New footway and cycleway for East Hampshire

The Whitehill and Bordon Relief Road in East Hampshire will be upgraded with a new section of shared use footway and cycleway.

The scheme was approved by Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, at his recent Decision Day.

Cllr Humby said: “This scheme is part of a range of travel and transport improvements to support the successful regeneration of Whitehill & Bordon into a green, healthy and connected town. The improvements, which will integrate the new development areas with the existing town, are designed to encourage people to continue to walk and cycle more for local journeys.

“In time, these improvements will also connect to a wider network of upgraded cycle and walking routes thanks to our successful funding bid to the EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership and close partnership working with East Hampshire District Council. This includes improvements the County Council is making for pedestrians and cyclists at Budds Lane, Camp Road and Ennerdale Road.”

The estimated cost of the scheme is £696,000 to be funded by the EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership.  Works are due to start later this year.

The approved new footway and cycleway will be approximately one kilometre in length and three metres in width throughout, linking the Relief Road Junctions 2 and 3 (Oakhanger Road to the Town Centre Link Road) along the east side highway verge. Work would also include associated landscaping, additional streetlighting where necessary and tie-in with the existing crossing facilities at the junctions each end.

The A325 Whitehill & Bordon Relief Road was completed by Hampshire County Council and opened in January 2019. Much of the route already has a shared-use footway and cycleway running adjacent to the carriageway, however there is currently no off-road pedestrian/cycle provision between Junctions 2 and 3.  The scheme will provide this final section of shared-use facility, thereby completing a continuous route for pedestrians and cyclists along the full length of the Relief Road.

The masterplan for the adjacent Prince Philip Park development includes a suitable pedestrian facility linking junction two to three within the site boundary, therefore an on-highway facility was not constructed as part of the main construction work for the Relief Road. However, the redevelopment of this part of the Prince Philip Park site has been delayed and is not yet due for redevelopment, therefore this final section of shared footway/cycleway in the highway verge of the Relief Road will now be provided.

For more information on the proposals visit: https://democracy.hants.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=706&MId=6419

For more information about Whitehill and Bordon Transport schemes visit the web pages: https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/transportschemes/whitehillbordontrafficandtransport