A281 At Shalford Has Now Reopened Following Repairs to Damaged Roof

Published on: 19 Jun, 2025
Updated on: 20 Jun, 2025

Traffic once again passing along the A281 in Shalford. Stella Kuchanny

By Martin Giles

June 19 – The A281 (The Street) in Shalford has now reopened. The road was shut between Church Close and the Seahorse pub on May 29 after a lorry hit the roof of a listed building.

The closure caused up to 40 minutes in extra travel time through diversions.

As we reported yesterday (June 18), repairs to the damaged cottage have been completed. The road reopened today.

Temporary lights remain on the road between the junction with Dagley Lane to St Mary’s Church, as pre-existing works by Scotia Gas Networks (SGN) continue.

June 18 – Despite yesterday’s report from Causeway one.network of further delay, a reliable source at Surrey County Council has now told The Dragon that the necessary repairs to the damaged cottage on The Street at Shalford have been completed and the scaffolding will be coming down tomorrow morning.

The source said: “It is hoped that the road should be open by lunchtime [Thursday, June 19] when all scaffolding has been removed.”

June 17 – The A281 in Shalford will now remain closed until Thursday, June 26, according to Causeway one.Network. This will bring the length of road closure caused by a lorry striking the roof of a roadside cottage, to almost one month.

June 12 – Advantage is being taken of the A281’s closure for other necessary roadworks to be completed, according to information provided by MP Sir Jeremy Hunt’s office.

Thames Water is to carry out emergency works just north of the closed section. Two-way signals will be employed and the work is expected to be completed by the middle of next week. Work on a traffic calming scheme is also going to take place here next week while the road is closed.

Surrey County Council is also trying to gain agreement with SGN (Scotia Gas Networks) to bring forward preparatory work ahead of the next phase of their gas pipe replacement project. If this is possible, the road will be clear by the time the closure is lifted.

Additionally, it is hoped that a lane closure connected with the demolition of Debenhams, currently planned to start on June 23, can be brought forward while the road is closed at Shalford and there is less traffic.

Repair work on the damaged Grade II listed cottage roof appeared to be progressing well today. Picture: Fiona Giles

On June 10 we reported – The Dragon understands that the A281 is likely to remain closed until the end of next week, ie Friday, June 20.

Although the roof tile repairs will be completed in the next day or so, the Conservation Team at GBC has yet to approve the specification for replacement of the decorative overhang, or bargeboard, on the cottage. Once this is approved the materials have to be sourced, so it is unlikely that the A281 will be re-opened before the end of next week.

And Matt Furniss (Con, Shalford) the Surrey County Council Cabinet member for Transport confirmed that the council would be seeking compensation from the insurers of the lorry that caused the damage. “The closure remains in place,” he said, “to protect everyone from the risk of falling debris.”

The ongoing road closure and traffic diversion onto the A3100 Portsmouth Road has provoked the chairman of the St Catherine’s Village Association to point out the likely effect of a previous proposal to make the current diversion permanent in order to ease Guildford’s traffic problems.

The preferred option involved the permanent closure of the A281.

Chairman Lorimer Burn said: “Last year there was a presentation in the St Catherine’s Village Hall by GBC, explaining the three main options being considered to alleviate the traffic problems in the one-way system in Guildford Town Centre.

“One of them involved closing the A281 and diverting all traffic from the south up the A3100.

“There was a unanimous response from the audience against this proposal, recognising that it would lead to long delays, especially northbound.

“This has been perfectly proven over this last week. At times, queuing traffic on the Portsmouth Road extended to the roundabout in Peasmarsh where the Broadford Road linking the A281 joins the Portsmouth Road.

‘This unfortunate closure of the A281 due to repairs to the cottage opposite to East Shalford Lane has perfectly demonstrated the obvious – that both main roads are essential for access to Guildford from the south.”

Another Dragon reader complained in his comment that no work appeared to be taking place yesterday saying: “No workmen were present at either site.”

Our June 6 report said – Repair work on the roof of the damaged cottage in Shalford appeared to be progressing well today but there is still no official word of when The Street (A281) will be able to be re-opened.

Traffic continues to be diverted on to the A3100 Portsmouth Road, which remains exceptionally busy. Diverted buses are also using this route.

The cost of repair work is likely to include “lane rental” charges payable to SCC when roads are closed by contractors, normally for work on services, eg water, gas and electricity supplies.

More information is being sought from SCC Cllr Matt Furniss (Shalford) who is also the Cabinet member for Transport.

Scaffolding in place around the damaged cottage. Picture: Fiona Giles

A281 Expected to Remain Closed Until Repairs to Damaged Cottage Are Completed

June 3 – The A281 road in Shalford, south of Guildford, will remain closed tomorrow (June 4) while builders carry out repair work on a Grade II listed cottage, damaged by a lorry.

It is hoped that in the next few days it will be possible to estimate how long the repairs will take. A structural engineer has yet to assess whether there is any damage to the structure of the cottage.

The Guildford Dragon NEWS has been told that following the erection of scaffolding, the road width still available for traffic has been measured and the minimum requirements for re-opening have not been met.

The area taken up by scaffolding is thought unlikely to change for the duration of the repair work and until the builders and a structural engineer assess the damage it will not be possible to assess how long the work will take.

An emergency Traffic Regulation Order is in place which allows the road to be closed for 21 days from the date of the incident (Thursday, May 29). This may be extended, or Surrey County Council may apply for a planned regulation order to keep the road closed.

The existing road closure barriers are to be strengthened. It has been reported that there has been some damage to the barriers as people have tried to get past them.

