A HAMPSHIRE County Council councillor have revealed that the Camrose link road option for the Brighton Hill roundabout will not be built.

The news comes despite permission being granted for 85 dwellings and a 70-bedroom care home to be built on the Camrose football stadium site after an inspector approved the developer's appeals.

The link road was intended to reduce the load on the Brighton Hill roundabout, improve its traffic-light operations and increase its ability to cope with the traffic created by thousands of new homes being built in the area. It was an addition to the £20 million improvements now being carried out.

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Cllr Stephen Reid, said: "I welcome the £20 million investment now under way. It will significantly improve traffic flows. The Camrose link road would have been the icing on the cake, and that is not now going to happen."

Much of the money for the roundabout improvements has come from the government through the M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the rest from Hampshire County Council. When the decision was taken to start the scheme without the link road, some of the LEP money had to be returned.

Cllr Reid said her received a notification from officers, which read: "Planning consent has been granted on appeal for the (Camrose) outline planning applications, the County Council would theoretically be in a position to negotiate dedication of the land and deliver the link road. However, there are a number of issues preventing its delivery in the short term.

“Taking account of the funding situation the County Council is no longer able to progress the Camrose link road.”

The issues they referred to include there is "no funding available, as this had to be returned to the EM3 LEP for use elsewhere" and there are "no obvious sources of sufficient government or S106 funding available in the short term”.

Speaking previously about the incident, Cllr Reid said: "My fear is that, if we downgrade our aspirations for the Brighton Hill roundabout and implement a compromise solution without the link road, we will never get the link road. I believe we need to maximise the capacity of the Brighton Hill roundabout.

“The emerging Borough Council vision speaks of tens of thousands of homes in the South West. These should be taken into account in traffic projections, We need to maximise the capacity of the Brighton Hill roundabout. A short-term compromise will create long-term problems, in my opinion.”

He has since subsequently had a conversation with Cllr Rob Humby, who confirmed his intention to proceed on the Brighton Hill roundabout, without the link road.

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Cllr Reid is now asking for more information to understand by how much the capacity of the roundabout will be below the original projections and what the impact will be on the ability of the A30 corridor to handle the traffic generated by developments in the area.

He added: "I welcome the £20 million improvements that are being made. However, the decision not to build the link road may well increase the need for alternative solutions like a western by-pass. This will become part of my campaign to ensure this part of the Borough continues to get the investment it needs."

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