BOURNEMOUTH council has come under fire for a “sarcastic” tweet over the ongoing A338 roadworks.

The work, which has seen one southbound lane closed near Blackwater Junction, has caused “gridlock” on the Spur Road and on alternative routes, according to angry motorists who contacted the borough to complain.

Bournemouth Echo:

One motorist on Twitter said they had seen only “a small group of workmen drinking tea” on passing the site.

In response, the council said: “Unfortunately not all work activity in this scheme can be undertaken at night but where possible tasks will be done at all hours.

"Workmen also still entitled to a teabreak last time we checked employment law."

Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns has called the response “completely unacceptable”.

In a tweet he said: "This sort of sarcastic comment is utterly and completely unacceptable from an organisation that is entirely funded by the taxpayer. Taxpayers also pay the salary of whoever wrote that."

He told the Echo: "I don’t think it is appropriate for an organisation which draws almost every penny of its funding from the taxpayer to be making really rather sarcastic, passive aggressive comments to those concerned about the delay and economic cost of these roadworks."

The work by Bournemouth and Dorset County councils is expected to last nine months, and is intended to reduce congestion on the east side of Blackwater Junction with extra lanes.

Mr Burns said the work had caused “widespread concern and frustration”, and the councils should consider “reconfiguring the work programme” to alleviate the impact. “If there is no alternative there needs to be serious work to explain to the public why this is the case.”

One motorist who contacted the Echo, Wendy Kirman, said despite leaving her home in Ringwood at 7.15am on Wednesday it still took her an hour to travel 12 miles to work via Ferndown, West Parley and Kinson. “I can’t believe Bournemouth council are going to let this continue,” she said. “I felt like crying when I eventually got to work and I feel very depressed indeed about the coming months.”



 

Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood said the “severe impact” of the work was grounds for a rethink, and that the councils should “better utilise” the time during which the lane closure was in place, so as to reduce its duration. “Driving by and seeing no work taking place is frustrating,” he said.

Mr Ellwood also called for “better information” for drivers on the roadside, showing when closures will take place and when congestion is expected.

Hospital hit by delays

THE ongoing work on the A338 has been disrupting the work of medics at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, a councillor says.

Boscombe West councillor Phil Stanley-Watts, who works in the commercial services unit at the trust, said: “A number of staff doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals arrived have late so it’s impinging on the healthcare of patients.

“They’ve asked me to try and get onto local authorities to do something about it.

“We think perhaps they should get together a number of local authorities to try and sort something out, perhaps to move the roadworks to the night time or formulate some kind of plan. Things can only get worse. I think every eventuality has got to be looked into because there are a lot of things at risk including the economy of the area and also the healthcare of the area.”