The A31 is a traffic bottleneck which splits Farnham in two, creating severance between southern areas and the railway station, and the central and northern areas of the town.
For drivers, there's congestion right along the A31 corridor in Farnham. For pedestrians, we want to improve crossings to minimise the severance between the different parts of the town for people who walk, cycle or use public transport.
The project objectives for the Farnham A31 Corridor are to:
- Ease congestion and delays on the A31 and at key junctions
- Improve road safety
- Improve the transport network with prioritisation of public transport
- Improve walking and cycling at Hickley's Corner and connections to/and from Farnham Town Centre
- Resolve community severance by improving connectivity across Farnham
- Reduce the impacts of the level crossing
- Facilitate development in Farnham
- Address air quality issues in Farnham
Department for Transport funding
The cost of the A31 improvements is more than the Farnham Infrastructure Programme partners can afford alone. Therefore, an application is being made for funding from the Department for Transport (DfT).
To help develop and support our funding submission, we asked for feedback on the options during the town centre consultation in 2022. There will be a full public consultation on the A31 corridor before any final plans are submitted to the DfT.
If the plans are approved at each stage, the process is:
- Submit a Strategic Outline Business Case to DfT. This was completed in November 2021, and was approved in late 2023.
- Submit an Outline Business Case. This will include more detailed designs, and impacts on traffic across the town, pedestrians, cyclists and the environment will be assessed in more detail, along with a public consultation.
- Submit the Final Business Case – the DfT's final decision on whether to fund the scheme is based on this. It will include final detailed designs and costs.
Potential solutions
As part of the Farnham Infrastructure Programme, we plan to upgrade the Coxbridge Roundabout, and the Shepherd and Flock Roundabout, with layout changes, traffic lights on some approaches, lane widening and better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
