This is getting beyond a joke now. Is there any way that once their next batch of bogus fairy tales are thrown out that Dorset County Council can sue these self perpetuating Quangos for the extra cash that all these delays will be costing us, the taxpayers?

Just build the **** road already.

We've been waiting 20 years, and it has been approved at least six times already.

Just build it!

Its a nice sunny day. Who is up for for spending an afternoon with a spade and getting going on it?

AG wrote:
Its a nice sunny day. Who is up for for spending an afternoon with a spade and getting going on it?

I am!

How can it possibly be right that this organisation (which has already had their say) and a single person (with his back of a fag packet design) be allowed to submit challenges at this incredibly late stage? Surely their opportunity was at the formal review - which ended in March? It makes a complete mockery of the whole process and just encourages the objectors to continue making spurious objections for ever and ever..... Knowing that their objections will be listened to ad finitum! It is infuriating to say the least!

AG wrote:
Its a nice sunny day. Who is up for for spending an afternoon with a spade and getting going on it?

Just bury the anti-road freaks and use them as the base course for the new road.Maybe then we will keep the bill below £100 million and get it in place ready for the olympics.

Why dont we all get busy and construct a roundabout at Littlemoor junction. As we all know that the traffic flows well when the traffic lights are out of action. This would save a fortune instead of this destructive ROAD TO NOWHERE!!!!!

costs had spiralled from initial estimates of £54 million in December 2003 to more than £80 million

because of the ijits who keep up their delaying tactics, what would it have cost 20 or more years ago but for these 'people' (I call them that because the website doesn't let me say what i would like to call them.

We should just tell them, no road & you can take your b****y Olympics elsewhere the whole thing is pathetic, a bunch of cyclists who have got the hump because they can’t ride along the esplanade & C.P.R.E who have already had their say, as have everybody else. I hope the Olympics is a dismal failure because as a resident I am entitled to expect some consideration for all the inconvenience the Olympics is going to cause & that includes provision of all the necessary infrastructure including roads to make movement possible. If we don’t get the go ahead for this road then it will just go to show what contempt the government has for the people of this area.

A spokesman for Dorset County Council said the authority had done all that was required of it by the Government to move the scheme forward.

He said: "A draft business case has been submitted to the DfT and we are working closely on the work that is required.

At this late stage we discover that DCC have only submitted a 'draft' and not 'final' business case?

Are we heading for a debacle similar to DCC's other fiasco, when they let the previous Compulsory Purchase Orders (for which they had fought a long battle) lapse!

It would seem that its not just Orange Route objectors who are holding up this road.

Squib wrote:
Why dont we all get busy and construct a roundabout at Littlemoor junction. As we all know that the traffic flows well when the traffic lights are out of action. This would save a fortune instead of this destructive ROAD TO NOWHERE!!!!!

Absolutely!! Would save a lot of grief, hassle and traffic congestion.
Good idea

WHAT GREAT NEWS...

More delays

Up goes the price

Less need for the road

Why not car share..

Harry Walton wrote in the Echo (7th July 2006).... Finance for the 3.75-mile road has been given the green light subject to planning permission and confirmation that it can be completed in time for the 2012 Olympics.
I am utterly confused now!

Right, like the road is going to help things. All it will do is get the same amount of traffic into the town based snarl-ups quicker. Oh, it'll help the traffic on Dorchester Road for all the people who bought houses there knowing what the traffic was like and who then complained. Spend a fraction of the money building two proper park and rides, one north of Ridgeway and the other east of White Horse Hill and perhaps rebuild the train line to Portland for the Olympics. The 'new' relief road will do sod all to get traffic to the Portland quicker.

For those people who say the road is not needed it has just taken me over an hour and a quater to get into Weymouth today. The problem seemed to be a car and caravan parked on Dorchester road just up from the Mazda garage. Started queuing at the top of Ridgeway. An ambulance with its lights flashing was also trying to get out of Weymouth. Just build the b****y thing!

As David Peacock said:

"It has to be assessed whether it is still good value for money. The county council is actually delaying it themselves".

It seems to me that Knight is more interested in votes than value for money... and this report comes on the day that the Chancellor said that we are likely to be in the worst recession for 60 years. (Equates to more cuts in public services, healthcare, etc).
It seems to me that the £18 million to be spent on improving public transport for the olympics is a far better legacy and use of limited funds than the proposed Dorchester road bypass.
In fact, as the public transport funding is based upon the existing infrastructure, it's obvious that we don't need both.

John Holmes wrote:
How can it possibly be right that this organisation (which has already had their say) and a single person (with his back of a fag packet design) be allowed to submit challenges at this incredibly late stage? Surely their opportunity was at the formal review - which ended in March? It makes a complete mockery of the whole process and just encourages the objectors to continue making spurious objections for ever and ever..... Knowing that their objections will be listened to ad finitum! It is infuriating to say the least!

