The permanent closure of the southern section of Swanage's seafront has been approved. 

Dorset Council has approved the closure of the southern section of Shore Road to traffic on a permanent basis to make the area safer for pedestrians. 

Set to be officially closed by late February, the section of road has been closed since October 2022 and will not open before the official order is put in place.

Swanage Town Mayor, Cllr Tina Foster, said: "It's been closed in the summer from May to September for years but because people became used to it being closed in the winter, it became even more dangerous as people would walk on the road when there was traffic. 

"We decided it would be better to close the road all year round, and it's not the whole seafront by any means."

The decision to close the road comes after a public consultation which received mixed opinions.

Despite only a small section closed, Cllr Foster suggested that there are ongoing talks with Dorset Council on the complete closure of the road. 

She said: "There are ongoing talks with Dorset Council who own the road and are responsible for traffic management. There are several options, making it one way, closing part of it, widening pavements. 

"We have a mixed population of young families and a lot of retired people who like to see things the way they are but the consultation wasn't a struggle at all. It wasn't totally clear cut, but amongst the council, we were all in agreement."

Cllr Foster said the closure is for both cars and bikes and hopes all will adhere to the closure.

However, the road will still be open to emergency services and deliveries should they require access.

Cllr Chris Tomes said: "There have been sadly a few fatalities along that section of the road in the past so I think the aim is to make it a more friendly area for people. 

"It's where most of the tourists will go when they come into town for the beach and there's times when we had an hot Easter and the road was open which made it a dangerous area."