A COUNCIL that re-sited a weekly market in the middle of one of the busiest bus lanes in its conurbation voted unanimously last night to make an 11th hour bid to block the return of buses to Christchurch High Street.

Since the market moved from the backwater of the Bank Close car park in July 2001, buses have been banned from the High Street on Mondays while passengers, many of them elderly faced long walks from temporary stops to reach the stalls, shops and Post Office in the town centre.

A public inquiry last year to hear objections to the council's bid to make the temporary closure order permanent recommended allowing one-way bus traffic, but borough councillors rejected the inspector's ruling, the advice of Dorset County Council and their own town hall officers.

Following appeals to the county council by the bus operators, Dorset County Council as highway authority stepped in to impose a further temporary traffic order allowing one-way bus traffic.

But even before a planned dummy run with empty buses on May 12, Christchurch council has called on the county to abandon the road traffic order due to take effect from the following week.

"Traders were complaining, shop keepers were complaining. The county council is forcing us to increase the danger to pedestrians and I think it is simply wrong. It is a recipe for disaster," said council leader Cllr Alan Griffiths.