Local trade affected as technical faults keep Sandbanks ferry out of action

Ongoing repair works on the Sandbanks ferry is taking its toll on local trade, a local shop owner has admitted.

The service is expected to remain out of action for at least another week, after a hydraulic leak caused the service to be temporarily halted whilst works continue.

The ferry has now only operated on two days for the past 11 weeks.

Buzz News spoke to Zoe Lamble, general manager of Haven Ferry in Sandbanks, about the effect on local business surrounding the ferry: “It’s affected trade quite significantly. We plan every two years for it to go off for its little refurbishment, normally four to six weeks but sometimes it’s longer.

“You give and take things going wrong, things breaking. This has dragged on now for 12 weeks, with very little information coming from the company.

“They may not know themselves but you get the impression it’s not just one thing, it’s been quite a catalogue of things that have gone wrong.

“Some of the plus sides is that people are coming down, maybe thinking they’re going to go on a walk, then we become their first port of call.

“However, the longer it goes on the longer it will continue to have a massive affect heading into the Easter holidays. I’d like to think they can get it back up and running and to a full service by then.”

A spokesperson from the service said: “The service is now delayed and will hopefully return to service by the end of next week. But we will update as soon as we have any further information.”