwent surgery. An x-ray was taken and the vet believes an air weapon was used as pellets were found lodged in her body.
The cat is expected to make a full recovery.
Police Community Support Investigator Kayleigh Hole, of Dorset Police, said: “The cat’s owner does not know of any reason why someone would want to harm her cat or who may have been responsible. She has understandably been left very upset by what has happened.
“I would urge anyone who has any information or knows the identity of the person or people involved to please contact Dorset Police. “
Up to 40 news jobs could be created in Verwood if a new proposal to open a Lidl supermarket gets the go-ahead.
The store would be built on Ringwood Road opposite the petrol station, in place of a current caravan store and two residential properties – a total area of 1.6 acres.
A car park would provide 90 free bays of which 6 will be disabled spaces and 6 will be parent and child spaces at the front of the property, with the store at the back. Customer cycle parking will be provided to encourage shoppers to visit the store by bicycle.
Verwood currently only has one supermarket, operated by Morrisons, and two smaller food shops provided by Tesco and Co-op.
Lidl is proposing a new neighbourhood foodstore with 1,175² sales area, which would have 2,000 core products and “only 2 or 3 deliveries a day to a recessed loading bay on the side of the building. The existing access to the caravan storage site will be adjusted slightly and moved 6m to the west of the existing access. The accesses to the residential properties will be closed to leave one vehicular access point. Pedestrian and cycle access will also be directly from Ringwood Road.

A public consultation event is taking place to allow local residents and other interested parties the opportunity to view the proposed plans, voice their opinion and offer suggestions and feedback on any aspect of the application. Members of Lidl’s Development Team will be on hand to answer any queries.
It’s happening at St Michaels Parish Centre, 34 Manor Road in Verwood on 12th June from 3pm till 7pm.
Lidl UK’s Regional Head of Property, James Mitchell, told VerwoodToday: “We are extremely excited about the prospect of opening a Lidl in Verwood and serving our fresh, quality and incredibly good value produce which shoppers across the country have come to love. We look forward to welcoming anyone along to the public consultation day and showcasing our plans whilst answering any questions.”
Lidl’s closest stores to Verwood are Ferndown and Ringwood, with around 760 locations around the UK, and over 10,000 worldwide.
The new permanent average speed cameras on the A338 Bournemouth Spur Road are now switched on.
The cameras will support a temporary 40mph speed limit on the southbound carriageways of the A338 from Blackwater Junction to the Cooper Dean Roundabout.
The 40mph southbound limit will be in place for the remainder of the works whilst cameras will support a 50mph limit on the northbound carriageway.
Following the completion of the scheme next month, average speed cameras will support the 50mph limit that was previously in place on both sides of the carriageway. The cameras will be managed by Dorset Police.
Gary Powell, the senior responsible officer for the A338 improvements, said: “The cameras will help make the Blackwater slip roads easier and safer to use as motorists travel at a consistent speed through the area. They will also help improve the flow of traffic.
“We would like to remind motorists to follow the speed limit and be mindful that the speed cameras will become operational at the end of the month. These are in place for the safety of our operatives who are working during the day, at night and at weekends to complete the improvements as soon as possible.’’
Currently, work on the multi-million pound A338 / Blackwater Junction Improvements scheme is running to schedule for completion at the end of June. Until near the end of the scheme, there will be a series of overnight road closures to enable surfacing and barrier installation works to be carried out.
Depending on a variety of factors, such as speed and previous offences, the funds generated by speeding fines will go to one of two locations.
In cases dealt with by the Courts and Fixed Penalty Fines (with the addition of points on the driving licence) will be sent to the Central Government Consolidated Fund.
Alternatively, fees from drivers on the Driving Awareness Scheme after costs will go directly towards improving road traffic safety schemes
The new permanent average speed cameras on the A338 Bournemouth Spur Road, will go live on Friday 31 May 2019.
They will support a temporary 40mph speed limit on the southbound carriageway of the A338 from Blackwater Junction to the Cooper Dean Roundabout.
The 40mph southbound limit will be in place for the remainder of the works and the cameras will support a 50mph limit on the northbound carriageway.
Following the completion of the scheme next month, average speed cameras will support the 50mph limit that was previously in place on both sides of the carriageway, managed by Dorset Police.
Gary Powell, the senior responsible officer for the A338 improvements, said: “The cameras will help make the Blackwater slip roads easier and safer to use as motorists travel at a consistent speed through the area. They will also help improve the flow of traffic.
“We would like to remind motorists to follow the speed limit and be mindful that the speed cameras will become operational at the end of the month. These are in place for the safety of our operatives who are working during the day, at night and at weekends to complete the improvements as soon as possible.’
Currently, work on the multi-million pound A338 / Blackwater Junction Improvements scheme is running to schedule for completion at the end of June. Until near the end of the scheme, there will be a series of overnight road closures to enable surfacing and barrier installation works to be carried out. There will be no overnight closures over the coming May bank holiday weekend.