Er... have you actually read the "back of a fag packet design"?

"Both were submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT), which thought they were worthy to be considered by the Government Office for the North East's orders department before the Secretary of State made any decision."

It would appear that the qualified staff at the DFT don't have the benefit of your insight.

John wrote:

John Holmes wrote: How can it possibly be right that this organisation (which has already had their say) and a single person (with his back of a fag packet design) be allowed to submit challenges at this incredibly late stage? Surely their opportunity was at the formal review - which ended in March? It makes a complete mockery of the whole process and just encourages the objectors to continue making spurious objections for ever and ever..... Knowing that their objections will be listened to ad finitum! It is infuriating to say the least!

Er... have you actually read the "back of a fag packet design"?

"Both were submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT), which thought they were worthy to be considered by the Government Office for the North East's orders department before the Secretary of State made any decision."

It would appear that the qualified staff at the DFT don't have the benefit of your insight.

And your response as to why at this ludicrously late stage both parties has been allowed to make representations? It makes a complete mockery of the entire process! March was when the formal enquiry wound up!

Of course the cynic in me would say that the Government have allowed this to happen so that they have a get out clause and can pull the plug for financial reasons - that is if I was a cynic!

AG wrote:
Its a nice sunny day. Who is up for for spending an afternoon with a spade and getting going on it?

A few 1000 Chineese Army conscripts would help. Job done by Clismass !

John wrote:
As David Peacock said:

"It has to be assessed whether it is still good value for money. The county council is actually delaying it themselves".

It seems to me that Knight is more interested in votes than value for money... and this report comes on the day that the Chancellor said that we are likely to be in the worst recession for 60 years. (Equates to more cuts in public services, healthcare, etc). It seems to me that the £18 million to be spent on improving public transport for the olympics is a far better legacy and use of limited funds than the proposed Dorchester road bypass. In fact, as the public transport funding is based upon the existing infrastructure, it's obvious that we don't need both.

Everybody with an ounce of sense knows it is more than just a "bypass". It is an essential, arterial route, to replace a crumbling and wholly inefficient trunk route, which was never designed to carry such a demanding load. A route which has cost this borough dearly over the years.

If this plan falls by the wayside I am sure we can kiss the Olympics and many worthy future developments goodbye!

John wrote:
...and this report comes on the day that the Chancellor said that we are likely to be in the worst recession for 60 years.

Remarkable foresight on the part of 'govt' to have introduced the following then really;

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000)

Regulatory Reform Act (2001)

Civil Contingencies Act (2004)

The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act (2006)
etc...

Along with the expansion of the DNA database and Biometric ID cards.

And there was I thinking it was all to protect us from all the nasty terrorists.

First, despite Knight’s waffle, the decision is not being delayed by late submissions. It is being delayed because DCC has failed to submit its business case.

Second, the link to Olympics is false. The Olympic bid was based upon the promise that it would be a ‘green Olympics’, with all travel being made possible via existing and new / improved public transport links. £18 million is being made available in Dorset for exactly that purpose; which is why the Transport Select Committee instructed DCC to remove from its submission the misleading claims that a new road is required for the Olympics. That it has remained in local folklore is a demonstration of selective reading / hearing.

Also embedded in local folklore is the belief that the proposed road is essential to the economy, and that "its absence has cost the Borough dearly”.
Not only does that contradict the announcement – shortly after the MoD’s withdrawal - by then Mayor Brian Ellis -that ‘Weymouth Is Booming’, it also flies in the face of warnings in the Stern Report that new roads can be counter-productive.
Personally (and professionally) I take more notice of factual announcements from those with access to facts and figures about the local economy, and of factual-based research by the likes of Sir Nicholas Stern, than I do of ‘back of fag packet’ uninformed knee-jerk assessments by certain contributors to this site. (Perhaps I’m just being picky!)

Also, if the usual abusive loud-mouths had read the article properly before echoing comments presumably intended to disguise DCC’s incompetence – they would have noted that DCC has only presented a DRAFT business case . If DCC had completed had completed its final business case in time late, submissions would have been too late. In which case we might not be having these discussions, but would (hopefully) be looking forward to an inexpensive and far less environmentally damaging local transport network.

(PS, I can’t say that I disagree with Guy Fawkes’ slightly off-topic comments. Yet another reason to get rid of the current incumbent.)

John..for all your knowledgeable rhetoric, neither you or other critics of the releif road have ever offered a sustainable and enduring alternative! No amount of fiddling will alter the already precarious state of Weymouth's road infrastructure. The relief road is a long overdue necessity and will do a lot,lot more than relieve the choking congestion here in Broadwey.

