Consultation on A308 launches
Royal Borough: Residents asked to pinpoint any issues
A consultation is taking place on improvements to the A308 corridor between Bisham Roundabout and the M25.
“It was quite clear from responses to the Borough Local Plan that there were significant issues coming out of the A308 – concerns over its ability to cope with the level of traffic there would be in the future,” said councillor David Coppinger, the Royal Borough’s cabinet member for planning.
By working together with other authorities across the length of the A308, the study became larger and allowed for a grant from the Government to pay for improvements.
Residents can visit a live interactive map and place pins on sections of the road with their comments. They can also see comments previously submitted by others.
Existing pins show notes on safety for cyclists, requests for pedestrian crossings, speed cameras or cycle lanes, notes on road surface problems and difficulties turning right onto or off the main road at several points.
One of the major issues highlighted was the need for a roundabout at a ‘dangerous’ junction between
Straight Road and Church Road in Old Windsor.
Bray Parish Council (BPC) has been vocal about its interest in the A308 study, raising concerns about the effects of the road on Holyport residents, especially those around the Thames Hospice area,
BPC has asked the Royal Borough to look into improvements to the roundabout at the junction of the A308 with the Holyport Road, following ‘at least four accidents since November 2019.’
The parish council has criticised how drawn out the project has become, saying the study was initially announced on December 20, 2018.
“The parish council has been frustrated at how long it has taken the Borough to start work on the A308 study, even writing to Theresa May about the delay in the project,” BPC stated.
BPC added that it was ‘surprised’ at the short amount of time given to respond to the consultation, which only opened up on September 7 and finishes on September 27.
Cllr Coppinger acknowledged that this work has been ‘much delayed’ and
‘has taken far too long to happen’, partly due to COVID-19.
“Between then and now, we have restructured and there is now a separate department looking after infrastructure – so it is no longer a planning function, which is good news,” he said.
“The great thing about having a specific area of the council looking at infrastructure is that it becomes a proper multi-modal study, rather than focused on just the impact on a few houses.”
Feedback from residents will be used to form a shortlist of preferred options, with concept designs to start being prepared in October.
To view the map, visit: https://tinyurl.com/y2qwcj67