Longham Bridge residents feel they are being ignored

Longham Bridge, which is heavily used, was closed for several hours after it was struck by a lorry. No one was injured in the collision.

• Longham Bridge closed after lorry gets stuck

Campaigners have long called for a solution to existing traffic problems along Ringwood Road.

Now ward councillor Paul Hanson Graham has accused both Dorset County Council and Bournemouth Borough Council of 'ignoring residents' misery'.

"This issue has been going on for years," he said.

"The two councils concerned are complicit and accountable for the destruction of this Grade II-listed bridge. They have also ignored the misery being caused to residents by permitting excessive and unsuitable vehicles to use this stretch of road.

"The solution - and it is the only viable solution - is a weight limit that restricts lorries over a certain weight using the bridge from both directions.

"This will only be achieved when the two councils involved stop sitting on their hands and do something about the problem."

Last year, the Daily Echo reported that cracks were appearing in the walls and ceilings of Longham homes due to the vibration caused by HGVs.

Ringwood Road resident Mandy Willis, who is a member of a cross-agency traffic working party spearheaded by Ferndown Town Council, said she fears someone will be killed on the bridge.

"This issue has been raging for years and nothing ever seems to get done," she said.

"If a pedestrian or cyclist had been passing at the time of this crash, they wouldn't have stood a chance.

"The bridge is just too narrow for the volume of traffic, and in particular the number of lorries."

Lorries travelling from Poole Port should take Gravel Hill to the A31 to leave Dorset. However, Poole council's signage is not adequate, and satnav systems take drivers via Longham, Mrs Willis said.

"We have been campaigning to get the limit cut from 40 miles per hour to 30mph," she said.

"Satnavs take drivers along the fastest route, which in this case would be Longham because of the current speed limit."

East Dorset District Council also plans to build 2,000 new homes at Longham as part of the proposed local plan. Earlier this year, plans for 386 new houses, a supermarket and a road on land east of New Road, West Parley - just over a mile away from Longham - went before the council.

At a public meeting held during the summer, residents said the area's infrastructure is already under pressure.

Tim Rumble, who lives with wife Caroline in Ringwood Road, told the Daily Echo: "It already takes me 47 minutes to get to Poole in the morning."

Richard Pearson, highway design and road safety manager at Bournemouth council, said: "Dorset County Council are the lead authority for the management of the bridge, although Bournemouth Council does contribute towards the costs.

"The A348 Ringwood Road is a one of a number of major strategic road routes into Bournemouth.

"There are routes to the east and west that provide alternative options.

"Any vehicle that is legally taxed, insured and licensed is permitted to use the route and the council has no plans to change that."

However, authorities are carrying out a survey into possible future improvements for Ringwood Road and other routes, Mr Pearson said.

"Bournemouth council has recently carried out improvements to the eastbound approach to the bridge from the Bournemouth direction, in the form of chevrons to highlight the bend on that approach," he said.

John Burridge, county council lead on bridge management, said the cost of the repairs will be recovered from the lorry driver's insurance after he "misjudged the corner".

"Although the bridge is narrow, its structural capacity is sufficient to carry the volume and size of lorries that travel along Ringwood Road," he said.