Resurfacing work has started this week to permanently repair Dorset’s most damaged residential roads.
Earlier this year, the Department for Transport awarded £9.1m to Dorset Council as part of the Governments £1.7bn injection of funding to local highway authorities across the country through the newly created Transport Infrastructure Investment Fund.
Dorset Highways has recently set out how it will be investing this additional funding, with around £2m being spent to target ‘defect clusters’ on its minor road network.
Nearly 50 of Dorset Council’s most damaged residential roads, which currently have a significant amount of reactive repair work carried out on them, or are expected to in the near future, will be resurfaced over the next two months.
Roads in Ashley Heath, Beaminster, Charminster, Child Okeford, Colehill, Ferndown, Upton, Verwood, West Moors and West Parley have all made the list of Dorset Council’s most damaged residential streets.
Cllr Ray Bryan, Portfolio Holder for Highways, Travel and Environment, said: “This is a much-needed investment in these particular minor roads – which are too damaged for any other road surface treatment, and currently take up a significant amount of resource in reactive repairs.
“By carrying out annual inspections on our roads, as well as recording reports by residents, we can prioritise repairs across the Dorset Council area – which has 1,200 miles of residential roads – and these residential streets are at the top of the list.
“We know that many residents have concerns about their roads and we will continue our work to improve their condition.”
Dorset Highways’ private sector partner, Hanson Contracting UK, will be carrying out the additional work.
To allow this work to take place safely, the resurfacing work will be done under stop and go traffic management, and each site will take around one-day to complete. Working hours will be from 8am to 4pm and will cause some unavoidable noise disruption due to the nature of the work.
Residents are being asked to look out for yellow advance notice boards which will be put out on site before works start and provide dates of the closure on their road.
The council’s Highways Executive Advisory Panel, made up of elected members from across the political divide, has worked alongside officers to determine how the additional funding should be spent to most effectively support Dorset’s road network.
Roads currently scheduled for resurfacing
- Rockway, Shipton Gorge
- Riverside, Beaminster
- Flaxfield Road, Beaminster
- Hogshill Mead, Beaminster
- Monmouth Gardens, Beaminster
- Culverhayes, Beaminster
- Church Mead, Toller Porcorum
- Kings Close, Longburton
- Quarry Lane, Longburton
- Mill Lane, Charminster
- Vicarage Lane, Charminster
- Ellerslie Close, Charminster
- Jacobs Ladder, Child Okeford
- Rectory Lane, Child Okeford
- Greenway, Child Okeford
- Chalwell, Child Okeford
- Homefield, Child Okeford
- Hod View, Stourpaine
- Slough Lane, Upton
- Richard Close, Upton
- St Annes Road, Upton
- Ash Close, Upton
- Cedar Close, Upton
- Doussie Close, Upton
- Gurjon Close, Upton
- Beacon Park Crescent, Upton
- Highfield Close, Corfe Mullen
- Swallow Way, Colehill
- Heron Drive, Colehill
- Mallard Road, Colehill
- Lapwing Road, Colehill
- Hawk Close, Colehill
- Leigh Lane, Colehill
- Cherry Grove, Ferndown
- Hadrian Close, Wimborne
- Aldridge Road, Ferndown
- Lone Pine Drive, Ferndown
- Dane Drive, Ferndown
- Birch Avenue, West Parley
- Oakland Way, West Parley
- Conifer Close, West Parley
- Dudsbury Road (from Xchurch Rd to Ellesfield Drive), West Parley
- Summercroft Way, West Moors
- Glenwood Way, West Moors
- The Glade, Ashley Heath
- Peveril Close, Ashley Heath
- Struan Court, Ashley Heath
- Verne Road, Verwood
- Stanley Crescent, Verwood
- Crane Drive, Verwood
Road damage and other highway issues can be reported online. These enquiries are passed on to our community highway officers who will assess the damage and arrange for any defects to be repaired, and recommend the area for any further action if necessary.
High field Road Bh22 0me is like patchwork quilt ! We have a street clean several times a month ! More is needed.
There haven’t been any road markings on the A350 exiting Spetisbury towards Sturminster Marshall for years. It would be good if this could me rectified soon. At this point the road passes through a shaded area, which makes driving on an unmarked road quire hazardous.
In Wimborne, the lower part of Rowlands Hill is to be repaired. Good!
But the pavement will be left in the same state that it is now. No pot holes or trip hazards but very difficult to negotiate just the same. Narrow with a steep slope to the kerb. A power pole which allows just enough room for a mobility scooter to pass. I have a mild disability but find walking down to the town really difficult. There is, I am sure, a national standard for the camber on roads but the slope on pavements appears not to be controlled at all. Similar comments can be made about the pavements in West Borough and other parts of the town.
Allenview Road in Wimborne is in need of repair after all the sewer/gas works.
It si dangerous to cycle now because of the surface on the West side.
How can I find out about how the central government funding intended for creating & improving cycle & walking paths across the county is being spent?
Hi Mrs Milan, I think you’re referring to the Government’s £225m emergency active travel fund that was launched earlier this year to support improvements to sustainable transport during the pandemic. In this case, we’ve put our proposals into the Department for Transport who will review them for approval. As soon as we have a decision from the DfT we will update residents.
You might also be interested in cycling proposals developing in the east of the county, working with BCP Council, as part of the Transforming Travel programme: http://www.transformingtravel.info
I hope this helps, Kerry
West st in Chickerell has no pavement orsafe access for pedestrians. It has social housing in an estate at the top of the very narrow road and a pre school at the bottom, is it a legal responsibility to provide safe access for residents.
At the beginning of September ,potholes along Bournemouth road Blandford St. Mary were “ repaired “. The road was left in a dreadful state,even more lumps and bumps than before,loose chippings everywhere including all over the pavement which stuck on shoes. The drain alongside the road is now blocked. Do these so called repairs ever get checked ?
Hi Helen, any maintenance work carried out on the highway is inspected after work has finished. If you think something my have been missed please report it using our online form: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/roads-highways-maintenance/report-a-problem-on-the-road-or-pavement.aspx
Chalkpit Lane, Wool, was scheduled last year to be repaired/resurfaced but now it seems to have disappeared from your plans. Please repair our very bumpy Lane
Hi Richard, the good news is that Chalkpit Lane is still on the list: https://news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/2020/02/05/micro-surfacing-works-in-dorset/ It gets a bit confusing as we have numerous programmes of work running depending on the surface treatment type.
Unfortunately, this micro-surfacing programme of work had to be paused following government guidelines earlier this year. It’s now rescheduled for Spring next year.
Thanks for getting in touch, Kerry