THE reopening of a narrow bridge in Poole to traffic has moved a step closer, despite “a large number” of last-minute objections.

BCP Council’s cabinet member for transport, councillor Mike Greene, said the benefits of closing Keyhole Bridge were “outweighed” by its negatives and has agreed to reverse the move.

But supporters of the scheme said the decision has been made “on spurious grounds” and have already called it in for debate.

The bridge over Whitecliff Road was a number of active travel measures introduced by the council’s previous Unity Alliance administration in the summer.

To encourage pedestrians and cyclists to use the route, planters were installed, blocking access to traffic.

The closure has drawn significant support during public consultations with more than three times as many people writing in favour of it, but divided opinion among ward councillors.

Parkstone councillors opposed the closure while Poole Town councillors were in favour of it. The road is the boundary between the two.

Earlier this month the council, now run by the Conservatives, published a report outlining its intention to reopen the road, saying “confused information” in October had skewed views.

And the move has now been supported by Cllr Greene, who said it increases congestion on other roads.

He said there was the evidence to show the closure had encouraged people to cycle or walk rather than use a car was “virtually none”.

“In the long run, the introduction of a series of measures, such as the closure of Whitecliff Road, could well lead to the modal shift at which this closure was aimed,” he said. “But there is no evidence that this has occurred to date.”

He added that his decision had been “carefully considered” and that none of the “large number” of representations made in recent days made “significant” points that had not already been considered.

But the decision has already been called-in by opposition councillors, including Poole Town councillor Mark Howell, who said he was “disappointed but not surprised”.

“The Conservative administration has ignored the vast majority of people who engaged with the consultation, who expressed a desire for the bridge to remain closed to traffic,” he said.

“The decision has been made on spurious grounds and is unfairly biased to the wishes of the Parkstone councillors who support the administration.”

As a result of the call-ins it will now be considered by the council’s scrutiny board before coming into force.