August 2015

Friday 28 August 2015

Free driver awareness workshop for people aged 60 plus in Andover

Hampshire County Council is running a free driver awareness workshop on Friday 25 September, at The Fairground, Andover for motorists aged 60 and over.

The Drivers Skills Scheme 60 plus workshop will show people how to stay safe and independent. It will raise awareness of the Highway Code and Driving Licence regulations, and address driving with medical conditions.

The workshop will run from 10am to 12.30pm and places are on a first come, first served basis. Anybody interested in taking part should contact the Hampshire Road Safety Team on 01962 846100 or email road.safety@hants.gov.uk

Older drivers in Hampshire are involved in fewer accidents than most other age groups, mainly because they have more experience, confidence and patience. However, their eyesight, hearing, reaction time and judgement of speed and distance may not be as sharp as it once was and, in the event of an accident causing injury, they can take longer to recover.

Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Economy Transport and Environment, Conservative Councillor Seán Woodward, said: “Personal attitudes, laws, traffic conditions, vehicle performance and so many other things change over the years without us realising. These workshops are a timely reminder of these issues and can be of great benefit, not only to older drivers, but their passengers and other road users as well.”

Further courses will be posted on the County Council’s website.

ENDS

Friday 28 August 2015

Hampshire’s Highways teams working round the clock to keep A27 moving

Following intense rainfall earlier this week, a hole appeared in the westbound carriageway of the A27 near the Titchfield gyratory.

Conservative Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment at Hampshire County Council said: “I’m pleased to say, despite the speed at which this hole appeared, we’ve been able to keep the A27 moving and one of the westbound lanes running at all times. Highways crews have been out through the night investigating the cause of the hole, and we can now confirm that this was due to displaced joints in the culverts underground, exacerbated by the heavy rain.

“The hole has been temporarily supported and the remaining A27 lane protected with concrete barriers. Various repair solutions are now being looked at to enable us to get the pipe and the road fixed, and up and running to full capacity again as soon as possible. The repair needed is complex and it is likely this will take at least a week to complete. In the meantime, I’d like to thank the drivers who use that part of the A27 for their patience, and remind people to plan extra time for their journeys.”

Lane 1 remains closed westbound. For further updates, please follow @Hantsconnect and @ROMANSE on Twitter.

ENDS

26 August 2015

Busy Minds for Business

A scheme to deliver free business advice and support continues at Ferneham Hall on Monday 7 September.

Fareham Council has teamed up with small business experts Enterprise First who run and host the events. The scheme was launched in the wake of the ‘Fareham First for Business’ free business training and mentoring scheme held in March of this year.

Building on the success of the last two sessions, September will feature Gareth Scadden from Spinnaker IPO, speaking about intellectual property and Luke Bailey from Globeus Training talking about taking on apprentices.

Each month, two expert speakers share their knowledge, provide tips, advice and answer questions on a variety of relevant topics all necessary to running a thriving business.

Enterprise First Business Adviser, Julie Easterbrook says: “Our mission is to address some of the commonly sought after areas of business advice and to demystify others. By providing local experts within an informal setting, people feel able to ask questions freely to help move their businesses forward.”

Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, Conservative Cllr Seán Woodward says: “It has been great to hear that these business support sessions are so well attended and I am pleased to see such a range of business topics being covered. I would encourage anyone with an interest in enterprise to go along, get some free advice and hopefully meet some useful business contacts for the future.”

The early evening sessions take place between 6pm and 7:30pm.

Free tea and coffee will be provided and there will be an opportunity for networking with other attendees. We anticipate strong support for these events and would encourage early booking; please therefore register your attendance prior to the event at: http://www.enterprisefirst.co.uk/events-workshops/

For further information, please contact: julie.easterbrook@enterprisefirst.co.uk

ENDS

Friday 14 August 2015

Work begins on A27 St Margarets and B3385 Peel Common roundabouts in Fareham

Work to improve traffic management and reduce congestion in Fareham and Gosport continues, as work begins on the A27 St Margarets roundabout and Peel Common roundabout from Monday 17 August.

Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, Conservative Councillor Seán Woodward, said: “Both of these schemes will help alleviate pressure around Fareham and Gosport during peak times, providing commuters and residents with more reliable journey times. Improvements to traffic management, and pedestrian and cycle paths will also dramatically improve access for everyone.”

St Margarets roundabout: Work on this £4.6 million scheme will last for up to 12 months and include adding additional traffic lanes on both the A27 approaches and on the roundabout. Adding traffic lights on the A27 Southampton Road, Cartwright Drive and Warsash Road approaches, together with traffic lights on the roundabout will help to ensure traffic is kept flowing from all approaches. Footpaths will also be widened to create shared use pedestrian and cycle routes on the north side of the A27 with crossing points on Cartwright Drive and the A27 west of the roundabout.

Peel Common roundabout: Work on this £3.25 million scheme will take about eight months and includes installing traffic lights on the Rowner Road, Broom Way and Newgate Lane entry arms of the roundabout. Adding an additional traffic lane from Newgate Lane towards Rowner Road and on the Rowner Road approach to the roundabout. A shared footpath and cycleway will be added to the south side of the roundabout along with new crossing facilities across Newgate Lane, Broom Way and Rowner Road.

Cllr Woodward continued: “It is inevitable that work of this scale will cause some disruption but to reduce the impact of the works, we will be maintaining the existing number of traffic lanes at peak times, whenever possible and carrying out the majority of work during off peak hours, including some night work.

“This work forms part of our wider improving access to Fareham and Gosport plan, to not only relieve congestion in and around Fareham and Gosport but also open up the potential of the area to economic success.”

Transport schemes in Fareham

Friday 14 August 2015

Fresh proposals for Alton cycling and walking scheme after public consultation

Plans to improve cycling and walking facilities between Alton Town Centre and the train station are being updated to reflect the results of the public consultation on the project.

Conservative Councillor Seán Woodward, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, said: “These plans aim to open up the town centre to walkers and cyclists and provide a better link to the South Downs. We would really like to hear the views of local residents so we can make sure we are providing what they want.”

Between March and May this year residents commented on a number of proposals put forward by Hampshire County Council, East Hampshire District Council and Alton Town Council, to enhance accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists along Anstey Road and Normandy Street; give the station a public presence and create a starting point for the Hangers Way, one of many walking routes venturing into the South Downs National Park, and cultivate the character of the High Street to tie in with an extension to the existing 20mph zone.

As a result of feed back from the public, the main proposed changes to the original consultation plans are:

The introduction of a 20mph zone from the Orchard Lane/Normandy street roundabout eastwards along Anstey Road towards Alton railway station and ending in the vicinity of the Health centre. The 20mph zone will also be extended down Paper Mill Lane to the railway bridge.

Traffic calming features in the form of several raised tables will help to reinforce the lower speed limit.

The two existing pelican crossings outside the school and health centre will be enhanced through widened crossings and footways and raised tables.

The pedestrian crossing points at the railway station will be enhanced through raised tables and surface treatment.

Cyclists will be able to remain on-road and will use the existing cycle lanes and traffic calmed sections on a continuous route from the station to the town centre.

Councillor Andrew Joy, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Communities & Partnerships, added support saying: “Projects like this emphasise partnership between local authorities working jointly together and the communities we are there to serve. This project is helping to guide development funding in support of Alton Community’s aspirations.”

The amendments to the proposals mean there will be an extended period of detailed design with implementation now planned for possibly summer 2016 and an exhibition on the revised plans will be held in January 2016.

Transport improvement schemes

Local Issues