Doug Drinnan

When I got married in 1973 I promised my new wife that I would return her to Dorset when I retired. In 2006 I kept my promise and we moved to Beaminster. I had not quite retired at that stage, so I spent my first year weekly commuting from Dorset to Edinburgh where I worked for Standard Life.

Once I arrived in Beaminster full time I wanted to remain active so I became a volunteer mediator for Dorset Mediation, a Dorchester based charity. In the main we did family and neighbour mediations, though I also mediated disputes for commercial and government bodies when requested. I stopped mediating in 2009 when I was accepted and appointed as a Justice of the Peace to the West Dorset bench where I sat in the adult criminal court.

During my time as a magistrate I ran the ‘Magistrates in the Community’ outreach project for West Dorset for a while, sat in Crown court hearing appeals from the Magistrates’ Court, and latterly sat as a member of the Training & Development committee for the South West region.

I retired from the magistracy in February of this year on reaching 70 and, because I think I have a few more productive years in me, stood for a seat on the Town Council.

I’m married and we have two sons. One has lived in Germany for 19 years. He is married with two sons and he works for a commercial bank. Our younger son, who is also married, works in London where he is head of the legal department for an investment group.

As for home interests I try and keep fit and attend the gym in Bridport sporadically. We walk extensively in the local area and elsewhere with our dog. We are both keen readers and will listen to music in preference to watching television. I am the chairman of Mosterton Art Group and paint, not very well. I’m also a member of our local ‘Speedwatch’ team so you may spot me at the kerbside dressed in fluorescent yellow!

I’m a strong believer in supporting our local community and local businesses and want to use my time on the council to help develop Beaminster for the future and for the benefit of the people who live here.

Committees

Planning, Highways & Advisory Committee, Town Amenities Committee and the Finance & General Purposes Committee.

Tel: 01308 863634
Email: d.drinnan@beaminster-tc.gov.uk