Chickerell is a town and parish in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, England. In the 2011 census the parish and the electoral ward had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using ...

of 5,515.

History

Although Roman remains have been found, indicating that there has been settlement in the area for many years, as a modern town, Chickerell is recent and one of Dorset's newest towns. Chickerell has seen much development over the last twenty years.

Geography

The parish of Chickerell has to the west the Fleet Lagoon, East Fleet and

Langton Herring Langton Herring is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in South West England. It lies about north-west of the coastal resort town of Weymouth. It is "prudently set on a ridge above the Fleet", the Fleet being a brackish lagoon b ...

. To the north-west is

Portesham Portesham, sometimes also spelled Portisham, is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England, situated in the Dorset Council administrative area approximately northwest of Weymouth, southwest of the county town Do ...

, to the east Weymouth, and to the south the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * ...

Chesil Beach Chesil Beach (also known as Chesil Bank) in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain.A. P. Carr and M. W. L. Blackley, "Investigations Bearing on the Age and Development of Chesil Beach, Dorset, and the Associa ...

runs alongside to the west of the village which is part of the

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. A major attraction in Chickerell is the Bennetts Water Gardens which is situated next to Chickerell Downs, a

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tr ...

wood. The Chickerell Rifle Range is also located close to the Fleet Lagoon, and is part of the

Wyke Regis Training Area Wyke Regis Training Area is an army training area primarily located in the parish and town of Chickerell, but near to the parish of Wyke Regis in neighbouring Weymouth, Dorset, England. The training area is located at three different sites. It ...

Governance

Chickerell is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

. Its parish council is Chickerell Town Council. The parish is divided into two

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

which contain ten councillors who are elected to the Town Council. For local government elections which take place every four years, Chickerell returns three councillors for the

West Dorset District Council West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, and one councillor, for the Chickerell & Chesil Bank ward, to

Dorset County Council Dorset County Council (DCC) was the county council for the county of Dorset in England. It provided the upper tier of local government, below which were district councils, and town and parish councils. The county council had 46 elected council ...

. Chickerell is situated within the West Dorset parliamentary constituency and the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

Chris Loder Christopher Lionel John Loder (born 5 September 1981) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the MP for West Dorset since the 2019 general election. He succeeded Sir Oliver Letwin, who was elected as a Conservative but sat as ...

(

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

) who was elected with 55.1 per cent of the vote at the 2019 general election.

Demography

At the 2011 census Chickerell's population was 5,515. Most of the residents (97.4%) considered themselves to be of a white, British ethnicity. Some 18% of the population were under 15, 2.8% were 16 or 17, 25.9% were between 18 and 44, 22.3% were 45 to 59, and the largest proportion (32.3%) were over 60 years of age. The birth rate in Chickerell exceeds the death rate and there is a net inward migration resulting in a steady increase of the population. Chickerell's population has grown considerably since 1960. Between 1961 and 1971 it increased by 43% from 2,300 to 3,300 and has continued to grow ever since, although at a slower rate.

Economy

There are two industrial estates: Granby Industrial Estate and the Lynch Lane Industrial Estate. Blundell Harling Ltd, KEMET Electronics Corp., ASM Assembly Systems Ltd (formerly DEK Printing Machines Ltd), Tecan Components Ltd, Ultra Electronics, Weymouth Land Registry are some of the area's major employers.

Transport

The nearest railway station to Chickerell is Weymouth, away from the town. The nearest coach station is at Weymouth, the nearest airport is

Bournemouth Airport Bournemouth Airport (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil cont ...

. The B3157 Chickerell Road connects Chickerell to Weymouth east bound, and

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and withi ...

along the coast to the west. This is the only major road in or near the town.

References

External links

Chickerell Town Council
* {{authority control Towns in Dorset