A LEGAL challenge launched by a parish council over Dorset County Council’s decision to route lorries through the area's narrow roads has been withdrawn.

Melbury Abbas and Cann Parish Council took its row with the county council over the traffic scheme to the High Court but has now pulled out due to financial fears.

Despite the decision, its chairman, William Kenealy, said that he expected that another challenge would be launched in the future and that they were building up funds in preparation.

Lorries have been directed through the village of Melbury Abbas as part of an advisory one-way scheme approved by the county council’s cabinet in December aimed at reducing wear and tear on the parallel A350.

Traffic jams caused by the larger vehicles passing through the area have led to it being dubbed ‘the village of the jammed’ with residents saying that it had caused “mayhem”.

Efforts to persuade the council to drop the scheme were made to no avail, resulting in the parish council launching a judicial review earlier this year.

However, mounting legal costs have forced the end of court proceedings.

Cllr Daryl Turner, county council cabinet member for the natural and built environment, said: “Our decision on the routing options along the A350 and C13 was sound.

“We will now continue with our traffic management proposals through Melbury Abbas.”

As part of its measures to reduce traffic problems in the area, the county council is planning to install automatic signs and a pull-in for larger vehicles to reduce the number of traffic jams.

The county council has also said that it will continue to work with Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset councils for a long-term solution for the route between the M4 and Poole port.

However, Cllr Kenealy said that the parish council was still of the view that the decision was “legally wrong” and said that a future challenge was likely.

“Following negotiations with Dorset County Council, the parish council has decided to withdraw its claim regarding the recent decision to maintain HGV traffic on the C13.

“The parish council disagrees with Cllr Turner, and continues to believe that this decision was legally wrong, unnecessarily destructive to the amenity and environment of the villages along the route, and not in the interests of either HGV drivers or Dorset residents.

“Due to constraints on the parish council’s budget, it has been decided that the most prudent course is not to pursue the matter further through the courts.

“The terms of settlement have avoided any payment by the parish council to Dorset County Council for its legal costs.”

Cllr Kenealy said that they had been told that the county council had already amassed legal costs of £25,000 and that they were expecting that to rise by a further £10,000 before the matter even reached the court – a sum which was out of reach of the parish council if it had lost the challenge.