Chideock Parish Council
Latest News
Flooding
Significant rainfall fell across the Wessex area overnight, with some locations recording over 50mm. This follows two weeks of prolonged heavy rainfall and a succession of three named Storms – Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra. River levels are high across Wessex, and the impacts are being felt widely. We have included links to Dorset Council in our 'Essential Contact Information for Villagers' page if you need to report flooded gullies/drains/roads, as well as a link to reporting a flooded property.
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The Environment Agency staff are working closely with emergency services and councils to respond. You can stay up to date on the latest flood warnings here: https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/.​ See the attached Environment Agency 'Flood Recovery Guide' with actions that anyone affected can take.
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Reporting Flooding
Report flooding to the Environment Agency as soon as you can if your home or business has flooded. We understand it is a difficult time when people are affected by flooding however, we would encourage those affected to report property flooding as close to the event as possible: https://www.gov.uk/report-flood-cause Environment Agency Incident Hotline 0800 80 70 60.
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Thank you to the villagers that have been out and about this morning helping remove debris from drains and providing assistance.
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A35 National Highways Strategy 2026
National Highways have provided the Parish Council with an update about the A35 strategy for 2026, including changes to speed limits. The attached document provides some additional information for you which may be useful if you need to travel to Dorchester, Charmouth, Honiton etc, as you may need to allow additional journey time.​
26/January/2026
Parish Council Vacancies
We currently have vacancies on the Parish Council for the following roles:
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Parish Councillor
Parish Clerk (closing date 1st March 2026)
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If you are passionate about making a positive difference in your local community and have time, skills and experience to offer, then we want to hear from you. Take a look at our Vacancies page for more info!
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22/January/2026
Temporary Closure of North Road, Chideock -
27th January 2026.
The Parish Council have received notice from Dorset Council, under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, of the temporary closure of North Road, Chideock, to enable safe access for Wessex Water to replace a pipe. The notice is in force for 5 days from 27th January 2026 (0900-1700) however it is anticipated that works will be completed same day. See attached notice for more information.
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A35 overnight closures -
19th January - 24th January.
The Parish Council have received notification from National Highways of the following overnight closures impacting Chideock, due to "signing, lining and civils improvements":
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Full overnight closures (8pm – 6am) between Crown Roundabout, Bridport and Charmouth Roundabout in both directions. A signed diversion route will be in place during the closures.
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Local access to properties within the closure extent will remain. Our gate crews are briefed on this and access will be from the Charmouth Roundabout side. If accessing from the East you will need to follow the diversion route to Charmouth Roundabout before using the A35 Eastbound.
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Other A35 roadworks that may affect journeys: January 2026
19 January – 28 January (24/7):
From 8am on Monday 19 January 4 Way Traffic lights will be in place in Winterbourne Abbas to allow for improvements to the footway, pedestrian crossing and kerbs.
Week Commencing 26 January:
Daytime working - 8am start - Traffic signals & lane closures between Kingston Russell Dips and Winterbourne AbbasTraffic signals & lane closures between Charmouth Roundabout and Chideock.
24/7 Traffic Management (removed on 28 January, subject to the usual caveats) - 4 Way Traffic lights in Winterbourne Abbas to allow for improvements to the footway, crossing and kerbs.
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