B2149 road between Havant and Horndean to experience closures on these dates to allow for reservoir works

Single lane closures on the B2149 will be in effect starting at 7pm tonight (March 28).

And from April 20 tree removal and ecological mitigation is taking place along the proposed northern access route and on the new junction of the B2149.

The work is in preparation for creating a new Northern Route to access the Havant Thicket Reservoir site. This route will be used by construction traffic during the main works and will minimise disruption for residents in Warren Park and Rowlands Castle.

Single lane closures on the B2149 will be in effect on the following dates:

March 28 to 30 March 30 – 7pm – 5am March 31 and April 1 – 8am – 4.30pm April 20 from 6pm to April 21 at 7am April 25 to April 28 – 9.30am to 4.30pm May 2 to May 6 – 9.30am to 4.30pm

The footpath running north to south through The Avenue will also close from April 1 on weekdays and Saturday mornings.

It will reopen from midday on Saturdays and will be open for the duration of the Easter Bank Holiday.

As reported, permission for the 8.7 billion litre storage reservoir spanning 160 hectares between Leigh Park, Havant, and Rowlands Castle was granted by councils last year – to the disappointment of local campaigners.

Ruari Maybank, project director of Havant Thicket Reservoir – which is being created in a collaboration between Portsmouth Water and Southern Water, said: ‘Havant Thicket Reservoir is an environmentally-led project and we are confident that it will have a lasting, positive impact on the environment in and around the site.

‘We making every effort to protect wildlife and enhance local habitats while work is carried out. We have already installed around 300 new bat boxes in woodland adjacent to the reservoir site and ecologists will be present for the duration of the work to ensure bats, birds, dormice and other wildlife are carefully safeguarded throughout.’

For more information about the project, visit portsmouthwater.co.uk/new-reservoir.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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