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TRAFFIC chaos could put thousands of people off visiting Studland and Purbeck due to the withdrawal of the Sandbanks Ferry for most of the summer, it has been claimed.

Businesses will suffer and residents will be forced to spend hours getting to work and back every day, according to Studland parish council vice-chairman Nick Boulter.

Now he has called for more investment in the ferry and has urged the operators to be more open with the public.

The Bournemouth-Swanage Motor Road and Ferry Company has announced the service will be out of action until at least August 12.

It will be towed to Southampton for “costly” repairs.

The announcement comes just days before the start of the school summer holiday.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists descend on Dorset throughout the summer holiday, many heading for popular spots such as Sandbanks and Purbeck.

The withdrawal of the service is the latest in a series of problems.

The ferry was not working for three months in the winter and there were further problems in June.

Mr Boulter told the Daily Echo: “We are very disappointed that the ferry is out of action again. It has a major impact on people coming here on holiday or for day trips but also for the local businesses. It has a very serious knock-on effect – it is a nightmare for people trying to get here so sometimes they just don’t come.”

When the ferry is not operating, motorists face a 25-mile trip by road via Poole and Wareham.

Mr Boulter added: “We are concerned as to whether the company is investing adequately in the ferry. They are also very poor at communication. They make no effort to reach out to the public and explain what is actually happening.”

The ferry was withdrawn on Friday and the operators simply said there would be a further announcement on Wednesday.

It said: “The Sandbanks Ferry was withdrawn from service on Friday July 12 following a fracture of one of the main drive shafts.”

“The ferry has two independent drive systems which consists of diesel engines driving a hydraulic pump.

“This provides the hydraulic pressure to turn a hydraulic motor which is connected to the drive wheel via a drive shaft. It is one of these drive shafts which has broken. In order to remove the drive wheel to change the broken shaft requires specialist repairers.

“In order to speed up the whole repair process we have taken the costly decision to have the ferry towed to a suitably equipped repair facility in Southampton to have the work undertaken.”

“It is difficult to put a timescale on how long this work will take but we estimate that we will be out of service until at least August 12. We sincerely apologise to all our valued customers.”

There is an unemployed chain ferry sat at Gosport.

Backlash after Sandbanks ferry cancels services until autumn
NEWS that the Sandbanks Ferry will be out of action until October has been greeted with a barrage of criticism from residents, businesses and visitors.

The troubled Bournemouth-Swanage Motor Road and Ferry Company revealed the latest setback in a statement released yesterday.

Now Studland parish council is calling on the company to organise alternative crossings.

Ferry services were withdrawn on July 12 with users told urgent repairs were needed and that the ferry would not operate until August 12.

But now the company has delivered the blow that it will not operate until the autumn, meaning people will have to drive 25 miles instead.

Parish council vice-chairman Nick Boulter said residents are suffering during the busy school summer holiday due to traffic congestion and he said businesses in the area are losing customers.

“We are obviously shocked about the latest delay but what really concerns us is that there is no alternative provision” he said.

“The parish council is requesting that a shuttle service is operated on the route, which could be served by buses on either side. It would be very simple to do

“We have already noticed that the beach empties earlier than usual because people have a long journey home and for people who live here the traffic in Wareham, Corfe and Sandford is a lot heavier.”

He added: “It is more than an inconvenience.”

Local residents have taken to social media with Sarah Brookes saying: “This is crazy - I rely on this for work” and Anna Waymouth adding: “It is time the contract for this journey was put up for tender.”

Visitor Ann Wright added: “We are holiday makers but feel really sorry for the residents and visitors who are so badly affected.”

The ferry company statement said: “The Sandbanks Ferry was withdrawn from service on Friday, July 12 following an unexpected fracture of one of the main drive shafts and is currently at a repair facility in Southampton.

“We are working very closely with the MCA (Marine & Coastguard Agency) and Lloyds Register of Shipping (our Class Surveyors for Insurers) to ensure all repairs are conducted to Class standards and specification.”

It says a broken shaft and drive wheel have been removed and that a specialist part has been ordered from Sweden.

It added: “We are in constant communication with the manufacturers to speed this process up, as well as researching alternatives. We do not anticipate being able to resume service until sometime in October. We hope to have a much clearer picture of the return to service date next week.”

The company apologised to customers.

The announcements is the latest in a series of setbacks. The ferry was not working for three months in the winter and there were further problems in June.

Is there a rail, sorry ferry replacement service running, able to carry, cars and buses?

Is there a rail, sorry ferry replacement service running, able to carry, cars and buses?

A chain ferry which helps motorists avoid a 25-mile (40km) drive has returned to service 16 weeks after being removed for repair work.

The Sandbanks Ferry, which provides a connection between Poole and the Isle of Purbeck, was taken out of service on 12 July after its drive shaft broke.

The operator said it wanted to apologise to residents and businesses who had experienced "a difficult and frustrating summer".

It resumed crossings at 07:00 GMT.

SERVICE SUSPENDED DUE TO WEATHER - We've had to suspend service for a while due to the stormy weather making it too dangerous to run