A CONTROVERSIAL traffic scheme which has seen big lorries re-routed through a village's narrow streets will continue.

Residents launched a High Court bid, hoping there could be a judicial review of Dorset County Council's traffic measures between Blandford and Shaftesbury.

Under the measures, southbound HGVs are directed to use the C13 instead of the main A350 which runs parallel to it.

The idea is to create an unofficial one-way system for HGVs in the area, with northbound lorries using the A-road.

But villagers say lorries regularly get trapped along the narrow C13 road, particularly in Melbury Abbas - dubbed the 'village of the jammed'.

It has now been announced the judicial review application has been withdrawn.

Dorset County Council says the High Court has approved a consent order withdrawing the judicial review application, which ends the court proceedings.

It means routing of HGVs through Melbury Abbas will now continue as agreed by Dorset County Council’s Cabinet last December – with an advisory one-way system in place for HGVs travelling on the A350 and C13.

Northbound vehicles will be advised and directed to use the A350 and southbound vehicles will be advised and directed to use the C13.

Cllr Daryl Turner, Cabinet member for the natural and built environment, said: “Our decision on the routing options along the A350 and C13 was sound. We will now continue with our traffic management proposals through Melbury Abbas.”

Vehicle activated message signs (VMS) will be installed for HGVs travelling through the pinch point in Melbury Abbas.

Working in conjunction with a new pull-in, the VMS at Melbury Abbas will advise HGV drivers to wait in the pull-in when there is another HGV in the narrow section, with the sign advising the driver when it is clear to move through the passage. This system will work in addition to the current traffic signal control shuttle working in Dinah's Hollow.

Work already completed as part of the A350 and C13 route management scheme includes village gateways and new speed limit signs, surfacing and patching work, new MMA hard-wearing lining at Stepleton Bends and an anti-skid surface applied on the uphill section of Spread Eagle Hill for HGVs heading south out of Melbury Abbas.

Dorset County Council says it will continue to work with Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset councils to push for a long-term solution for the north-south route between the M4 and Poole port.

Chairman of Melbury Abbas and Cann Parish Council William Kenealy said: "Following negotiations with Dorset County Council, the Parish Council has decided to withdraw its claim against DCC, relating to DCC's recent decision to maintain HGV traffic on the C13.

"The Parish Council disagrees with Cllr Turner, and continues to believe that this decision was legally wrong, unnecessarily destructive to the amenity and environment of the villages along the route, and not in the interests of either HGV drivers or Dorset residents.

"Due to constraints on the Parish Council’s budget, it has decided that the most prudent course is not to pursue the matter further through the Courts. The terms of settlement have avoided any payment to DCC for its spiralling legal costs."

He added: "The Parish Council remains firmly focussed on DCC’s continued management of HGV traffic on the C13, and in particular, the development and implementation of mitigation measures to address the current problems on the route.  Both the Cabinet and stakeholder groups stated that such mitigation measures were fundamental to their approval of the current proposed scheme. The Parish Council will continue to keep under review DCC's observance of its legal obligations to manage the roads, and reserves its right to take any further legal action in order to defend the interests of its residents."