Plans for a trial closure of a busy street have been shelved after an outcry from residents and businesses.

It comes after a consultation into the proposed closure of South Street in Bridport, between the junction of Gundry Lane and the town hall, revealed that 69 per cent of those who took did not want it to go ahead. 

The results of the consultation were discussed at a meeting of Bridport Town Council - which had agreed a brief to Dorset County Council for feasibility work on town centre traffic.

Business owner Matt Moore said it would be ‘catastrophic’ if the trial closure went ahead. He claimed he would see a drop in revenue of about 25 per cent which could lead to loss of staff. 

Hannah Newman, of Bridport Business Chamber, also welcomed the outcome of the consultation and requested a working group be created ‘so that businesses are included in future proposals.’

Resident Richard Freer suggested a compromise, with a potential trial closure of several weeks.

Mayor of Bridport Cllr Anne Rickard told members of the public that the town council had only done what it had been asked to do and that she hoped they would trust in the town council.

Cllr Kelvin Clayton said he was ‘disappointed’ in the results of the consultation but said “we have to accept it.”

Cllr Dave Rickard said the town council had not carried out the consultation ‘on a whim’ but in response to “hundreds of people contacting us on market days and festival days saying ‘wouldn’t it be nice if it was pedestrianised?’ We don’t know unless we try and we probably never will know.”

Councillors unanimously voted against the plans and will not make an application to the county council for a trial closure. 

During the consultation, 1,300 people submitted their thoughts on whether or not they thought a temporary, three-month closure of the road should go ahead.

It found that the two issues most would like to see improved are available car parking and improving the movement of traffic around the town. The town council is set to arrange a meeting involving key stakeholders in the town, including the Chamber of Trade, to look at all the other possible options for traffic management in the town, including 20mph speed limits. 

Cllr Dave Rickard said: “Bridport is at a crossroads. We have got to live with what we’ve got and something needs to be done. We have to talk to everybody and hopefully find solutions.”