Following the public consultation the closure of the gate in Poole Park has been made permanent.  The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting on 22^nd May 2024 and was unanimous. 

It stops the park being used as a short cut and removes the ‘rat run’ traffic from Keyhole Bridge.  It protects the environment inside Poole Park and creates a safe route for walking, wheeling and cycling.  While it’s a compromise solution it’s also one that works, and we’ve been happy to support it.

After such a long haul we can hardly believe it’s happened, but it has, so a big thank you to everyone who helped us get here.

As an alternative to closing Keyhole Bridge BCP Council propose to close the set of park gates closest to Keyhole Bridge, effectively putting a stop to drivers using Poole Park as a ‘rat run’.  Vehicular access to the park will be maintained and car parking within the park will be fully accessible for those who need it, but the closure will stop other drivers using Poole Park and Keyhole Bridge as a 'rat run'. We fully support this scheme and ask all our supporters to do the same.  Details of the closure and a link to the survey are here:

https://haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/pooleparkaccess

Once again there was overwhelming support for closing the bridge but BCP Council rejected the consultation results which meant we had got to the end of the road in terms of our legal action.  However during 2023 Cycling UK took further legal action on our case.  We also had a local election resulting in a very different profile for our council, and rather than commit further funds to legal action the new administration reached an agreement with Cycling UK and settled the case.  They have now proposed an alternative scheme, i.e closure of the set of park gates closest to Keyhole Bridge. This would stop through traffic using Poole Park and Keyhole Bridge as a ‘rat run’. While this scheme does not include closing the bridge we have always said we would accept a compromise.  Our aim has always been to protect the park environment, and make the route safer for pedestrian, wheelers and cyclists.  If approved, this scheme will go a long way towards achieving this. The consultation opens on 17/1/24.   https://haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/pooleparkaccess?fbclid=IwAR0mLtC6yoA1g0dUTOem6rxgoqs4j0YSTHM3eivzJs24TdbOcBG_1YZsHpE

The consultation on Keyhole Bridge has now reopened so if you missed it first time round please be sure to have your say and support us in getting this decision overturned.  If you did participate in the consultation last time you can still make your views known if you have additional points to make.  All the information is available on the link below, but please be aware the consultation closes on the 8 April 2022 so there really is no time to waste!

https://haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/keyholebridgereview?fbclid=IwAR0DdzdRIgYrT0P6RWMZ8ihzFRnX_TfXOqxfFST9CVhF6a0QlSLfo0RSlCM

We’re really pleased to say we won our judicial review on two out of the four grounds. Judicial reviews are notoriously hard to win but the Council’s actions in stopping the consultation early were clearly unlawful and we always believed we’d succeed. The outcome is that the Council have been ordered to reopen the consultation for a further 40 days (in February/March 2022), then review the results, with the final decision going to Cabinet.  We have a great opportunity to make our case, and hopefully we’ll get a different decision second time round.

When we started this process we hoped the Council would withdraw their decision, thus avoiding the need for a judicial review.  They've chosen not to do so and our judicial review hearing is listed for the 6 October 2021.  

We have been hugely encouraged by the number of donations we've received and also by the comments in support of what we're doing.  We've always believed that BCP Council should be held accountable for this decision, and that we need to do everything we can to protect our green spaces and make Keyhole Bridge safe for walking, cycling, wheeling and scooting. It’s impossible to predict the outcome of a judicial review and ultimately, what the judge will rule, but our legal team are well prepared and we believe we have a strong case. The outcome of the hearing is unlikely to be made public for some weeks but we will provide more information when it becomes available.

Following a meeting with our legal team we have been able to agree a revised cost estimate of £12,500.  The saving is due to a number of factors, including being granted permission to proceed without the need for an interim hearing, and obtaining a more detailed breakdown of costs such as court fees and other charges.  Our stretch target has been updated to reflect the revised amount.   As always thank you to everyone for helping us get this far and it is really encouraging to see how close we are to reaching our final goal.

Today we reached another significant marker in our case when we received BCP Council’s further response to our claim.  This was their opportunity to file detailed grounds of resistance but they have chosen not to do so and instead will rely on the summary grounds they have already submitted.  Given the strength of our case we had hoped they would concede but they appear to want to fight this all the way.  We are ready for that.  Our legal team will now prepare our response and we will be working closely with them to ensure it is as comprehensive as possible.  Once all the papers have been submitted to court a date will be set for the hearing.  We will publish the date as soon as it’s available.

We are more than a third of the way to our target and we couldn't have done it without you. Thank you!  Personal recommendation is one of the best ways of fundraising, so can you help us even more by contacting a friend today and asking that person to make a donation?

Thank you for everything you are doing to help.

The Court has granted permission for a Judicial Review of BCP Council's decision to reopen Keyhole Bridge.

No date has been set for the full (substantive) hearing but BCP Council (the Defendant) has until 18 August 2021 to lodge full grounds for resisting the claim.  We look forward to seeing if their response has any more substance than their last one.

Not all applications for Judicial Review get this far but with your help we always believed we would.

We received over 80 pledges in our first week, and it's been hugely encouraging to see donations coming in and to read the comments. Thank you!    Every donation matters as each one shows support for our case.  Can you contact a friend today and ask that person to make a donation? 

Thank you for everything you are doing to help.