Latest on Ash bridge plans to replace level crossing which closes …
Plans to close a level crossing which leaves cars unable to cross the railway line for up to 25 minutes in an hour are taking the next step forward. Guildford Borough Council’s project for a road bridge in Ash should start on September 19, and is expected to take around 18 months.
Residents are being invited to two drop-in sessions to look at the plans and discuss them with the council’s team, as the £44.5million project[1] moves forward. The level crossing currently holds drivers, pedestrians and cyclists around eight times an hour, or 150 times a day according to the council, which described it as a “traffic congestion hotspot”.
The borough council[2] said the new bridge would ease traffic issues in Ash, remove the safety risks associated with the current crossing and avoid further delays for road users with the number of trains on the line set to increase. The project was included in the borough council’s local plan for homes, and is a consideration in many of the planning applications for new homes in Ash.
Land around Ash and Tongham was allocated for a total of 1,750 homes in Guildford Borough Council’s local plan. The council said: “The scheme will encourage traffic[3] off rural roads. Traffic currently use rural roads to avoid the level crossing. It will remove the safety hazard posed by the present level crossing. Network Rail consider the level crossing as a medium-high risk.”
Guildford Borough Council[5] is currently addressing budget issues which could see it have to issue a section 114 notice later in the year. A £10m accounting error[6] and increased costs of projects including the Ash road bridge and the Weyside Urban Village have all put a strain on the council’s finances which officers are working to address.
Documents[7] for a July full council meeting showed around £790,000 per year has been factored into the council’s medium term financial plan for the project, which is receiving some funding from Homes England and Surrey County Council[8]. Work is due to start on the project next month, while site preparation and pre-construction began in July.
Drop-in sessions for Ash[9] residents to find out more will be held at the Small Hall at the Ash Centre (Ash Hill Road, GU12 5DP) on Thursday, September 21 and Friday, September 22 from 3pm until 8pm.
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References
- ^ £44.5million project (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ borough council (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ traffic (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ Guildford council set to agree £920 per day for shared interim finance chief (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ Guildford Borough Council (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ £10m accounting error (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ Documents (democracy.guildford.gov.uk)
- ^ Surrey County Council (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ Ash (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
- ^ here. (data.reachplc.com)