Dorchester park and ride plan slammed as 'barking'

West Dorset District Council has put forward plans to use a new park and ride facility at Weymouth as a temporary solution to solve parking problems in the county town.

However, councillors and a developer in the town have questioned the logic behind the move.

Council planners had been looking at a site near Monkey’s Jump as a potential new park and ride facility boasting 950 spaces.

Campaigners against the Monkey’s Jump site from nearby Martinstown have welcomed the stay of execution after the council’s executive committee agreed to install park and ride facilities for Dorchester at the Mount Pleasant site, which developed as part of the Relief Road project.

Technical services manager at West Dorset District Council Steve Woollard told councillors that the Weymouth proposal involved running a park and ride service for Dorchester from the Dorset County Council-owned site at a cost of £150,000 a year.

After 18 months the council would then be able to assess the efficiency of the scheme and look at the impact on parking in Dorchester.

He added that the temporary facility at Dorchester Town Football Club would continue to operate.

Mr Woollard said that the change in direction had come following the emergence of the Mount Pleasant site and after the feedback from the consultation process over Monkey’s Jump revealed several concerns from nearby residents.

He added: “It should be recognised that trying to promote any site on the outskirts of Dorchester is going to be challenging and there are always going to be a large number of objections.”

Dorchester west councillor David Barrett hit out at the proposal to relocate the service to Weymouth.

He said: “This reliance on Weymouth will not answer any of our problems.

“It will be a recipe for disaster.”

Following the committee’s decision to back the plans, Andrew Wadsworth, director of the Brewery Square development in Dorchester, said: “I think it’s clearly preposterous.

“The idea that anybody is going to drive to a park and ride in Weymouth in order to go to Dorchester is completely barking.

“What about people who live on the north side of Dorchester?”

Mr Wadsworth questioned the green credentials of the scheme and whether it would compensate for the disruption caused by the loss of town centre parking as the new West Dorset District Council offices at Charles Street are developed.

This was a view shared by Greg Cameron Day, who has a photography studio in Durngate Street.

He said: “With the car park being closed down in the town next week parking is going to be a real problem for some time to come.

“I would certainly say that for businesses that rely on passing trade it would be a real concern.”

Phil Gordon, the project director of the Dorchester Business Improvement District, was more supportive of the scheme, saying it meant people working in Dorchester who lived in Weymouth would save money on fuel costs.

He said: “The whole point is that there are a large number of people who live in Weymouth currently using car parks in Dorchester, which means spaces are not available for visitors.

“It will be monitored closely but on the face of it the plan to use a park and ride in Weymouth for people that live in Weymouth is an excellent idea.”

Look at other options welcomed

OPPONENTS to the proposed Monkey’s Jump site have welcomed the committee’s decision to look at other options.

Martinstown resident Geoffrey Troup was involved with the ‘Say No’ campaign orchestrated by local residents to voice opposition to the Monkey’s Jump proposal.

He said welcomed the news that, at least in the short term, the council had agreed to look at other options. Mr Troup said: “It takes the pressure off.

“It’s very good news.”

He said that around 300 local residents had signed a petition against the Monkey’s Jump scheme and more than 100 had commented on the scheme online.

Their concerns about the impact on the landscape and other issues had also been supported by local MP Oliver Letwin.