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When I read recent reports about Dorset Council withdrawing from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in 2025 and their new Dorset Plan for economic growth, including an Economic Growth Board (EGB) chaired alongside the Dorset Chamber,
I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Once again, it seems we’re watching a large organisation – this time the council – with absolutely no idea of how to communicate with
business owners.
Dorset Chamber serves an important role, but in my personal experience from attending their events, their membership leans heavily towards solicitors, accountants, PR firms, website designers and coaches of some kind.
What I didn’t meet were any food producers (my area of interest). Is the Chamber the right organisation to sit on the EGB? Yes, probably … as long as the council is also able to tap into the outstanding food and drink producers across the county.
The sector so far seems invisible in the council’s grand strategy – there was a glaring absence of any mention of food and drink producers in the Dorset Council Draft Plan.
Wasted potential
There are hundreds of small producers – many nationally award-winning – and numerous large ones scattered across the county, and the council already has an ‘in’ to this critical industry – Dorset Food & Drink (DF&D). It’s a membership platform specifically designed to support, promote and network with food and drink producers across the county.
But where was DF&D in the council’s report? Nowhere.
It’s an omission that speaks volumes about how disconnected the council is from this sector’s potential.
At its peak, DF&D was driven by a board of experienced trustees who ensured it was progressive, active and ambitious. They championed Dorset food and drink with real energy, delivering initiatives that mattered to producers like me. But now? My experience of DF&D has been, it’s fair to say, poor.
As far as I know, the organisation consists of one overworked person presumably juggling other council responsibilities with little time or resources to focus on us, the producers.
There is little interest from councillors – or perhaps just no knowledge even of the existence of DF&D. There’s certainly no understanding by officers at the council of what a difference the organisation could make with a clear strategy and focus on how to provide a meaningful, ambitious, innovative range of projects that the food producers of Dorset of all shapes and sizes want throughout the year.
There is no energy, no drive, just half-hearted token gestures: DF&D is underfunded, understaffed and utterly overlooked.
We only have to look over the border to Wiltshire to see just how effectively a council can support its food and drink sector when it wants to.
The Winter Food Fair at Athelhampton House was a rare exception – a fantastic event that showcased Dorset’s incredible food and drink scene. But one event a year is a drop in the ocean. We need more events like this, bigger and more frequent, to not only to provide a route to market for the many producers but also to showcase the premium quality food and drink that Dorset has to offer and which will in turn pull in visitors.
Time to prioritise
This lack of focus isn’t just frustrating – it’s a massive missed opportunity. Dorset’s food and drink sector is packed with talent: hundreds of producers, from small family farms to innovative artisans, are dotted across the county. Properly supported, this sector could play a leading role in the county’s economic revival. We’re talking job creation, increased tourism, and a platform for Dorset to shine nationally and internationally.
If Dorset Council is serious about its Economic Growth Strategy, it must prioritise this sector. The Economic Growth Board needs representation from food and drink producers – not just the Chamber – and DF&D must be revitalised. Bring back a proper board of trustees, inject fresh energy, and build a strategy that truly champions Dorset’s amazing food and drink industry. They in turn will provide employment opportunities and be part of the economic revival of the county.
There’s so much potential here. But without proper investment and collaboration between the council, DF&D and the Chamber, it will be wasted. Dorset deserves better – and so do its brilliant food and drink producers.
