7:00pm Sunday 29th June 2008
By Paula Roberts
A ROAD leading to one of the area's conservation and beauty spots will be gated off at night in a bid to stop boy racers in their tracks.
The overnight closure of a section of the Broadway will begin today and came about following concerns about the behaviour of a number of car cruisers who have been using the road and the Hengistbury Head car park as a meeting place.
The road which leads to the popular nature reserve will be gated off between 10pm and 7am each night to the south east of the Rolls Drive junction.
Ken Hobbs, principal traffic engineer at Bournemouth Borough Council, said: "The gating of Broadway came about following concerns from residents, the police and ward councillors about antisocial activities, including so-called boy racers, on Broadway and in the Hengistbury Head car park.
"Following various discussions, the idea of gating Broadway overnight to the south east of the Rolls Drive junction gained momentum. The council developed a scheme that included gating the Broadway together with a change of priority at the junction of Broadway with Southbourne Coast Road."
The closure is in place to run until December 2009 but the council said an application would then be made to formally stop up the gated area of the road.
Inspector Mark Kelly, of Bournemouth east police, said: "This gating order is something that Boscombe police and Bournemouth council support. Hengistbury Head is of immense importance historically and environmentally and the issues of antisocial behaviour by some drivers, and the threat to some members of the public caused by some dangerous driving, led us to seek a long term solution to this problem."
Ward councillor Basil Ratcliffe said: "It's been introduced because of hooligans coming from all over the area and congregating in large numbers at Hengistbury Head car park. The ranger was extremely concerned about damage taking place." He added: "By and large, people are in favour of it."
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