Fresh calls made for work to be done quickly on Beaminster Tunnel

The plea comes after Dorset County Council gave the go-ahead for a £2.1million scheme to stabilise soil above the landmark using large steel pins.

The work is due to start in January and take about six months but traders and residents have called for the project to be finished as quickly as possible.

Nigel Reeve, chairman of Beaminster Chamber of Commerce, said it was crucial to get the tunnel opened as soon as possible.

He said: “They key thing is getting it open as quickly as possible, as economically as possible and as safely as possible.

“I am not an engineer I don’t know what the best answer is.

“If this is the best way with the least on-going maintenance it has got to be the right thing.”

He said the town was stunned and saddened by the tragedy when two people died in the tunnel collapse.

Mr Reeve added: “But without being cruel life goes on and businesses have to make a living and the sooner we can get it sorted the better.”

Rosemary Snell and Michael Rolfe were killed when their car was hit by a landslide at the tunnel in the torrential rain and floods on July 7.

The county council has been investigating how to fix the tunnel and has opted for the soil stabilisation scheme over the option of a concrete hood or extension.

Businesses have warned that trade has continued to suffer while the tunnel has been closed and have called for help.

Ann Day, of the Ann Day Gallery and Café in Hogshill Street, said: “I am just worried about Beaminster as a town.

“How many are going to go out of business? There are two shops going that I know of.

“What we could do with is some relief on our business rates that would help us the most but I don’t suppose we will get that.

“We can’t even get free parking at Christmas. I have asked four times.”

Mrs Day said as a layman it was hard to understand why the land could not just be shelved – or why stabilising trees were cut down in the first place.

She said: “If they hadn’t taken the trees off in the first place it would all have been all right. They were natural nailing.

“All those countries that have taken their trees down and now they are flooded. They should have learned their lesson from those.”

Michael Feasey, who with wife Claire has run the eco shop Green Drawers for five years, said they were closing the shop at the end of the year.

He said: “It is not just because of the tunnel, although that was part of it, but because there has been a downturn generally. The tunnel is part of a whole series. The bad weather, the Olympics went flat and the bank closing.”

County councillor Rebecca Knox, who represents the Beaminster ward, said work would be starting almost immediately on clearing the site in preparation for the nailing – which was the option with the best long term safe solution.

She said the hood option would have been safe but there was not as much stabilisation of the soil above and it could leave the area still vulnerable to debris building up behind the hood.

Ian Doyle, economic regeneration manager of West Dorset District Council, said: “The council is keen to support local businesses who have been affected by the road closure into Beaminster.

“Any business which is in difficulty can apply to the district council for hardship rate relief.

“Businesses can also apply to the Valuation Office Agency, which sets the rateable value on which the business rates are calculated, to have their rates temporarily reduced.

“We are also working closely with local businesses on suitable parking schemes to boost trade during these difficult times for the town.”

MP In Crunch Talks Over Cash

WEST Dorset MP Oliver Letwin is due to hold a meeting this week to push for Government funding to repair the tunnel.

The Department for Transport has already turned down a request for money saying it would be unfair to other taxpayers and councils if extra funding was given to Dorset.

But Mr Letwin has vowed to continue to fight for cash towards the project and has a meeting with Communities Secretary Eric Pickles this week.

He is also preparing a lobbying campaign to the Department for Communities and Local Government.

He said: “My idea is that we may be able to claim money under the ‘Bellwin Rules’ which are designed to deal with exceptional events.

“This will certainly take a number of weeks.”

The DfT previously snubbed a request from the county council for cash.

Council leader Coun Angus Campbell has written to Norman Baker, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, outlining Dorset’s case.

But Mr Baker refused to accept the argument on fairness grounds.