Category: Repairs

Report faults or damage in and around the village.

#SaveSafely this winter

With living costs rising all the time, everyone is looking for ways to save some money, so Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service is highlighting some areas where a saving could be a false economy – and a fire risk.

The Service is asking people to #SaveSafely, and there is a wealth of information about staying safe at home and on the roads at www.dwfire.org.uk/save-safely. This includes energy saving tips, cooking safely advice, how to stay warm safely, staying safe when cutting costs, cutting the costs of driving, and signposting to financial help.

Some top tips include:

  • Pulling something like electric heaters or electric blankets out of the loft, that haven’t been used for years, can be risky. Watch for signs of dangerous or loose wiring, such as scorch marks, hot plugs and sockets, fuses that often blow, or circuit breakers that trip for no obvious reasons.
  • If you’re drying clothes indoors rather than use a tumble dryer, keep them well away from the heat source so they can’t catch fire.
  • Air fryers and microwave ovens are great at saving energy when cooking, but please read the manufacturer’s instructions and keep them clean between uses.
  • Getting chimneys swept when you have a woodburner or open fire is essential to reduce the risk of chimney fires. Also be careful of what you burn; green (unseasoned) wood may seem cheap, but it doesn’t create much heat and it creates a residue that can easily catch alight within the chimney.
  • Get your boiler serviced – a well maintained boiler is more efficient and reduces the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
  • Only use the correct charger for mobile devices. Although it can be cheaper to buy imported and unofficial chargers, fake ones are often made with poor quality components that fail to meet UK safety regulations. This means they can cause injury, electric shocks and even fires.
  • Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using wheat bags – don’t heat them for too long, or at too high a temperature.

The Fire and Rescue Service offers free Safe & Well advice, which can include a home visit and the provision of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. To request this for yourself, a family member or a vulnerable person, please call 0800 038 2323 or visit www.dwfire.org.uk/safe-and-well-visits

Road Closure – Bushes Road (C13 end) – 26 February 2021

attached details of a temporary traffic notice which Dorset Council is to introduce.

If you would like further information:

  • about the work being undertaken please contact Sunbelt Rentals agents on behalf of BT on 03700 500792;
  • concerning this notice please call Dorset Highways’ Traffic Team on 01305 221020;
  • concerning roadworks in your area visit: https://one.network/public
PUBLIC-NOTICE-BUSHES-ROAD-STOURPAINE-2Download

From 09:00 to 17:00 on 26th February 2021 and remain in force for five days, however it is anticipated that the works will be completed by 26th February 2021.

TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE – A357 BLANDFORD ROAD, SHILLINGSTONE

The A357 BLANDFORD ROAD, SHILLINGSTONE has an emergency road closure notice that will come in to operation from Sunday 31st January 2021 and will remain in force for 21 days.

Wessex Water will work extended working hours 7 days a week, however will not work overnight due to the residential nature of the area.

A manned closure will be introduced between Durweston Bridge to Bridge Street, Sturminster Newton – this is to ensure HGVs don’t drive in to the ‘road closed’ area as there will be nowhere for them to turn around.

Access for residents and emergency services will be maintained and signage will be put out in the surrounding villages to indicated that the routes are not suitable for HGV traffic.   

If you would like further information:

  • about the work being undertaken please contact Wessex Water on 0345 600 4600;
  • concerning this notice please call Dorset Highways’ Traffic Team on 01305 221020;
  • concerning roadworks in your area visit: www.roadworks.org

Road to be closed for bridge replacement in North Dorset

Drivers are being given advance warning of major bridge works which will close the road that links Child Okeford and Shillingstone in north Dorset.

Hayward Main Bridge, which carries Bere Marsh Road/Hayward Lane over the River Stour, will be closed from Monday 4 April until Friday 14 October while it has a new deck built.

Work will be carried out to replace the corroded deck and steel bridge beams, and the existing stone masonry abutments and central pier will be refurbished.

Safer vehicle restraint parapets will be installed on the bridge and on the bridge approach, and the south west retaining wall – which is currently being held up by temporary supports – will be rebuilt.

Dorset County Councillor Deborah Croney, elected member for Hambledon Division, said: “The condition of this bridge has been getting progressively worse and it’s time to replace it before any further restrictions have to be put in place.

“It’s essential that we keep our communities linked, for business, for leisure and for our day-to-day lives and, although the closure will prove to be an inconvenience for a few months, completing these major works now will prove highly beneficial in the longer term.”

The signed diversion will take drivers along Duck Street and onto the A350 to Blandford. Walkers and cyclists will be able to use other foot bridges in the area – one north and one south of Hayward Main Bridge

Due to the scale of the work, Raymond Brown Ltd will be carrying out the work on behalf of Dorset County Council. This will ensure that essential maintenance to other structures in the county can still be carried out while this £1.5 million major project is underway.

In December 1997, a bridge assessment of the strength of the deck found the maximum load capacity of the bridge to be substandard and the bridge was given a weight restriction of 38 tonnes. A further inspection in August 2013 led to the restriction on the bridge being lowered to 26 tonnes.

For more information visit www.dorsetforyou.com/hayward-bridge

PR5339 – C13 Road closed to improve traffic management

C13logoRoad closed to improve traffic management – 18-22 Jan 2016

The C13 between Blandford and Shaftesbury will be closed at Melbury Abbas for one week to allow the replacement of barriers in Dinah’s Hollow.

Currently Dorset County Council has temporary traffic management within the hollow to move vehicles into the centre of the road, reducing the risk to road users from the possibility of a landslip from unstable slopes.

The existing water filled barriers will be replaced with more substantial concrete blocks. This follows a decision from the county council’s Cabinet, earlier this month, to delay the process of stabilising the slopes in order to investigate longer term measures for strategic traffic routes within Dorset, Wiltshire, and Bath and North Somerset.

Cllr Peter Finney, the council’s Cabinet member for environment, said:

“Although our plans for stabilising the slopes in Dinah’s Hollow have been delayed, it is important that we maintain the traffic management for the duration until we know about any future plans.

“We have already had a good meeting with our neighbouring councils and will continue to investigate all our options.”

The week long road closure, in place 24 hours a day, will start at on Monday 18 January and finish on the following Friday. During this time the highways teams will also be carrying out some safety works to the trees.

Resurfacing Boundary and West Hill will take place in the spring.

For more information about Dinah’s hollow visit www.dorsetforyou.com/dinahs-hollow

Issued By:
Fiona King, Public Relations Officer
Tel: 01305 224725
Email: f.e.king@dorsetcc.gov.uk

Communications Unit, County Hall, Dorchester DT1 1XJ
Tel 01305 224491
www.dorsetforyou.com/news

PR 4207 – C13 Re-opens

C13DCC
The C13 that links Blandford to Shaftesbury via Melbury Abbas will be opened tomorrow (07 July) following final technical checks on traffic control through Dinah’s Hollow.

The road is being temporarily opened under traffic management following a complete closure by Dorset County Council last year after the slopes through the hollow were found to be unstable.

Andrew Martin, the council’s head of highways, said:

“The short-term re-opening of this route will help the county’s roads cope with summer traffic.

“We have reduced the width of the road to keep those in small vehicles safe. There will be shuttle working through this section, managed by traffic lights. There may be some delays if traffic volumes increase.

The county council will continue to work with the local community with the plans that will resolve the long-term stability of the slopes.”

Details of the project can be found at www.dorsetforyou.com/dinahs-hollow

Issued By:
Fiona King, Public Relations Officer
Tel: 01305 224725
Email: f.e.king@dorsetcc.gov.uk

PR 4190 – C13 to re-open

C13DCCThe C13 road that has been closed for over a year will be temporarily reopened at the end of the month with a reduced width and traffic lights.

