Furious motorists slam determination to completely shut rat run

The decision to close one of the access routes to millionaires’ playground Sandbanks to cars has sparked a furious row between car drivers and cyclists.

Officials have decided to permanently close a set of gates to prevent Poole Park in Dorset being used as a rat run to and from the exclusive peninsula famed for its luxury homes – saying this will improve road safety.

But motorists say that the trial to close the gates has increased pollution from traffic jams – and point out that most locals want to continue to be able to drive through.

Now the row could now be taken to court as motorists threaten legal action to keep the route open.

Officials at Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council said closing off the route will make the park safer for cyclists and pedestrians and reduce carbon emissions.

But there have been reports of cars queuing to get into and out of the only entrance and exit left open.

Commuters are also said to have had an extra 20 minutes added on to journeys due to the increased traffic now using the local roads around the 110-acre park.

And a local survey found that of the 5,400 people asked about the closure, 3,402 indicated they were against it.

There have been criticisms from some elderly and disabled people who struggle to walk to the park.

Others said they liked to drive through the picturesque park to help them unwind at the end of the working day.

But the Liberal Democrats-run BCP Council voted to ignore the results of the public consultation and keep the ban in place as it was in line with its ‘corporate strategy on health and wellbeing’.

The campaign group Leave Poole Park Alone is now planning on hiring a barrister to challenge the decision to keep the south-east gate linking to Sandbanks Road shut.

Bob Lister, chairman of the action group, said the council has shown it is ‘totally undemocratic’ and described the process as a ‘whitewash’.

He said: ‘For the council to ignore the outcome of the consultation and the majority view is ludicrous and shows it is totally undemocratic.

‘The council said it was the largest questionnaire they have ever had. They created it and now they have ignored it. What was the point? They had already made up their minds, the whole thing is a whitewash.

‘We believe this has been done to appease the cycling brigade who have wanted cars banned from the park.

‘We haven’t had the summer yet and it is already a nightmare trying to leave the park.

‘There is now only one entrance and exit and there is not enough room for two cars to pass so you have queues of traffic either side and cars idling for long periods.

‘The pollution has gotten worse, not better.’

But the campaign group BH Active Travel, which champions cycling and walking, said they were delighted at the decision.

A spokesperson said: ‘We are really happy with this. To us it was a no-brainer.’

Lucie Allen, chair of BH Active Travel, has previously stated: ‘We firmly believe that parks should be safe, open green spaces for people to use.

‘It’s always amazed me that commuters are allowed to cut through the park, particularly during the end of the school day and rush hour, effectively using the park as a rat run to avoid congestion on the road network.’

But local resident Ian Lawrence said: ‘Sixty three per cent of the people want the gate reopened as it adds mileage, delays, congestion, pollution while hitting car dependent old, frail and young families as well as tourism and park livelihoods.’

And Karen Leahy said: ‘I cannot believe the sheer arrogance of the council and the thrall the cycling lobby has.

‘It was always going to be the outcome but that doesn’t make it any less wrong.’

Jude Butt, a local councillor in favour of keeping the gate open, said: ‘The message that anybody in a car is a villain and shouldn’t be driving through the park very much came across throughout this process.

‘But many people in cars are aged in their 80s and 90s and they enjoy the simple pleasure of driving through it.

‘I have seen what has happened since the gates were closed, the road gets clogged up with people queuing to get out of the one exit.

‘I believe the next step will be to ban cars altogether under the green umbrella.’

Andy Hadley, BCP Council’s portfolio holder for the environment, said the public consultation was not a referendum and the outcome was not binding.

He believed that many people who stated on the questionnaire that they wanted the gates reopened had since changed their minds.

He said: ‘We did an experimental closure so that people could experience it and what we found was that quite a few people who were spurred into objecting to the closure really found it rather pleasant to be able to hear the birdsong and changed their minds.

‘A consultation is not a vote, it never was a vote, it was part of the decision-making process. There were a lot of other factors to consider.

‘The park is there as a leisure facility but it has gotten busier and busier because people expect to be able to drive though it.

‘Strategically, we have to do what we can to preserve our green spaces so that they are a better place to spend time in.’

Andy Martin, an independent councillor who voted to keep the gate closed, said that nobody would put a road through a public park if they were designing one today.

He said: ‘I don’t understand how reducing traffic in a public park is not a good thing.

‘The council is pro-environment and pro-safety.

‘As a council we, in our corporate strategy, are here to create a sustainable urban environment and this is part of that. It fits entirely the council’s health and wellbeing agenda and it also fits in with our cleaner, greener and safer agenda.’