Sherborne wall repairs to start as first anniversary reached

Local man Richard Mitchell put the banner up in the early hours of the morning to "raise a smile"

Repair work to a collapsed wall that has caused a year of delays to motorists and lost trade to businesses is to begin next week.

Dorset Council revealed work would start at Kitt Hill in Sherborne, a year to the day since a vehicle collided with the listed wall on the busy A30.

The council estimated it would take three months "providing no new internal issues are identified".

A building contractor told the BBC the repairs could cost up to £100,000.

The A30, which runs through Sherborne, has been subjected to three-way control traffic lights for a year

The specialists in structural engineering, who did not want to be named, said it was a "complicated job" as there was a kitchen situated above the wall which needed to be protected at the foundations.

"If it was just a wall you'd get a general builder to do the job," the BBC was told.

Motorists told the BBC their regular journeys had been made considerably longer because of the roadworks

Motorists the BBC spoke to on Wednesday, before the council made the announcement, were frustrated at how long the repairs were taking.

Stefan Richet, from Sherborne, said: "We got excited the other day because we saw three men in hard hats, the first thing we'd seen in six months."

Ruth Jacklin, from nearby Bradford Abbas, said: "It's a debacle they can't sort it out so that people aren't sitting in queues for 15 to 20 minutes, burning petrol we can't afford."

Mike, a school bus driver, said: "Every day I come through here with 70 children I'm 20 minutes late for school. Children are missing out on their education."

President of the Chamber of Commerce and cafe owner Jane Wood said footfall was down 10% on last year

Aside from extra time spent in traffic, business has been counting the cost.

Jane Wood, owner of Oliver's coffee shop and president of Sherborne's Chamber of Commerce, said: "There's far less traffic coming through the town.

"Whereas perhaps before people would come off the A303 on their way through to Cornwall or London, they would stop off in Sherborne, now that happens far less because it's so inaccessible."

Ms Wood said it had also affected suppliers. "It's easier to get things from a different company, that come from a different direction," she said.

She said the financial impact was hard to quantify because of the lingering effects of Covid and the cost of living crisis, but estimated footfall was down by about 10%.

The wall "debacle" began on 10 February 2022 and is still not resolved

Dorset Council said it would invoice the homeowner for the costs of the traffic restrictions.

In response to a Freedom of Information request last November, Dorset Council said it had paid for a specialist scaffolding design engineer and monthly scaffold hire costs.

"These invoices have been paid for by the council and we are reinvoicing the homeowner for these costs to be paid in full alongside charges for the temporary traffic management".

The BBC also approached West Dorset MP Chris Loder and Sherborne Mayor Juliet Pentolfe for comment.