Lyme Regis: Cash burned on torch relay (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Lyme Regis: Cash burned on torch relay

11:00am Thursday 5th July 2012 in Lyme Regis By James Tourgout

HEALTH and safety concerns have sparked an extra cash injection of up to £700 into preparations for the Olympic Torch Relay in Lyme Regis.

The town council has already been given a £542 grant by West Dorset District Council for the event.

But members of a recent full council meeting agreed an extra spend of up to £700 from its own coffers to ensure the event goes smoothly.

It comes amid preparations to cope with the relay in Lyme’s small, windy and hilly streets as well as an expected influx of thousands of visitors for the day.

The money is set to be spent on an information leaflet explaining where the road closures are and where people should be to watch the spectacle, as well as high visibility tabards and more radios.

Mayor Sally Holman, who is on the torch relay organising committee, said that there would be problems unless they prepared properly.

She said that the information leaflets would be printed as cheaply as possible.

She added: “We need extra radios on the advice of the police.

“We will need less high visibility vests than thought because we have been given t-shirts for some of the stewards to wear.”

Coun Daryl Turner suggested using radios from the radio link in shops but Coun George Symonds said there were not that many and that they would be needed.

Coun Holman added that they would probably be on different wavelengths.

Coun Turner said that the biggest problem would be getting information leaflets to people from outside the town coming in.

Coun Holman said that they would be in the tourist information centre and in as many shops as possible but that they also hoped to put posters up.

Coun Lorna Jenkin raised concerns about the number of cars and parking spaces.

Coun Holman said: “All we can do is the best that we can with the number car parking that we can provide.”

She said that they were talking about extra spaces in Uplyme as well as people walking in, and using Strawberry Field.

Road closures

FROM 2pm Charmouth Road will be closed from the junction with Anning Road.

Church Street, Bridge Street, up to just past Holmbush car park will be closed and there will be a closure point on Silver Street to prevent the traffic coming down onto Broad Street.

Cobb Road will also be shut.

The torch relay is expected to leave by 4.30pm and once it has the roads will be re-opened.