BOURNEMOUTH council is pressing ahead with its Wessex Fields scheme despite it still awaiting planning permission, campaigners claim.

Friends of Riverside, which opposes the scheme for a new junction on the A338 at Holdenhurst, has written to the borough after workers were spotted digging on the Wessex Fields site in Riverside Avenue before Christmas.

The council says current work is connected with the ongoing road widening scheme on the A338.

Conor O'Luby, from the Friends, told the Echo: "Bournemouth Water have dug up half the field to lay pipes to serve the compound that will be the headquarters of the construction team for the proposals.

"The council may argue that these are enabling works that do not require planning permission, but there is a point when they will constitute development which does."

The Friends say the council's scheme includes 'site establishment, clearance and preparation' as part of the work requiring permission and as such this work should not be under way.

"All of the actions referred to above, coupled with the long list of dubious actions already engaged in by the council, plainly indicate that a decision has already been made to grant, despite the fact that the officer has not released his report and the planning board not voted."

Gary Powell, council head of highways, said the work was part of the A338 widening at Blackwater and constituted permitted development, with no requirement for planning permission.

"The specific works being undertaken in the field on Riverside Avenue are part of the widening works and include the laying of a new water main by Bournemouth Water through the field as their main supply in the southbound verge of the A338 is in poor condition and will be abandoned," he said.

"There are also some compound preparation works for the widening scheme.

"These activities are not related to the Wessex Fields scheme which is currently going through the planning process.

"This approach not only saves motorists from further disruption in the future, it also means savings can be made on the associated costs with set up, traffic management and material costs, as the contractor is already on site undertaking the widening works at Blackwater."