Sherborne residents rejoice after A30 Kitt Hill reopens after a year of …

Kit Hill in Sherborne has finally reopened after 14 months of traffic chaos, stand-off between the town’s MP and Dorset Council and even a birthday party. The A30 Kit Hill was originally closed as an “emergency” measure to repair a damaged wall after a lorry crash on February 10, 2022. A large scaffold which took up most of the road temporarily stabilised the wall and was later reopened with three-way traffic lights. Since then, the works became a point of contention [1] as furious shop owners and householders in Sherborne have long aired their anger [2] at the slow progress of the works.

Negotiations had been taking place between the property owners, Dorset Council, insurers and others, which led to delays in the work being carried out and the route fully re-opening. Residents even held a birthday party for the roadworks and tied a ‘Happy Birthday’ banner to the fencing. Following a year of tension, the traffic lights have been lifted on Wednesday afternoon (April 12) and seen traffic free flowing as normal.

It is welcome news for Sherborne [4] residents who were left aghast at the long delays, slow repairs and criticised Dorset Council. A spokesman for Dorset Council said today: “We can confirm that the temporary traffic lights at Kitt Hill were removed this afternoon and both lanes of the A30 have been fully reopened.” Residents on social media have rejoiced at the completion of the controversial roadworks, with one joking she had “the shock of my life”.

One motorist quipped they had instinctively stopped on the road where the temporary traffic lights were to only realise they had gone. Kitt Hill was previously scheduled to fully reopen last week, with Chris Loder MP welcoming the news. The West Dorset MP was heavily critical of Dorset Council for the duration of the repair works and accused councillor Matthew Hall of being “absent” throughout the past year.

He said: “The work is done and is now in the hands of the council to open the road. I would like to praise in particular the strength and courage of the elderly property owners who got this work done after a year of unimaginable stress and personal anguish. I will be supporting them every step of the way from now on and I hope the public will be too.”

A30 Kitt Hill roadworks (Image: Submitted)

Chris Loder previously wrote an open [5] letter about the controversial works in [6] Sherborne where he claimed the council had failed the residents of the house at the centre of it all.

Mr Loder’s letter specifically claimed that the council had promised to chip in to the couple’s efforts to fix their wall, after an insurance company reportedly left them out to dry. Dorset Council previously said: “As soon as the works are complete and final safety checks have been made, we will be able to remove the scaffolding and traffic management measures, and reopen both lanes of the A30. We’d like to take the opportunity to thank local residents for their patience and understanding.”

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References

^ Since then, the works became a point of contention (www.dorset.live)
^ shop owners and householders in Sherborne have long aired their anger (www.dorset.live)
^ Martin Clunes rallying against plans for travellers’ site next to his Dorset farm (www.dorset.live)
^ Sherborne (www.dorset.live)
^ Chris Loder previously wrote an open (www.dorset.live)
^ controversial works in (www.dorset.live)
^ sign up to our newsletters (www.dorset.live)