DRIVERS visiting Purbeck could be stung with a £1.50 congestion charge each way.

The tourist hotspot could be the first area in Dorset to follow London's lead in introducing the levy.

Dorset county council has outlined a series of proposals aimed at taking the pressure off Purbeck's traffic-choked roads, giving members of the public until September 30 to comment.

But business leaders at the chambers of trade and commerce in Wareham and Swanage are angry that they have not been informed about the county council's Purbeck Transportation Study.

Swanage Town Council has also not been informed and its town clerk is looking into securing an extension to the deadline.

Business leaders fear a congestion charge will have a direct impact on local livelihoods.

Peter Holloway of Wareham and district chamber of trade and commerce said: "This is another example of Dorset county council only consulting when it suits them."

Barnaby Quaddy of Swanage Chamber of Trade and Commerce said: "We would not want to see any form of congestion charge likely to have an impact on the prospects of people doing business in the Purbeck area."

Swanage Town Council clerk Alan Leeson said: "We have not received any proper notice of public consultation and I shall be taking the issue further as it seems the plans have got quite far-reaching implications for the Swanage community."

Jonathan Slater, spokesman for Dorset County Council, said: "We began a 12-week public consultation period in June, holding information fairs in Wareham, Bere Regis and Wool. The information is available in local libraries, the council website and Wareham tourist information centre.

"It is not a case that we've kept this quiet. We have been very open and people still have two weeks left to make their feelings known."

He added that the congestion charge was only one of a series of proposals, adding: "The strategy won't be finalised until after the public consultation period is over."

Neither Bournemouth nor Poole have any plans to follow suit with a congestion charge.

Cllr Ron Parker, Poole's portfolio holder for local economy including transport, said he found the plans "rather surprising".

He added: "You tend to have congestion charges in fairly dense, built-up areas."

The Purbeck Transportation Study sets out a long list of proposals including a Wool by-pass and a second look at the case for an A351 Sandford bypass.

The introduction of a "tourist tax" is also mentioned, to "ensure that transient visitors to an area make a fair contribution to its maintenance and general upkeep."

Also included are plans for 20mph zones through Sandford, Corfe Castle, Wareham, the southern end of Bere Regis and the B3351 between Studland and Sandbanks ferry.

First published: September 15