Question 8
Why is the Council not bringing forward Chickenhall Lane Link Road?
The Council has worked with stakeholders and partners to secure the Chickenhall Lane Link Road (CLLR) not only because it would provide an alternative route to bypass the often congested Southampton Road in Eastleigh, but also because it will unlock land for development creating jobs and economic growth to the area.
It is a complex site with an airport, railway land and commercial properties and Hampshire County Council, who are the highways authority, have undertaken extensive feasibility studies that have demonstrated that, although the construction of the road is feasible, the cost is well in excess of what can be raised from the development. The Borough Council has demonstrated this commitment by purchasing land that would protect the route of the road and also provide environmental mitigation to the surrounding area. The Council is also working with stakeholders to try and secure at least an element of the road that will unlock some of the benefits and hopefully lead to the construction of the road in stages.
The cost of the full road is so substantial it is clear that investment from government is needed to make it viable. In 2015 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer gave a commitment that funding would be provided for a number uneconomical roads and the Chickenhall Lane Link Road was specifically named as one of the roads. Here you can read a letter that the Leader of the Council wrote to the Secretary of State in in April 2017 urging for financial support and confirming the Council’s commitment.
The Council has consistently safeguarded a route that would allow for the CLLR in its previous Local Plan and the current emerging Plan sustains this commitment should it receive the financial support needed for it to become a reality.