Petition against planned road works on Brookley Road, Brockenhurst

Thank you for your petition “Against Planned Road Works on Brookley Road” which was received on 16 April 2025. Having been checked and verified by the Democratic & Member Services team following the Council’s established process, I can confirm that out of a total of 1,365 signatures received, 631 were accepted.

Here is a summary of why the 734 signatures were not accepted:

• Names but no address 71
• Addresses outside of Hampshire 660
• Duplicate entry 3

Your petition, which raises concerns about the impact and disruption caused during construction, is acknowledged and we have sought to mitigate the impact as far as possible whilst enabling the works to be delivered in an efficient and effective way.

As this petition was received three working days prior to the works starting, works to deliver drainage repairs and pedestrian improvements along Brookley Road have continued as planned with the following measures taken to minimise the impact as far as possible.

The County Council made amendments to construction plans on site to maintain access to the New Forest District Council (NFDC) car park during business hours whilst undertaking essential drainage repairs on the junction with the NFDC car park. Since starting on site, we have been able to reduce Traffic Management further and are now operating under a single lane closure on the junction of Brookley Road and the NFDC, allowing access throughout construction.

Since starting on site, deliveries to local businesses have been undertaken as usual and our site team is vigilant to delivery activity allowing them to step in and assist where necessary. To keep disruption to a minimum for businesses, on street parking has been maintained except for a length of parking bay within the works site. We have maintained our compound within our closure on Highways land to ensure no impact is made on the public NFDC car park. We have also put in place ‘Business Open as Usual’ signage to ensure the public is aware of continued access to the area as much as possible and published on social media to advertise that access to businesses is maintained.

The works have been timed to be constructed in fair weather. This is due to the nature of the large and deep excavations necessary to undertake the essential drainage repairs and Active Travel scheme construction. Undertaking these works in periods prone to adverse weather heighten the risk of delays on site resulting in prolonged road closures and construction time. Hampshire County Council have sought to minimise the impact on tourism by advertising the continued access to the road.

During construction, the project team has formed a communication group to provide timely and regular updates to the local community. The group meets on a weekly basis and includes the representatives from the Parish Council.

Thank you for your petition.

Yours sincerely

Councillor Lulu Bowerman
Executive Member for Highways and Waste