June 2023
United Diversity Bridport (UDB) is the new kid on the town’s block of community action groups. Formed earlier this year by Josef Davies-Coates, who had previously been involved with the United Diversity movement in London, the group aims to help people ensure a thriving, united future for themselves in the face of increasing climate change.
UDB joins Sustainable Bridport (formerly Transition Town Bridport), Seeding our Future and other organisations in working to build resilience into various aspects of community life, minimising the environmental impact of human activity while preserving health and quality of life amid the climate emergency.
“It’s about meeting the needs of the people within the needs of the planet,” says Josef. “I’ve been inspired by the ‘doughnut economics’ theory – challenging the assumption that we should strive for economic growth and instead aiming to support 12 basic human needs without breaching Earth’s ‘ceiling’ in any of nine ecological areas, including biodiversity loss, ocean acidification and air pollution.”
UDB’s patch is the Bridport ‘bioregion’ – from Lyme Regis to West Bexington and from the coast up to Beaminster – and the group has some very concrete goals. The first is to introduce a regular, affordable weekend bus service between the town centre and West Bay. “We need better public transport,” says Josef. “Currently the bus to West Bay runs hourly in the summer but only every two to three hours during the rest of the year, and the last bus is around 6pm. We want to make the service better for users, reduce the number of cars making this journey, and ease pressure on parking.”
The group needs £10,000 to run a pilot bus service for six months. If they can raise £5,000, Dorset Council will match this and make up the total. Josef says UDB will partner with Dorset Community Transport, whose school minibuses sit idle outside school-run times. “At first we’ll pay them to run the weekend bus service, as they have the vehicle, the drivers and the necessary insurance. If this trial is successful, we’ll take it forward – hopefully with an electric bus. We hope we might even be able to create a new job for a driver.” The fare will be £1 each way, and free for bus-pass holders.
UDB’s ‘Best of Bridport’ music night at the Lyric Theatre in mid-May was the first fundraiser for the bus scheme. Tickets sold out before the event and it was a huge success, with music from The Skalatans, Eve Appleton Band, Aidan Simpson and Look Around Corners – plus DJ Beat Safari – and spoken word performances from Ged Duncan, Kevan Manwaring, Angie Porter and Dylan Ross.
Meanwhile, MMMM! – Monday Movie, Meal & Mingling has been running on Monday nights since April at the Chapel in the Garden. This joint initiative between UDB and Sustainable Bridport offers short films by local filmmakers and inspiring feature documentaries plus delicious vegetarian curries and hot and cold drinks (see p20).
“We want to draw people in with the fun stuff,” says Josef. “Start with the friendlies, then move on to enquiry, then action. We have some bold, audacious goals; if we can envisage collectively what we want to achieve, then we can do it. Together we have everything.”
UDB’s website: www.bridport.coop
www.facebook.com/uniteddiversity
www.doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics