A Dorset village, long-suffering from heavy lorry traffic, is now bracing for what locals call a 'fresh hell' – a full year of disruptive roadworks to repair damage they insist was caused by the very vehicles forced through their lanes.
A Decade of Disruption Culminates in Major Works
Melbury Abbas, near Shaftesbury, nicknamed the 'Village of the Jammed' by frustrated residents, will see its key route, the single-lane C13 at Dinah's Hollow, closed for 12 months. The £8 million project, funded by taxpayers, aims to strengthen ancient embankments that highway officials fear could landslide and crush passing traffic.
Villagers argue the extensive repairs would be unnecessary if Dorset Council had not, for over a decade, funnelled heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) off the A350 and down the unsuitable country lane. The council created an unofficial one-way system for lorries, sending southbound traffic through the narrow hollow.
'The HGVs Diversion Has Caused This'
Resident Derek Coombes, who has lived in the village for 32 years, expressed the community's anger. "It has been hell for years with so much traffic coming through and getting stuck at pinch points," he said. "Now we are going to have the fresh hell of 12 months of diversions."
He directly blamed council policy for weakening the bank. "Years ago there were signs stating the C13 was not suitable for HGVs, and the council just took them down when they started diverting them," Mr Coombes stated. "If the bank has been weakened it is because the lorries make a hell of a vibration. The road wasn't built for them."
Another resident, Barry Freeman, echoed this, stating: "The current problems, eroding the base of the Hollow's sides, have only been caused by HGVs of ever-increasing size and weight."
Council Defends 'Vital Safety Project'
Dorset Council, however, maintains that HGVs are not the cause of the embankment's weakening. A spokesperson said the authority has a legal duty to act after several landslips posed a serious threat. "Prolonged rainfall, changes in surface water run-off, vegetation condition and road undercutting could trigger a major collapse," they explained.
The stabilisation scheme will use soil-nailing technology and improved drainage. The work necessitates felling around 1,000 mature trees and driving steel rods into the ground to reinforce the bank.
Jon Andrews, Dorset Council's cabinet member for place services, called it a "vital safety project to protect everyone who uses the C13." He added that an ecologist would be on site to protect wildlife and that a traffic management package was being implemented.
Residents Bear the Brunt of Damage and Disruption
The human cost of the ongoing lorry traffic is clear. Resident Vincent Crowse recently had his boundary wall damaged by an HGV. "We had a lorry drive into the boundary of my house trying to get past another lorry," he said. "This road is not a safe space for such heavy traffic. Now it is going to be even more unbearable."
With the Hollow closed between Boundary Road and the B3081 for a year, the community now faces the prolonged inconvenience of major diversions, all while contesting the official narrative about what caused the problem in the first place.
