THERE’S new hopes for the Western Route relief road after it was revealed that a number of high profile businessmen and town leaders are calling for it to be put back on the agenda.

Plans to build the route were controversially dropped from a document setting out how to boost the area’s economic prospects.

Hopes were further dashed when it was suggested that a site near Budmouth College – directly where part of the route would be built – could be allocated for housing in the local plan review.

If constructed, the route would go from Chickerell to Ferrybridge, providing a bypass for the congested A354 corridor through Rodwell and Wyke Regis.

It would be beneficial to Portland residents and businesses as it would provide a direct route to the Chickerell Link Road and onto the Weymouth Way and relief road.

The route, which would encroach on an environmentally-sensitive site, may have to be tunnelled however, pushing up the cost.

But at a meeting of the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council management committee, it was revealed that leaders are continuing to lobby for the route.

Chairing the meeting, leader of the council Jeff Cant said the issue is ‘like the chicken and the egg’ – but if plans for the tourist attractions Jurassica and MEMO are achieved, it would bring an additional one million visitors per year to Portland.

He added: “MP Richard Drax is very supportive, but this is a multi-million pound project.

"We are lobbying very highly for this. It’s not gone away – no one’s stopped talking about it. If we can go to the Department for Transport with a plan that says one of both of these tourist developments are going to come off our case is 10 times stronger.”

The comments came as the committee discussed the Western Dorset Economic Growth Strategy, a joint plan between the Dorset Councils Partnership and Dorset County Council, which sets out a vision for the area spanning the next 17 years. Councillors unanimously agreed to adopt an action plan which sets out priorities to be addressed in the next six years.

At a previous meeting when the relief road was dropped from the plan, some members of the committee spoke out about the ‘horrendously expensive’ cost of the route. 

But speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Cllr James Farquharson, WPBC spokesman on economic development, said there is still a lot of high profile support, including from South Dorset MP Richard Drax, owner of Agincare Derek Luckhurst and Ian McQuade, general manager for Portland Port.

Cllr Farquharson added: “It’s not controversial to say improving the infrastructure improves our economic prospects.”

Speaking after the meeting, chief executive of Portland Port Bill Reeves made calls for the route identified for the relief road to be safeguarded, adding: “Not to do so would, at best, be inadvisable.”

Mr Reeves said: “The whole question of viability and economic justification has to come back on the table. Because of the number of customers and volume of goods being imported and exported heavy goods vehicle traffic is increasing and will continue to increase over the next several years.

“It leaves us in a situation where the Western Relief route is off the table with this sort of forecast increase in traffic. It deserves another hard look.”

Mr Drax called for greater cooperation between local authorities and businesses to grow the economy.

“The cost of a relief road is prohibitive. But until we look at what we want and decide, yes, it’s expensive but for this part of the UK it’s what we need then we are not in a position to lobby for it.”

Mr Drax said he would continue to try to persuade the county council to put the issue back on the agenda, and the next step would be a business plan to take to the government to lobby for the funds.