A Lyme Regis town centre road has finally reopened after more than a month of disruption.

Lyme Regis residents have been heavily impacted by the road closure on Broad Street, but scaffolding put in place to secure the Bell Cliff has now been removed – meaning the road is now clear.

It reopened about 4.15pm on Monday.

READ MORE: Lyme Regis Broad Street could reopen soon after repair works

The building had been left unsafe after a partial building collapse occurred on November 8, and now that work to temporarily secure the site is complete, all that remained was for Dorset Council to inspect the road.

Traders say they are pleased to see the road reopen after diversion signs miles outside of the town, along with the road closure itself, impacted business in the lead up to Christmas.

Bob Speer of Sanctuary Bookshop, which is directly opposite the building, said: “It’s all gone. It will be nice to have traffic come through and that will help trade.

“It is nice to see the scaffolding gone - it was a real eyesore.”

READ MORE: Lyme Regis has gone 'silent' after Broad Street closure

Tom Robinson from Tom’s Lyme Regis, a restaurant situated on the beach front, is part of a group of traders that has used the chaos caused by the road closure as an opportunity to come together and create a trader’s association.

He said: “The town folk seem happy, and the general consensus is everyone is very happy it has come down.

“I am thrilled it is open - it is fitting for the holidays, the amount of people in town seems to have picked up.

“Although I feel sorry for shops that sell presents as they may have already missed the boat already.”

READ MORE: Firefighters at building collapse in Broad Street Lyme Regis

The work to repair the building that has enabled the scaffolding to come down is only a temporary solution and further work will need to be carried to secure the building long term.

This is expected to happen in the autumn of 2024.