High Court forces BCP council to rethink over Poole Keyhole Bridge

The road was closed to traffic to allow safer cycling for key workers at the start of the pandemic

A decision to reopen a road to traffic that had been closed during the pandemic must be reviewed, the High Court has ruled.

Campaigners won a judicial review of Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council's (BCP) reopening of the road under Keyhole Bridge in Poole.

The High Court ruled the council had cut short a consultation and ordered it to pay £20,000 costs.

BCP said it respected the ruling and would run a new consultation.

The single-lane road under the bridge at the entrance to Poole Park was closed to vehicles at the start of the pandemic, partly to provide safer cycling for key workers.

The Conservative-led council announced in January it would reopen the route to traffic and ended a 60-day consultation after 37 days.

The Keyhole Bridge Group of residents said the closure was popular and ended a notorious rat-run.

'Wasted public money'

The group was granted a judicial review and in her ruling at the High Court, Mrs Justice Lang said local authorities "should honour assurances which they have given to the public".

She ordered the council to reopen the consultation and review its decision in light of new submissions. A request to close the road in the meantime was turned down.

Felicity Rice, who was portfolio holder for the previous Unity Alliance council administration, which introduced the closure, said: "It's a shame that the council have wasted time and public money fighting against the very people they are here for.

A council statement said: "Our argument was that it was highly unlikely any evidence or argument would have come forward in that remaining time that would be substantially different from that which had already been made and considered."

"We are happy to respect its ruling that we should hold a non-statutory consultation for 40 days to rectify this in case genuinely new evidence can be presented."