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September 2021 September 2021

This type of grazing system used to be much more common, and examples still
exist today, including nearby in the New Forest. In Purbeck, the partnership will be
more than doubling the area currently under such a grazing system and
also introducing pigs, for their unique ability to assist this natural process.

Love Dorset campaign

As you will all be aware, high levels of anti-social behaviour from some visitors to
Dorset have been reported. Incidents like fires caused by disposable BBQs,
copious amounts of littering on our beaches, illegal camping, discarded tents
and vehicles parked inconsiderately, were all of concern to Dorset’s residents and
caused council officers a great deal of additional work.

To address some of these issues, Dorset Council has developed a campaign
called ‘Promise to Love Dorset’. It has been funded through the COVID
Operations Management Fund (COMF). The campaign is based on evidence
which suggests behaviours can be changed using positive reinforcement rather
than telling people off or shaming them. Our aim was to win over hearts and
minds through a multi-partner approach. Through highly targeted digital
marketing, would-be visitors to Dorset from all over the country will see the videos
and social media graphics. The click through results so far are very encouraging
with more than 1 million people already reached and 90,000 interactions to date
and we expect that this figure will increase significantly.
Visitors to Dorset are being
asked to value our unique
environment, our often-
perilous coastline and
respect our residents in a
series of short videos each
featuring a different
‘promise’ and using a mix of
humour and serious
messaging to encourage
responsible and sustainable
tourism. The campaign is
hosted on Visit-Dorset.com
and our landowning partners, like the National Trust, Forestry England and RSPB,
have all helped to shape the campaign and are working with us to share the
messages.
This is not the only action the council has taken in terms of preparing for high
numbers of visitors. We have more waste services in place and employees on
shifts to keep popular destinations clean, we have additional civil enforcement
officers and new tow away zones in place to address irresponsible parking and
robust traffic management schemes in place for road closures as and when

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