A village long plagued by lorry traffic has just been presented with the ‘fresh hell’ of 12 months of roadworks to repair damage which villagers say the lorries created themselves.
£8million of taxpayers money will be spent strengthening the ancient embankment along Dinah’s Hollow (a single lane C road) at Melbury Abbas in Dorset, nicknamed ‘Village of the Jammed’.
The village has had lorry traffic funnelled through it for more than a decade from the nearby A350 onto the C13 (or Dinah’s Hollow) which runs through the village.
Resident Derek Coombes said: ‘It has been hell for years with so much traffic coming through the village at getting stuck at pinch points, now we are going to have fresh hell of 12 months of diversions.’
Lorries are sent down this way to create an unofficial one way system for lorries – northbound using the A road and southbound using the C road.
Fed up locals have said that these expensive repairs wouldn’t be needed at all had Dorset Council not decided to send heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) down the country lane in the first place.
Around 1,000 mature trees are to be felled for the work and steel rods driven into the embankment to reinforce it.
Highway officials fear that a landslide could happen and crush passing traffic.
However, Mr Coombes said: ‘The HGVs diversion has caused this.
Melbury Abbas in Dorset near Shaftesbury has been nicknamed the ‘Village of the Jammed’ by quick witted locals as their village is jammed up regularly with HGVs
‘It has been hell for years with so much traffic coming through the village at getting stuck at pinch points’, resident Derek Coombes said
Another resident Vincent Crowse has had his boundary wall damaged by an HGV recently
‘Years ago there were signs up stating the C13 was not suitable for HGVs and the council just took them down when they started diverting them off the A350.
‘Now the council say the bank is unsafe and a car could be crushed if it collapsed.
‘I have been here for 32 years and any fall I have seen has been absolutely minimal.
‘But if the bank has been weakened it is because the lorries that make a hell of a vibration when they drive through the hollow.
‘The road wasn’t built for them.’
He added: ‘I haven’t got a clue why this work is going to take a whole year.’
Another villager, Barry Freeman echoed Mr Coombes, saying: ‘The current problems, eroding the base of the Hollow’s sides, have only been caused by HGVs of ever-increasing size and weight, which a child could tell you are inappropriate for a country lane (not even a B-road) with narrow width and sheer sides.’
Vincent Crowse has had his boundary wall damaged by an HGV recently.
Dorset Council are proposing to spend £8million to shore up the embankments on the C13
The Council want to cut down 1,000 mature trees and stick steel rods in the ground to reinforce the embankments from landslides
‘This road in my eyes is not a safe space for carrying such heavy traffic. Now it is going to be even more unbearable’, Vincent Crowse said
He said: ‘We had major HGV traffic coming down our road and had a lorry drive into the boundary of my house.
‘It was trying to get past another lorry coming in the other direction.
‘This road in my eyes is not a safe space for carrying such heavy traffic. Now it is going to be even more unbearable.’
But a Dorset Council spokesperson maintained that HGVs using the C-road have not caused the weakening of the embankment.
A spokesperson said: ‘Several landslips over the years have posed a serious threat to public safety, and as the highway authority, Dorset Council has a legal duty to make the area safe.
‘Although large frequent collapses have not occurred, prolonged rainfall, changes in surface water run-off, vegetation condition and road undercutting could trigger a major collapse.
‘The stabilisation scheme is a long-term solution using soil nail technologies and drainage to protect the C13 road from future landslips.
‘The work will require closing the Hollow for a year between the C13’s junction with Boundary Road and its junction with the B3081.’
The proposed works will mean 12 months of roadworks on the C13 and a long diversion for locals
The Council have said their £8million idea is a ‘vital safety project to protect everyone who uses the C13’
Jon Andrews, cabinet member for place services at Dorset Council, said: ‘This is a vital safety project to protect everyone who uses the C13 and to make sure this route remains resilient for the future.
‘We recognise these works will affect travel, so we have reviewed all options and developed a comprehensive package of traffic management measures.
‘Protecting the unique wildlife and habitats in Dinah’s Hollow will also be our continued priority, and an ecologist will be on site for the duration of the stabilisation project to ensure everything is carried out responsibly.’
