HUNDREDS of objections have now been submitted against Bournemouth council’s A338 link road proposal.

The borough, alongside Dorset County Council, is planning to build a new junction at Holdenhurst village, with a road bridge replacing the existing footbridge, and a link road connecting with Castle Lane East via the Wessex Fields business park.

The scheme has attracted more than 800 comments from statutory consultees, residents and campaigners, many expressing hostility.

The precise number of negative comments is not known, but is thought to be higher than 500.

Many comments supporting the scheme take the form of a slip which the council sent round to residents inviting them to back it.

Campaign group Friends of Riverside, which claims the new junction and road will increase air pollution, has also handed in a petition of objection, comprising some 1,500 signatures.

The councils say the scheme will reduce congestion which otherwise, with planned business construction at Wessex Fields, would lead to gridlock and greater air pollution.

Significantly, concern about the impact of the project on flooding has led to a ‘holding objection’ from the Environment Agency, the statutory body for managing waterways.

It states: “In terms of the loss of floodplain storage it is appreciated that this proposal alone would have only a small impact compared with the extent of the wider floodplain in the vicinity of the site of the proposed development.

“However, the effect is cumulative and progressive encroachment of this sort within the wider River Stour catchment ultimately results in significant adverse effects.

“The proposal, if approved as submitted, would set a precedent for similar applications in the future.”

The objection could be difficult for the councils to overcome.

Councillor David Kelsey, chairman of the planning board, has said the application is due to come before the board this summer, with a dedicated meeting and location arranged to accommodate the public.