DORSET, SOMERSET - Geography and history
Dorset and Somerset lie to the eastern end of the south-west peninsula of England. Dorset to the south has the smaller area but is more populous. The sub-region has a total area of 6,401 square kilometres.
The chief centres of population are located on Dorset's south coast. Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch form a continuous conurbation close to the border with the South-East region while the port of Weymouth and Portland lies further to the west. The largest towns in Somerset lie inland from the northern coast and include Taunton, Yeovil and Bridgwater.
Road and rail communications within the counties are somewhat limited due to the sparseness of settlement in the region. However Dorset's main centres of population are linked to the South-East by road via the A31 trunk road which leads to the M3 motorway, and Bournemouth is well served by express trains to the South-East. Somerset is linked directly to the Midlands and to south Wales by the M5 motorway which passes close by Taunton and Bridgwater. The M5 also connects with the M4 at Bristol, which allows easy access to London, and the South-East.
Important area for dairy farming and cider production
Somerset and Dorset contain several ranges of hills such as the Mendips and Quantocks in Somerset and the chalk Downs stretching east to west across Dorset. However much of the land is highly suitable for agriculture, with Somerset one of the foremost dairying areas in the country especially on the Levels and Moors. More diverse farming methods are seen on the higher grounds, but a shift has occurred from orchards to peat working. (haven?t been able to check this). Historically Dorset was renowned as a source of building stone (the quarries at Purbeck). The county continues to be an important source of minerals, particularly limestone.
The manufacturing sector represents around 14% of the employment of Dorset and Somerset. An example of enterprise is the Weymouth and Portland naval shipyards and other port-related activities.
All of the South-West region of England has long been a popular destination for tourists and the relative accessibility of Somerset and Dorset to the population centres in both the South-East and in the Midlands has aided the development of this and associated industries. Bournemouth is now a major centre for conferences and entertainment.
The south coast has become popular particularly as a destination for people retiring, and some districts now have amongst the highest proportions of retired persons in the country. In Christchurch, roughly a third of the population is over retirement age. About 21% of the population was aged 65 and more in Dorset and Somerset in 2002, which is the highest rate of any sub-region of the United Kingdom.
A popular area ? rapid increases in population
Population density in Dorset and Somerset was 197 inhabitants per square kilometre in 2002 but it varies from over 3 500 persons per square kilometre in Bournemouth to 50 persons per square kilometre in West Somerset.
The population of the subregion has increased more rapidly than the South-West as a whole between 1982 and 2002.The county of Dorset increased by 16.7% and Somerset county increased by 16.5, compared to an increase of in the South West as a whole of 12.7%. North Dorset saw the largest increase for the whole South West at 27.2% The popularity of Dorset has been such that the population of Bournemouth increased throughout the 1980s, whilst that of many English towns of similar size fell.
However, the natural increase was negative in Somerset and Dorset in 2001, as the birth rate of 9.3% was under the mortality rate of 11.9%.
In most of the less densely populated districts, agriculture and tourism are more important. Somerset is an agricultural county, and over 3.6% of employees work in agriculture. In West Somerset this proportion is over 7% while in the Bournemouth conurbation it is negligible. Districts where manufacturing predominates include South Somerset and Sedgemoor, with over one-fifth and one-sixth of the workforce respectively. Sedgemoor and West Somerset are the areas with any substantial employment in the energy industry: 1.8% and 1.1% of the workforce is so employed due to the siting of a nuclear power station at Hinckley point in this remote district. The services industries account for 76% of the employment in the Dorset and Somerset, however large variances are present across the subregion. The more urban areas such as Bournemouth (82%), Weymouth and Portland (79%) and Taunton Deane (78%) have much higher levels than the rural areas such as South Somerset (67%).
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