Roadworks were already under way when a cottage on the left was struck by a lorry. Picture: Fiona Giles

Our previous report said a decision on whether the road could be reopened was due to be taken today (June 3). While the road remains closed, motorists are continuing to be diverted on to the A310o Portsmouth Road.

A closer view of the damaged roof. Fiona Giles

The cottage that was struck is opposite the junction with East Shalford Lane.

Roadworks were under way to replace gas mains before the incident took place.

A worker at the site told The Dragon reporter that permission to close the road for up to a week (ie until Thursday, June 5) had been given and if it was deemed necessary to extend that period further permission from Surrey County Council would be required.

One of the factors expected to be considered is the safety of those working both on the roadworks and the repairs to the cottages.

Responses to A281 At Shalford Has Now Reopened Following Repairs to Damaged Roof

I Macpherson Reply

June 6, 2025 at 9:23 am

Its not clear to me why the road width issue could not be greatly eased by restricting HGVs from that stretch of road. Sufficient width for cars?

Getting cars off the diversion route would be a great help to all.
Stephanie Webster Reply

June 7, 2025 at 10:29 am

I agree. The authorities are too quick to close roads and cause massive extra traffic jams and pollution. Close it for lorries and let cars go through, please!
- John Lomas Reply
  
  June 7, 2025 at 8:30 pm
  
  Who would Stephanie Webster blame when, whatever the hazard is, falls on one of the cars she wants to be let through?
  
  I have actually seen the frontages of a whole row of terraced houses fall into a street which had been kept open for traffic while demolition was taking place.
  
  The roofs had been removed and then the wind increased so it was unsafe for the workers to take the walls down brick by brick, as intended, so they went home having coned off the pavement and about six foot of the road.
  
  When the walls fell they virtually covered the entire road surface, it was just fortunate that there was nobody driving on that section at the time.
Eric Gurney Reply

June 8, 2025 at 9:43 am

Which “lorries” or “HGVs” does Stephanie Webster object to? Neither is a single class of vehicle. There is: Group C1 and C and C1E and CE and D1E and DE.

Would you also include Group D and D1 and maybe BE also Ambulances and FireTrucks? From where would you exclude them and how?

There would need to be two different routes for different types of traffic where they could slowly file into separate lanes? Would Ms Webster somehow make the area from Woodbridge Cricket Ground towards the gyratory into two separate routes for different traffic types?
- Patrick Bray Reply
  
  June 8, 2025 at 9:54 pm
  
  I agree that the road closure is too risk averse. There is no reason that a single lane can not remain open given that the damage is largely superficial. Periods of closure, to erect scaffolding, deliver materials and such activities, would not be so bad.
Jack Bayliss Reply

June 8, 2025 at 8:00 pm

Perhaps a little lateral thinking, a bit less risk aversion, and a bit of common sense is required.

Close the road to all vehicles over a given weight with large and prominent signs, appropriately placed well back; add “Danger of falling Debris” signs, so that those who use the road know that they do so at their own risk; and then close the road completely when the risk is high such as during strong wind or when workmen are having to throw down debris.

I know that may mean temporarily bending some technical rules but other countries seem to manage these things rather better.
Tony Harrison Reply

June 9, 2025 at 4:28 pm

Went through there on foot at around 9.30 this morning. Aside from the usual bloke asleep in his car inside they temp traffic lights (on a closed road – why?), there was absolutely no one even there, let alone doing any work. What a surprise.
Anthony Williams Reply

June 10, 2025 at 9:34 am

No work took place along the A281 in Shalford yesterday (June 9), either on the damaged cottage or at the gas pipe replacement works. No workmen were present at either site.
R Morgan Reply

June 11, 2025 at 11:35 am

The continual roadworks (emergency and planned) are suffocating business in Shalford. Lots more planned for the next six months let alone new emergencies that will result. The reaction from authorities following this latest incident, demonstrates the continued lack of understanding and inability to deliver relatively basic services to the community they are supposedly meant to represent. It is about time the local MP, Sir Jeremy Hunt got involved. Surrey County Council and GBC need to step up and start delivering some value here before they ruin Shalford.
- Amanda Moss Reply
  
  June 15, 2025 at 10:34 am
  
  I don’t really understand why there is so little urgency being given to re-opening this road. I live on the Portsmouth Road and the increase in traffic, noise and pollution is terrible. But unfortunately this does not seem to be being acknowledged anywhere.
Tony Harrision Reply

June 16, 2025 at 1:23 pm

Oh what a surprise – they have announced today a 10-day extension to these “works”. Someone needs to get some P45s flying out over this complete farce.
Alistair Smith Reply

June 18, 2025 at 9:53 am

The whole A281 closure episode in Shalford shows the lack of resilience in the Guildford road network, with impacts spreading across wide areas eg “rat-running” in Warren Road and Portsmouth Road congestion. SCC and GBC don’t appear to recognise this lack of resilience with inadequate management and communication on the inevitable issues.

Improving the infrastructure, including roads, must be a precondition of how Guildford copes with the raised housing numbers required by the government.

Alistair Smith is chair of the Guildford Society
Jeremy Holt Reply

June 19, 2025 at 10:10 am

Many thanks Guildford Dragon for keeping all of us updated so promptly.
Nigel Keane Reply

June 21, 2025 at 2:34 am

I would like to point out to R Morgan that Zoe Franklin is not MP for Shalford, Sir Jeremy Hunt is. This is since parlimentary boundaries were altered for the last election.

Editor’s response: That was my editing error. R Morgan correctly identified Sir Jeremy Hunt as the relevant MP and I changed it. My apologies to Mr Morgan and Zoe Franklin. The comment has now been corrected.