If you and your neighbours would like to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee there is no time to waste.

Dorset Council is encouraging local communities to start planning local events and parties for the special four-day bank holiday weekend from Thursday 2 June until Sunday 5 June.

Celebrations in towns and communities across the country will take place, including street parties and smaller community events.

Town and parish councils across Dorset will be organising events, so check out your local information sites to see what’s happening near you.

The Platinum Jubilee website also has an interactive map which will display all the events and activities that will be taking place in Dorset as well as the rest of UK, and you can find out about local events and add details of your own to the site.

To make it easier to host your own street party, Dorset Council is waiving the costs of road closure applications in the area, and welcomes residents to apply for a street party road closure. You need to apply six weeks in advance.

Support is also available for communities via a £22m National Lottery fund. More information on the fund can be found on the National Lottery website.

Dorset will also be joining the national beacon lighting programme with beacons being lit across the county to mark the start of the celebratory weekend on 2 June. Details will be published nearer the time. Check out the council website for more information.

Cllr Val Pothecary, chairman of Dorset Council, said: “The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is going to be a very special national event, and we want as many people as possible to take part in the celebrations.

“As well as the more formal and also organised community events that will take place, we’re encouraging people to get in the spirit and put on their own local events ­– it could be as simple as inviting your family and friends for a party in the garden, or a larger community event such as a street party for the neighbourhood.”

Find out how you and your community can celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on https://platinumjubilee.gov.uk/

For help planning your street party visit: https://www.edenprojectcommunities.com/the-big-jubilee-lunch

Other useful websites are: https://www.streetparty.org.uk/

Queen’s Green Canopy is encouraging more tree planting to mark the Jubilee https://queensgreencanopy.org/