The C13 that runs through Dinah’s Hollow in Melbury Abbas links Blandford and Shaftesbury. The road has been closed for over a year after a report showed that the slopes beside the road were unstable and a potential hazard to road users.

Last month Dorset County Council’s Cabinet considered a report that looked at the full risk assessment of the impact of the closure on surrounding roads, communities and businesses compared to the safety risk over longer timescales than initially expected to complete the proposed stabilisation works.

The Cabinet decided to temporarily open the road with a traffic management solution to reduce the risk of a car being engulfed if a slippage happens. Placing continuous lines of barriers either side of the centreline and directing a single lane of traffic down the centre of the road, controlled by traffic lights will move vehicles away from the bottom of the slopes.

Cllr Peter Finney, Cabinet member for environment, said:

“This will help to alleviate the pressure on the county’s roads during the busy summer months and to reduce the wear and tear of the surrounding small roads and local rat runs.”

The county council’s highways team will continue with negotiations and consultation to ensure a long-term solution for the stabilisation of the slopes can be realised.

More information can be found on www.dorsetforyou.com/dinahs-hollow.

PR 4016 – Dinah’s Hollow surveys published

DCCC13Ecological surveys of the slopes through Dinah’s Hollow have been published.

The C13, between Blandford and Shaftesbury was closed by Dorset County Council in April after discovering that the slopes beside the road were unstable. The surveys were carried out by the county council’s natural environment team and are based on three site visits in May and July. The aim of the study was to identify protected species and assess any impact that any work may have on wildlife.

A number of protected species have been identified on site including badgers, bats and a number of birds including song thrushes and woodpeckers.

Several recommendations have been suggested to reduce the effects of any proposed work including carefully felling trees to prevent bats from being harmed and restricting tree and scrub clearance during nesting season.

Cllr Peter Finney, county council Cabinet member for environment and economy, said:

“A number of engineering solutions to stabilise the slopes are currently being developed, but care will be taken to ensure wildlife is protected and the character of this historic holloway is retained.”

Alongside the animals a number of notable plant species have also been found. These will be conserved where possible and enhanced by replanting of native species after the work is complete.

Cllr Deborah Croney, the local member for Hambledon, said:

“It is important to find a solution that protects road users, allows the road to reopen and preserve the area’s character.”

For full details of the surveys and the closure visit www.dorsetforyou.com/dinahs-hollow

Issued By:
Fiona King, Public Relations Officer
Tel: 01305 224491
Email: f.e.king@dorsetcc.gov.uk

Communications Unit, County Hall, Dorchester DT1 1XJ. Tel 01305 224491
www.dorsetforyou.com/news

C13 – Road will be closed until next year – PR 3994

DCCC13

A meeting of the chairs from the parish councils affected by the closure of the C13 at Melbury Abbas have been told that due to the complexity of the project the road may not be opened until late spring at the earliest.

The C13, between Blandford and Shaftesbury has been closed by Dorset County Council for four months after discovering that the slopes beside the road were unstable.

Local county councillor, Deborah Croney, called this regular briefing session to keep communities up to date with news on the road closure and longer term traffic solutions.

Deborah Croney, said:

“There is a lot of work happening behind the scenes at the moment. The soil tests will be analysed and reports on what can be done to stabilise both Dinah’s Hollow and the area below St Thomas’s Church are due in the autumn.

“Officers are looking at a number of options to manage traffic flows when the C13 is opened. I am also investigating longer term infrastructure improvements and possible funding opportunities.”

“The county council has been working with the organisers of the Great Dorset Steam Fair and highways colleagues in neighbouring counties to warn motorists of the closure and advising on alternative routes or changes in journey times during this busy time.”

More information about the traffic management options and updates on the closure of the C13 can be found at www.dorsetforyou.com/dinahs-hollow.

Ends

Issued By:

Fiona King, Public Relations Officer
Tel: 01305 224491
Email: f.e.king@dorsetcc.gov.uk

Communications Unit, County Hall, Dorchester DT1 1XJ. Tel 01305 224491

www.dorsetforyou.com/news