Major road works in West Bay to finally get underway (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Major road works in West Bay to finally get underway

5:00pm Wednesday 3rd October 2012 in News By Anne Bell

A MAJOR programme of road improvements and alterations starts in West Bay next month as part of the ongoing enhancement scheme.

Using comments and suggestions from residents, businesses and community groups, original proposals have been changed to reflect local opinion.

On November 5 work will start to make changes to the roundabout at the entrance to West Bay to encourage vehicles to enter the car park.

A gateway feature at the entrance to the West Bay Road car park will be created and the pedestrian route from there into the harbour area will be improved.

The changes will mean West Bay Road will become narrower, but it will still be wide enough for heavy plant vehicles to access the harbour and for the delivery of mobile homes to the holiday park.

A pedestrian crossing at the junction of George Street and West Bay Road will be provided and has been redesigned to take into account concerns about localised flooding.

The priority at the junction of Station Road and West Bay Road will be changed and the area around the shops and St John’s Church made more pedestrian friendly.

The footpaths on either side of the carriageway will be widened and paving will replace the existing tarmac and short-stay parking will still be available outside the shops.

Dorset County Council, which is carrying out the £310,000 works on behalf of West Dorset District Council, is currently applying for the traffic regulation orders. The work is expected to last for 14 weeks.

There are no current plans to alter the existing highway alignment and junction arrangements outside the George Hotel or at the eastern end of Forty Foot Way.

West Dorset District Council leader Robert Gould said: “After going out to consultation about the scheme we have taken everyone’s comments on board and have designed these plans accordingly.

“The West Bay Enhancement Scheme has brought some fantastic facilities to the area and these road improvement works are another step towards making West Bay as accessible as possible so residents and visitors can enjoy this wonderful area of West Dorset.”

Elements of the £1.25million enhancement scheme already completed include new public toilets in the West Bay Road car park and a refurbishment of the harbour master’s office and public toilets on the Mound. The former toilet building on Fisherman’s Green has been passed to Bridport Town Council for community uses and a landscaping scheme on the Mound and the Methodist Church has now been transferred to the Bridport Area Development Trust for community use.

For more information about the West Bay enhancement scheme visit dorsetforyou.com/westbay