A Reform UK-led council has called for the entrance to a park, closed two years ago to prevent drivers from using it as a cut-through and to encourage cycling and walking, to be reopened – on the same day a motorist drove their car into a lake in the same park.
In May 2024, Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole (BCP) Council’s cabinet voted to permanently shut the Whitecliff entrance to Poole Park, a 110-acre green space near the centre of the Dorset town, to through traffic. The road through the heritage-listed park and conservation area was previously used as a rat-run by motorists during rush hour to and from Sandbanks, one of the UK’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.
Earlier that year, a trial closure of the Whitecliff entrance, in a bid to combat pollution and promote a safer environment for cyclists and walkers, was implemented by the council (though the park remained accessible for drivers). The trial period that was extended later that month thanks to the “much bigger than expected” response to the local authority’s consultation, which saw over 5,000 locals give their opinion on the closure.
The trial also prompted vocal opposition from a group of residents, branded by a local active travel group as a “vocal minority of car drivers who drive straight through the park”.
Protests were held at the road closure, with residents opposing the pro-cycling and walking measure seen holding signs repeating much of the rhetoric that has been heard elsewhere in the country in recent times during similar backlashes to plans to introduce low traffic neighbourhood schemes, 20mph speed limits, or ultra-low emission zones.
Of the 5,400 respondents to BCP’s consultation, 63 per cent (3,402) said they were opposed to the closure.
Nevertheless, the local authority’s cabinet approved making the measure permanent at the Whitecliff entrance (other vehicle access and exit points in the park were not affected by the decision), sparking a renewed wave of criticism and attempts to launch a legal challenge against the council.
And now, after gaining control of Poole Town Council at last month’s local elections, Reform UK councillors have confirmed that they will “push” to reopen the closed gate to motorists.
“We are very aware that so many people in Poole want that entrance reopened,” the council’s Reform group leader Xena Dion told the Bournemouth Echo this week.
“That is a BCP responsibility. We will certainly be looking at it, and if we’ve got any influence in that at all, we will be pushing for it to be reopened.
“We will be resisting any further moves to close it permanently such as landscaping work which would make it almost impossible to reopen.”
Reform’s pledge to allow rat-running motorists access once again to Poole Park could have been timed better, however, coming as it did on the same day a driver strayed into the park’s boating lake.
According to the Echo, a passer-by spotted a black Seat Ibiza dangling over the wall separating the lake from some car parking spaces. Police attended the incident, which took place on 2 June, and no injuries were reported.
“We received a report at 5.57pm on Tuesday 2 June 2026 that a car had gone into the lake at Poole Park,” a spokesperson for Dorset Police said. “Officers attended and vehicle recovery was arranged. No injuries were reported.”
The incident isn’t the first time a motorist has ended up in the park’s boating lane and has sparked calls, including from the local Green Party, to install a low kerb or bollards to prevent cars hitting the water.
However, BCP Council’s climate chief Andy Hadley said: “We’re keen to keep the park safe for all users but Poole Park is within a Conservation Area.
“We must protect its overall character and appearance, so there are currently no plans to introduce additional barriers. Incidents of this nature are very rare and thankfully it seems no-one was hurt.”
Hadley, incidentally, utilised the same conservation-focused argument when the council voted to close the Whitecliff entrance to Poole Park two years ago.
“This closure is an improvement of a key green space – supporting residents from multiple wards, including some in more deprived areas, to access one of the most beautiful parts in the BCP area,” he said.
“These measures will make a positive contribution to the health and wellbeing of the local population and enable more people to enjoy relaxing, walking, wheeling, running, or cycling in Poole Park.”
However, the decision was fiercely criticised by campaign group Leave Poole Park Alone, who threatened legal action against BCP Council over what they claimed was a “whitewash” that would increase congestion and pollution in the town.
“For the council to ignore the outcome of the consultation and the majority view is ludicrous and shows it is totally undemocratic,” Bob Lister, the campaign’s chair, said at the time.
“The council said it was the largest questionnaire they have ever had. They created it and now they have ignored it. What was the point? They had already made up their minds, the whole thing is a whitewash.
“We believe this has been done to appease the cycling brigade who have wanted cars banned from the park. We haven’t had the summer yet and it is already a nightmare trying to leave the park.
“There is now only one entrance and exit and there is not enough room for two cars to pass so you have queues of traffic either side and cars idling for long periods. The pollution has gotten worse, not better.”
Reform’s pro-car stance in Poole stands in stark contrast to their party colleagues in West Northamptonshire who, somewhat surprisingly, responded to World Bicycle Day on Wednesday by announcing a host of programmes designed to “encourage people to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of getting on a bike”.
Basic repair sessions, anti-bike theft presentations, and relaxed guided rides are among the activities included.
The Reform-led council’s cabinet member for Highways and Transport, Richard Butler, championed the events, many arranged in partnership with British Cycling, as “a simple, affordable way to boost your health and wellbeing, while also helping to reduce congestion and improve air quality across our communities”.
“We’re pleased to be working with our partners to make it easier for people to get active and travel sustainably,” he said.
Butler also endorsed the latest phase of the Abington Active Travel Scheme which will see new segregated cycle lanes constructed along Bridgewater Drive and Park Avenue, alongside upgrades to footpaths and pavements. The project is due to finish in the autumn and will cost £4.7m, funded through the Active Travel Fund, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and local transport grants.
“This next phase of the Abington Active Travel Scheme will make a positive difference to how people get around this part of Northampton. By creating safer and more accessible routes, we are making it easier for people to walk, wheel, and cycle as part of their everyday journeys,” Butler announced, perhaps raising a few eyebrows in his party’s central offices in the process.
12 thoughts on “Reform UK pledges to reopen park rat-run closed to promote cycling… on the same day motorist drives into lake in park”
Ahh yes;
Poole parks Whitecliff entrance; A critical high throughput car route, what with its huge, 7ft1 keyhole bridge section…
Reform is getting more exposure on road.cc than on the BBC Question Time.
@BBB Well, Nigel Farage was on QT so often that it became known at the Farage show, so maybe the BBC listened to the criticism.
We don’t need protected boat *lanes* – we need separated boat *paths*!
As Oscar rightly observed there’s only one thing worse than being talked about and that’s not being talked about.
Roads are for cars they say.
So are cycle lanes & pavements judging by the ubiquitous car storage err I mean, parking in them.
And parks too apparently.
And so it would seem boating lakes……
This can only be the result of “appeasing the cycling brigade” I guess.
I assume that “The Cycling Brigade” is an ironically named pro-drivist lobby group.
Surely the fact that cars have crashed into the lake more than once, brings us to the obvious conclusion that a road through the lake must be built without delay?
“DRAIN THE SWAM… LAKE! DRAIN THE LAKE!”
@chrisonabike But all the Reform councillors infesting it would be beached.
Reform rats re-opening a rat-run. It’s sort of poetic really.
My sadly deceased aunt & uncle from down there would turn in her grave. They owned a morris minor but walked everywhere, and when visiting they’d always comment on our parks that it was so nice having a park without a major road through it!
I went to see Matthew Bourne’s latest Swan Lake production at Sadler’s Wells recently.
There was a beautiful, moving scene where Odette is swimming alone on the lake and gets mown down by a runaway Audi SUV.