ENGINEERS have been sent back to the drawing board and told to redesign a controversial replacement bridge over the River Avon on the road between Sopley and Hurn.

Dorset county councillors rebelled against their officers who had recommended giving planning permission for the £700,000 bridge.

Planning committee members had taken on board concerns raised by neighbouring councils that were worried widening the bridge to take two lanes of traffic would cause added dangers and recommended a traffic impact assessment should be carried out.

The existing single carriageway bridge acts as a pinch point to slow traffic on the busy narrow Avon Causeway route.

Planning committee members had initially proposed rejecting the road engineers' application, but had been persuaded to defer the scheme instead for engineers to look at member's concerns and carry out a traffic impact assessment.

Hurn division county councillor David Fox was critical of engineers who had said they would carry out a traffic study after the new bridge had been put in place and then, if necessary, traffic calming would be carried out elsewhere on the causeway road.

Cllr Fox said this was a "cackhanded way of doing things".

Margaret Phipps, chairman of Hurn Parish Council, was "absolutely delighted" the county council had decided to reconsider.

"The county solicitor said it would be best if it was deferred so that the applicant, the engineers, could redesign it with a single carriageway and a traffic assessment could be done and then it could come back to the June committee," she said.

"At the end of the day there were five councils: Hampshire County Council, Christchurch Borough Council, New Forest District Council, Sopley Parish Council and Hurn Parish Council and also a wildlife organisation that said 'Hang on a minute, this isn't right, don't build the bridge'."

Like Hampshire County Council, members of Sopley Parish Council were concerned about increased risk at the dangerous junction with the B3347.

Sopley council chairman Phil Emmel said: "I'm really pleased it's been deferred."

He said every elected representative in the area was against the plan and at the planning meeting six members were against it and only two were for it.

The replacement was due to be carried out between July and the end of the year. Cllr Fox said the deferral could mean the project being postponed until 2006 because the work needed to be carried out in good weather conditions.

First published: May 12