St Leonards and St Ives is a parish of merged settlements, including Ashley Heath, built on what was mostly heath and woodland until the early 1900s.
Photo: Mike Faherty, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsComing soon
Every business we list is phoned and checked first, so towns fill up one at a time. Many businesses based nearby already cover St Leonards: try the trade you need across Dorset.
St Leonards is in the Dorset Council area, so planning applications and building control go through Dorset Council.
The centre of St Leonards is within 5km of the protected Dorset Heathlands. The Dorset Heathlands Planning Framework covers additional homes built between 400 metres and five kilometres of the heaths, so if you're planning to build a new home here, ask the council about it early.
Some land within a kilometre of the centre of St Leonards is in Flood Zone 3, the Environment Agency's highest flood risk category, from rivers. Check the flood risk for your address before major ground-floor work, and ask about flood-resilient options when you replace floors, kitchens or electrics.
Updated 7 November 2026
