Botley Bypass

A scheme for a new bypass for Botley

Last update: September 2021

Latest updates
Traffic Management Update

A temporary loop road has been constructed to divert the northern section of Woodhouse Lane in Botley and will be opened from Wednesday 15 September and be in place for approximately 10 months. The temporary rerouting of Woodhouse Lane is essential to allow the construction of a new bypass roundabout and the creation of an underpass to provide a safer route for pupils attending the newly opened Deer Park School. A signed 20mph speed limit will be in place along the loop road for the duration of its use.

Single lane closures of Woodhouse Lane is in place until the end of September 2021 to widen and realign the road.

Underpass Construction Update

Hampshire County Council's contractor Volker Fitzpatrick have now started work on the construction of a new underpass, towards the northern end of Woodhouse Lane. From Monday 27 September piling works will be taking place to enable the initial formation of the structure. These works will be taking in place in two phases over a 3 to 4 week period with an initial period of activity followed by a short break to accommodate utility works, followed by a final period of piling to completion. These works are essential in providing a safe link for pedestrians and cyclists to the new Deer Park school.

The works require the installation of driven sheet piles which will result in higher levels of noise and vibration, and likely added disturbance. All works on these activities will be confined to normal operational hours between 8am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

With Deer Park School due to opening to pupils on Thursday 2 September 2021, a number of supplementary measures have been implemented to assist pedestrian access to the school for parents and children during the ongoing construction of the Uplands Development and the Botley Bypass. These include clearance and signing on the principal routes to the school, including Woodhouse Lane, Winchester Road and Winchester Street, along with the addition of a temporary signal crossing at the northern end of Woodhouse Lane. This will be operation from Tuesday 31 August 2021, for the remainder of the Uplands Development works.

Scheme overview

Botley experiences a significant amount of through traffic using the A334 Botley High Street en route between the Fareham area and the wider Eastleigh, North Hedge End areas and Winchester in the north.

Forecast levels of building development in the wider Botley area over the next 20 years combined with traffic growth generally are likely to compound existing traffic issues in the area. The completion of Whiteley Way associated with the build out of the proposed North Whiteley development is also likely to increase through traffic in the Botley area.

The historic route for the Botley Bypass is located to the north of Botley and would provide an alternative route for through traffic to the A334 Botley High Street and would provide traffic relief to the village centre.

 Planning permission for the proposed Botley Bypass was granted in November 2017

The bypass would connect to Woodhouse Lane at the western end of the scheme with a new roundabout, heading east and crossing Winchester Street west of Holmesland Lane with a new priority junction. This section has been revised slightly from the historic route in order to reduce impacts on third parties.
The scheme then runs towards and in parallel to the Botley railway line, heading towards and crossing the River Hamble via a new bridge. It then heads south to the west of Bottings light industrial estate, before turning east again to join the A334 where a new roundabout connection will replace the existing A335/A3051 priority junction. Woodhouse Lane would be widened as part of the scheme.
In September 2019 approval was given by Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, for an alternative, phased option for the implementation of the Botley Bypass to accommodate the offsite highway requirements of the residential and Deer Park School development. View the decision day papers.

Please see further information about the wider Uplands Farm Estate Development.

Exhibition Plan and Briefing
Due to current guidance regarding COVID-19 and social distancing it is no longer possible to hold a public exhibition to coincide with the start of works. An overview of the scheme and plans setting out the works can be viewed here.
Public consultation now closed

Over the past six months, the historic scheme plans have been reviewed and more detailed proposals have been developed by the County Council.

The public were asked for their views ahead of the final design and the planning application submission. Residents were asked to fill in a short questionnaire to help influence the design process and to identify any issues they might have.  

Results of public consultation

Download the consultation document with plans and visuals

Documents

The Executive Member Decision Day report for 31 March 2016 is available, including Appendix C showing a plan of the preferred alignment.

Contact us
Address
Economy, Transport and Environment Department
Hampshire County Council
The Castle
Winchester
SO23 8UD