The Mayor of Dorchester says he finds it incredible that Dorset Council is unable to turn the county town's main shopping street into a pedestrian area.

Speaking at a town council meeting, Cllr Alistair Chisholm said: "I just don't believe that in 2023 there isn't a way of stopping all but emergency vehicles from access to South Street."

His comment came during a discussion at the town council's policy committee on proposals to improve the northern end of the street, the area around the Town Pump, known as Cornhill.

A series of ideas have been suggested including new seating, cycle racks, planters and better paving to create a new look for the area, following on from other improvement works along the rest of South Street in recent years.

The latest ideas feature semi-circular benches, planted beds, moving existing traffic signs and having some trees in large containers, as well as seating around the Town Pump and the creation of a performance area.

All of the ideas are being restricted by the need to allow at least 3.5 metres for emergency and service vehicles, effectively pushing any changes into just half of the area.

Cllr Chisholm said that nothing being suggested by the town council was outrageous or difficult yet, to him, it appeared the town was having its hands tied by Dorset Council over some of the things it wanted to do.

Policy committee chair Cllr Susie Hosford said that although progress had not been as quick as some might like, the individual officers involved at County Hall were being very helpful and positive, despite their department being short-staffed.

"The real problem is that it is still designated as 'highway' and there is little wriggle room because Dorset Council has to apply the rules and regulation of the highway," she said.

One of the stumbling blocks has been the town council's ambition to make better use of the space for public and pop-up events, something which has been resisted because the area is the access from the main road for emergency vehicles for the whole of the street.

Cllr Molly Rennie said she had found the exercise to improve the area positive for the town with the Business Improvement District (BID) also adopting a "can do" approach.

"It's a good opportunity for us all to work together… I wouldn't like to see us lock horns with anyone over this," she said.

Cllr Les Fry said he accepted the concerns over access for emergency vehicles at Cornhill and said that events might have to remain further down the street, for now, because it was wider.

"I don't think they are saying 'no'... if we can come up with the right offer I think they might approve it," he added.

Several designs have been suggested for the area with work continuing to produce a definitive proposal which will then be further consulted on before being submitted for final approval.