Sherborne road closure extended into 2023

Kitt Hill in Sherborne has now partially reopened but long queues of traffic form daily on the busy A30

Motorists can expect up to another year of delays after an emergency road closure was extended to next September.

The disruption for travellers through Sherborne, Dorset began in February after a car went into a wall forcing the busy A30 into a single lane of traffic.

West Dorset MP Chris Loder said unless the council dealt with the problem "immediately" he would ask the government to intervene.

Dorset Council is yet to comment.

The council's highways department issued a new emergency roadworks notice at the start of October which runs until September 2023.

It covers works to the collapsed wall on Kitt Hill on the A30 and neighbouring Cornhill, which is currently only open to one-way traffic.

Further roadworks at the bottom of Marston Road and Greenhill are scheduled for completion on 7 October.

Scaffolding holds up the wall now dubbed the 'Great Sherborne Kitt Hill Mystery' by locals on social media

West Dorset MP Chris Loder said the Kitt Hill repairs, which he said had been held up because of insurance issues, had gone on "for far too long".

"I met with the council last week to make clear that immediate action is required on this and if we do not see that action I will ask for government ministers to intervene," he said.

Mr Loder said he believed the council "had powers to sort that out".

Chris Loder MP said unless Dorset Council dealt with the problem "immediately" he would ask the government to intervene

However, Mr Loder did not back calls for a by-pass to the town, which had been discussed on social media.

"The reality is traffic does normally flow through the town reasonably well, so I don't think a by-pass is an issue," he said.

President of Sherborne's Chamber of Commerce Jane Wood agreed there was no need for a ring road: "We just need the road we have to be open. A by-pass would cost a fortune and where would it go?"

Ms Wood said she was "disappointed" to hear the A30 would be closed for longer than expected.

"We'd encourage those with power to just get on with it so we can return to having normal footfall in the town," she added.

A series of road works on the A30 in Sherborne have caused major disruption to motorists for months