Road Safety

This proposal ignores longstanding community concerns about safety on Winchester Road:

  • Over the years there has regularly been collisions on this stretch of road including fatalities in separate incidents, one of them only 50 metres from the proposed entrance
  • High sided vehicles pass in the centre of the road under the railway arch, just 70 metres from the entrance
  • Vehicles travel at speed down the long hill from the A31 and accelerate as they leave town
  • Collisions continue to occur along this stretch of Winchester Road, adding a junction on the bend will increase existing risks
  • Over many years, New Alresford Town Council has consistently committed to support the local residents’ requests for improved road safety. NATC has:
  • written to HCC to request a reduction in the road speed and the Police to enforce speed limits here
  • only recently, committed to install town entry gates and road markings at this exact location in order to help reduce road speeds due to safety concerns
  • NATC’s new speed reminder cameras were bought as as result of Winchester Road residents’ concerns in relation to road safety with recorded speeds in excess of 80 mph here

The entrance to this floodplain development would be on the busy Winchester Road approach to Alresford.

This stretch of road has seen a number of fatal collisions over the years and has seen constant pressure from residents to improve road safety through a number of measures.

Up until now, New Alresford Town Council has consistently shown its support for the residents and over many years has been firm in its resolve to improve road safety on Winchester Road. It would be a betrayal of the trust of those residents if NATC were to now abandon that support due to the apparent determination of some to see this development built, irrespective of the environmental damage, flood risks and impact on the ‘High Priority’ landscape.

NATC has only just signed off the introduction of white town entry gates and ‘Dragons Teeth’ road markings to emphasise the dangers along this stretch.

The new speed limit reminder signs, improving road safety across town, were bought as a direct result of requests from Winchester Road residents concerned by the safety of their families and other road users.


We are staggered that the developer and landowner believe introducing another junction on this busy point, due to the increased risk it would inevitably bring. We must question why NATC’s Neighbourhood Plan Advisory Group has considered this scheme appropriate to be put out to community consultation.


These safety concerns have not been invented to block an unwanted development, they have been consistently followed up over many years. The following documents give a tiny snapshot of the pressure that has been raised by the community.

As a respected local institution and the landowner promoting this development, we believe the Grange Estate should reconsider its plans and put the safety of the people of Alresford before profit.

Many will remember New Alresford Town Council’s April 2017 meeting for other reasons, but these extracts show the minutes and NATC’s support for the unanimous petition from the 70 residents of Winchester Road and Drove Lane to reduce the speed limit and seek enforcement of the speed limit

This is the local response to Hampshire County Council’s post-Covid transport strategy consultation. Whilst other sites in the town received fewer than 10 responses, this one got to over 100. Thankfully, social distancing is no longer an issue, but the road safety concerns remain.

The request, so widely supported, was to reduce the speed limit and provide other safety measures. Adding another junction will only make the road safety issues worse.