• Lots of local people attended the three Public Exhibitions of the proposals for ‘improvements’ to the Preston Road. The stated aims are ‘to reduce the volume and speed of traffic to an appropriate level for the route and to improve pedestrian and cyclist facilities’.

Apparently this will be achieved by reducing the road width by creating numerous pedestrian traffic islands and adding pavement intrusions into the road for cars to drive around. One idea is to remove the bus stop lay-by in front of what was the Sunningdale Hotel, so that buses stop in the road, and to erect a bus shelter on the ‘reclaimed’ ground. This must be one of the least used stops on the whole of the No. 4 bus route!

Another part of the plan is to add a roundabout at Overcombe Corner to help cars exit from Bowleaze Coveway. At Chalbury Corner there is to be a cycleway on the left going towards the Corner, on the opposite side to the Surgery from Wyke Oliver Road to the Corner. The options here are for a shared pavement for bikes and pedestrians or a cycle lane on the road which would lose all the road parking. Neither of these is ideal, and when I asked why not leave things as they are - the road is wide enough to safely accommodate cars and cycles? – the answer was ‘It’s Government policy to create cycleways’. Why these, painted on the road, are any safer than just letting the bikes use the road was not made clear.

Undoubtedly changes will take place because DCC have £250,000 to spend as part of the Weymouth Relief Road scheme, none of which is available for essential work such as resurfacing roads which are in a very poor condition locally.

You can view details of the proposals at www.dorsetforyou/406043 and have until Friday 12 October to return your comments by emailing weymouthreliefroad@dorsetcc.gov.uk However the web site says ‘Comments will be considered and worked into the scheme design where possible’ (my italics) and also ‘Further details will be available once the proposals have been finalised’. This presumably means that we will hear nothing more until work on the scheme is underway!

• The police report that between 2pm on Saturday 22 September and 10.52am the next day a significant amount of lead flashing was stolen from the roofs of 8 garages in Oakbury Drive.

Anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious, or has any information, is asked to ring 101, quoting crime number 40186.