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 Surrounded by such beautiful countryside it’s easy to become complacent about the green spaces that weave there way into and through the town. Where would we be without Askers Meadows or green corridor that follows the course of the River Brit? These all make Bridport what it is, a market town inextricably linked to the countryside, each coexisting in harmony.
One can be fighting through the crowds on a busy, thriving, market day at the height of summer and take a stroll down behind St Mary’s Church at stand in peace and quiet looking out to the hills that encircle the town. This is the same scene that Thomas Hardy witnessed and wrote about in the short story "Fellow Townsmen" where he vividly describes the interrelationship between town and countryside, with Shepard’s calling to one another between the hills. This may be a romantic picture of a working town but when I moved to Priory Lane with my wife a good eight years ago we were surrounded by allotments and green space. Before long the allotment holders were forced to leave the land bordering the Brit and the brambles crept in, once in a derelict state the bid to develop started. Over the years myself, neighbours and the good people of Bridport have fought off a proposal to build a giant indoors bowls rink on St Mary’s Field, the very field behind the church, a proposal to built blocks of flats and four bed houses on the former allotments bordering the River Brit. Both these were refused after a tough battle but they are back again trying to destroy our town, our identity. One suggestion is to return the land to a community orchard as these ancient hemp drying lands were orchards connected to the Priory in times of old.  Under threat If you are interested in environmental issues you may like to consider joining the Bridport Environment Group which costs £1 to join annually and meets the second Tuesday of each month (not August) at 5:30pm at Mountfied. Andrew Bradley
Chair of the Bridport Environment Group
Visit Bridport Environmental Group Website
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