Release date: 23 June 2023
With work to shore up the fire damaged buildings in Midhurst now complete, West Sussex County Council, as the Highways Authority, will re-open the A286 North Street to two-way vehicular traffic by close of play today (Friday 23 June).
Contractors will be on site this morning to remove the fencing around the works site and install safety barriers between the hoarding and the carriageway. Once the road is clear the closure will be lifted and signage will be removed along the diversion route. The larger variable digital displays will be left in place for one week and will now read “A286 through Midhurst now open”.
The additional restrictions which were placed along Hollist Lane and South Ambersham Hollow will be lifted at the same time as the road is re-opened, allowing traffic to travel in both directions along the full extent of these roads again.
A few changes have had to be made to highway in front of the affected buildings because the shoring up structure and hoarding cover the footway and parking bays immediately in front of the fire damaged buildings. There is no pedestrian access in front of the affected buildings and pedestrians will need to use the pedestrian crossings to safely cross to the opposite side of the road where the pavement is available.
The parking bays immediately outside of the affected buildings are also no longer available, however the remainder of the on-street parking along North Street remains unaffected.
New lining arrangements have been added on the carriageway south of the Angel Inn to safely allow access in and out of Angel Yard. We would encourage motorists to please take care when travelling along this section of North Street, while people become used to the new layout.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the community of Midhurst for their ongoing patience and understanding around the road closure and the temporary traffic management solutions we had to implement as a result.
