Chickerell is a town and parish in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. In the 2011 census the parish and the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

had a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

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 ...

. To the north-west is

Portesham Portesham, sometimes also spelt 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 Dor ...

, to the east Weymouth, and to the south the

Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies south of the resort of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier ...

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 Associ ...

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

Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast, also known as the Dorset and East Devon 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 ins ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. A major attraction in Chickerell is the

Bennetts Water Gardens Bennetts Water Gardens is an garden in Chickerell, near Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, Dorset, in southern England. It holds national and international collections of Nymphaeaceae, water lilies which flower from late May through to September. The ...

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 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...

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, Weymouth, Dorset, England. The training area is located at three diff ...

Governance

At the lower tier of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

, Chickerell is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

. Its parish council is Chickerell Town Council, which has ten councillors elected from 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 pris ...

. At the upper tier, Chickerell is in the Dorset unitary authority. Chickerell electoral ward elects 2 members to Dorset Council. For elections to the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

, Chickerell is in the South Dorset parliamentary constituency. Historically, Chickerell was in Culliford Tree Hundred. It was part of Weymouth Rural District from 1894 to 1933, and Dorchester Rural District from 1933 to 1974. From 1974 to 2019, Chickerell was part of

West Dorset West Dorset was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Dorset, England. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and was a merger of the boroughs of Bridport, Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester ...

district and returned three councillors for the district council, and one councillor for the Chickerell & Chesil Bank ward of

Dorset County Council Dorset County Council was the county council of Dorset in England. It was created in 1889 and abolished in 2019. Throughout its existence, the council was based in Dorchester. Bournemouth and Poole were made independent from the county counci ...

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. Several sites for camping and motorhomes are located along the coast and inland. A 45 MW gas power station and a small solar farm is located at the Chickerell Substation, where a 2.4 GWh grid battery is approved for 2028.

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 international airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, England. The site opened as RAF Hurn in 1941, but was transferred to civil con ...

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

Bridport Bridport is a market town and civil parish in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the River Asker, Asker. Its origins are Anglo-Saxons, Saxon and it has a long history as a ...

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