London Road, Burpham – Five-Month Closure Ruled Out

Published on: 28 Apr, 2023
Updated on: 30 Apr, 2023

Concern about or support for the scheme saw on of the largest public meetings in Guildford for a decade. Well over 300 people were in attendance.

By Emily Coady-Stemp

local democracy reporter

The five-month closure of a busy Guildford road has been ruled out of Surrey County Council’s improvement plans.

But campaigners are still calling for full plans to be shown to the public before a public consultation process starts, with various deadlines having been pushed back.

The original scheme allowed for one-way traffic on London Road, Burpham for five months. This has now been rule out as an option.

London Road, in Burpham, was due to close northbound for five months from January to put in cycle lanes and crossings and improve bus stops.

The part-closure of the A3100 was postponed just weeks before, amid levels of anger “not seen in 30 years” in Guildford according to one councillor, and the county council pledged further discussion with those concerned.

A public meeting on January 5, promised as the start of an engagement process with residents and interested groups, was attended by more than 300 people.

See: ‘Madness’ for London Road Scheme to Go Ahead Against ‘Huge Opposition’, Says SCC Leader

A stakeholder group has since been set up to hear the views of those affected.

A Surrey County Council (SCC) spokesperson told the LDRS: “Following feedback from the community we have reviewed the design of the scheme and the method of construction and have ruled out the original five-month northbound closure.”

SCC artist impression of how the original completed scheme would have looked.

A spokesperson for the London Road Action Group said: “We believe it is essential that the plans for both the design of the road and for the implementation are made public before the engagement process can start.

“The public need to see what is planned.”

A public consultation on the revised plans was due to take place in May and three public events are planned between June and July, according to the county council’s website.

But no such consultation is currently listed on the council’s page for the plans, which the spokesperson said would be used to communicate with residents.

Between June and July, one task listed is to “deploy proposal document/survey with associated materials”.

A meeting that was provisionally planned to be held on April 25 to consider a petition regarding the scheme was cancelled “at very short notice” according to the London Road Action Group.

The council spokesperson said that as no construction work was imminent, it was postponed to “give more time to allow full consideration of the petitioners’ concerns and reply appropriately”.

The meeting should now take place on May 30.

Cllr Fiona Davidson

Fiona Davidson, (R4GV, Guildford South East) said: “I was very disappointed at the first meeting of the sustainable transport reference group.

“I had to push very hard to ensure that the new plans for both the design of the road and the implementation were provided to the STRG [SCC’s Sustainable Transport Reference Group] so that we could understand what was proposed before we start developing an engagement plan.”

The London Road Action Group spokesperson said: “There is no argument against good cycling facilities being provided wherever and whenever feasible.

“However, it is crucial that SCC understand and address the public’s concerns when determining if the local community support or oppose the alterations to the A3100.”

Among concerns including how traffic management during construction would be “realistic and not create chaos”, the spokesperson said the group also wanted to know if public views would really influence the design of the scheme and if engagement would affect the overall decision on the scheme.

They added: “Surrey County Council must be fully prepared to deal with every single concern expressed and be able to offer a genuine answer.”

The plans were for the first phase of creating an “active travel corridor” into Guildford, which would encourage cycling, walking and more sustainable transport use.

Surrey County Council will continue to share updates on the dedicated site for works on London Road.