Councillor berates 'coffin politics' over junction

Parish council chairman Tim Read said he had been trying to improve safety on the road since 2018

A parish council chairman has said calls to improve an unsafe road junction have been dismissed for at least six years.

Tim Read said there had been numerous near misses on the B3078 in Dorset, where the junction with Witchampton Lane is close to a bend.

The Vale of Allen councillor said Dorset Council should not play "coffin politics" by refusing to reduce the 60mph (97km/h) speed limit until there had been a serious accident.

The highways authority said it had received no recent "formal requests" to review the issue.

Mr Read said the speed limit had been raised in "pretty well every meeting" of the parish council since he joined in 2018.

He said: "The consistent response of Dorset Council is that it is very expensive to apply to the Department for Transport and they don't have the resources."

The council had also said the issue was "data-driven" and would depend on the history of accidents, he added.

Cars coming round the bend have little more than a second to react to the junction, villagers said

Witchampton villagers told the BBC that pulling out on to the main road was "terrifying" and "a dice with death".

One, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "I've had several cars come close to smashing into me.

"They've tried to overtake me and... nearly driven into oncoming traffic. One car even drove into the verge to avoid a collision with me."

Villager Sarah Hardy said a highways officer inspected the junction last year.

"What they actually said was there needs to be a fatality before they will make a reduction in the speed limit," she added.

In an initial statement, Dorset Council said: "The parish council and local ward councillors have not asked us to review the speed limit at this location.”

It later clarified: “While Dorset Council hasn’t recently received any formal requests to reduce the speed limit at this location, it should be noted that both the local ward and parish council members have raised regular concerns about the visibility and overall safety at this junction over many years.

“As a result, our officers periodically visit the site to inspect vegetation growth, and remark the signs/lines if necessary.

“There are crossroads warning signs on either side of this junction, plus markings stating ‘slow’ with yellow countdown markers on the road.

"There is no injury collision data within the last five years at this junction."