There has been much local criticism about the works that have been taking place for many months along Leigh Road/Wimborne Road West to create cycle paths, footpaths and crossings, but now some very young people have had the chance to see what is being happening at close hand.

Hanson Contracting who are currently building a programme of new cycle lanes, footpaths and crossings on Leigh Road on behalf of Dorset Council invited children from Tops Day Nurseries to see all the works going on outside their building.

Sharon White, the senior nursery manager of Tops said: “The children loved their special visit. Many of them had been asking about what was going on outside and were very curious. They loved seeing the diggers and dumper trucks doing their job and were very excited to be given this special demonstration.

“A number of the older children love cycling and also know a little bit about climate change and that cycling is good for this, so they are excited to see these new lanes being built.  My thanks go to the contractors’ team for putting on such a good show and for making sure we were all kept safe during the visit.”

David Walker, the Dorset Partnership liaison manager for Hanson Contracting said: “It was lovely to see all the kids dressed up in their hi-vis jackets and mini hard hats.  They seemed very interested in what we were doing and asked us lots of great questions.  I hope that they all enjoyed the display and I think that there may be a few future road engineers amongst the group.”

The work being carried out on Wimborne Road West and Leigh Road is part of the Transforming Cities Fund programme which is creating 78kms of new cycle lanes across the south east Dorset conurbation. This stretch between Wimborne and Colehill is part of a longer 23km sustainable travel route from Poole to Ferndown with a branch to Wimborne.