It might not speed up traffic getting into Weymouth and onto Portland but it will definitely speed up traffic going in the other direction which will reduce congestion,pollution etc.

Old Broadwey Resident wrote:
John..for all your knowledgeable rhetoric, neither you or other critics of the releif road have ever offered a sustainable and enduring alternative! No amount of fiddling will alter the already precarious state of Weymouth's road infrastructure. The relief road is a long overdue necessity and will do a lot,lot more than relieve the choking congestion here in Broadwey.

One Question!
If there are no possible alternatives, why has the DfT considered the late submissions to be worthy of consideration?

mike edwards wrote:
It might not speed up traffic getting into Weymouth and onto Portland but it will definitely speed up traffic going in the other direction which will reduce congestion,pollution etc.

Excellent.
That's just screwed half of DCC's case.

mike edwards wrote:
It might not speed up traffic getting into Weymouth and onto Portland but it will definitely speed up traffic going in the other direction which will reduce congestion,pollution etc.

The problem is that over 80% of cars using the weymouth to dorchester road have only one person in, So if you car shared a good percentage of the traffic would disapper and there will be no need to spend over £100millon on a road that is less than 4miles long...

As has been noted here already, DCC states that "A draft business case has been submitted to the DfT and we are working closely on the work that is required."

This is unbelievable. They have had a year and a half since being granted planning permission and a year since they had to prepare their case for the Inquiry. All big projects like this have to have a business case worked up beforehand to show value for money. It's the minimum that taxpayers have a right to. What have DCC been doing all this time? The Echo has a duty to follow this up urgently, instead of wasting a lot of newsprint
blaming a few objectors.

Why do people keep bleating on about public transport if people wanted to use public transport they would, the fact is that people want to get in their cars & go door to door & as for car sharing I for one don’t want to share my car with any stranger. Billions are being spent all over the country on roads if we can’t get a piddling little bit of road then it’s a very poor show. As for the idiots that say there is no link between the Olympics & the new road then all I can say is don’t come crying to me when you cant get home.
My final point is that Dorchester road is in need of a complete rebuild from the foundations up which will be a mammoth task taking many months so if anybody here is quite happy to sit in the inevitable long delays for months on end then good luck to them.

1. Fergus is quite right about what the Echo's duty should be. Unfortunately,I get the impression that the echo has no reporters up to the job.
2. Mikeman, what can I say? Do a ggogle on the Olympic Delivery Authority, and you will fnd such comments as "At the heart of the 'Olympic Transport Plan' is the goal of encouraging 100 percent of spectators to travel to the Games by public transport, walking and cycling." and "None of the expected eight million 2012 Olympic spectators will be allowed to drive to the event, according to the latest transport plan from event organisers. A car exclusion zone will be set up around the venues, which only disabled people, competitors and officials will be able to enter with a car.

"This is not about banning people from using their cars, but about making public transport, walking and cycling the most attractive option for spectators traveling to the Games," says Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive, David Higgins." and again: "Arranging transportation for Olympic spectators is an enormous task. As well as ensuring that millions of people get where they need to go, organisers are under pressure to make sure they do so with minimal impact on the environment -- and that these expensive improvements will be useful for the city once the Olympics are over. Hopefully, everything will go off without a hitch and we can reap the benefits for years to come."

John, Weymouth on 7:09pm today point out that

. A car exclusion zone will be set up around the venues, which only disabled people, competitors and officials will be able to enter with a car.

Residents will still be going about their normal journeys between Portland, Weymouth, Dorchester etc..
THAT'S WHY THE LOCALS WANT A BETTER ROAD NETWORK !
By all means make the spectators from all round the world arrive on a bike, horse, rickshaw or foot, but don't force the rules on the locals.

fergus wrote:
As has been noted here already, DCC states that "A draft business case has been submitted to the DfT and we are working closely on the work that is required." This is unbelievable. They have had a year and a half since being granted planning permission and a year since they had to prepare their case for the Inquiry. All big projects like this have to have a business case worked up beforehand to show value for money. It's the minimum that taxpayers have a right to. What have DCC been doing all this time? The Echo has a duty to follow this up urgently, instead of wasting a lot of newsprint blaming a few objectors.

Yes this very worrying and is wholly unacceptable at this stage. What the hell is going on at Dorset County Council?

A car exclusion zone will be set up around the venues

How the h**l are they going to manage that with the ONLY road to and from Portland going within a few yards of Weymouth Bay.

By the size of the compound being prepared at Littlemoor, there will be one big archaeological dig!!

Yeaaa... bring it on!