THE mayor of Bridport wants to find out more about the first woman elected to the town council - and is calling on the public for help. To mark International Women’s Day which was held on March 8, Councillor Ian Bark has been learning about Agnes Suttill - the first woman to be elected as a councillor in Bridport. She was also one of the first councillors in England. Now there are moves to mark her achievements in some way – 100 years on from when she was first elected. Cllr Bark has been assisted in his research by Cllr Karen Hunt - who is a historian, chairman of Bridport Museum Trust and a founding member of Bridport Women’s History Group. It was Cllr Hunt who discovered that in 1921 Mrs Suttill became one of the country’s first elected women councillors.
Bridport Town Council is set to finalise its response to Dorset Council s Local Plan draft next week and council representatives say they will seek the best for Bridport . The town council s planning committee will hold a virtual meeting on Monday, February 22 to review a draft response to a consultation being carried out by Dorset Council on the Local Plan. The council will also be producing a video highlighting the issues for the Bridport area, which will be released to residents. The Dorset Council Local Plan sets out planning policies and allocations to meet the needs of the whole of the Dorset Council area from 2023 until 2038, covering issues such as housing, employment, the environment, transport and economy.