HAMPSHIRE County Council is one of eight local authorities taking part in a national government initiative to improve safety on targeted roads.

Benefiting from part of a nationwide pot of £175 million over the next four years, sections of three roads in Hampshire – on the A27 and A36 near Romsey and the A32 – have been identified by the government as among 50 in the country to benefit from the initial announcement of funding to improve safety. The county council is now working with the Road Safety Foundation on specific measures to be submitted to the Department for Transport as part of the Safer Roads Fund.

Cllr Rob Humby, executive member for environment and transport at Hampshire County Council, said: “Hampshire County Council is at the forefront of a new national initiative to improve safety on the roads by treating whole routes. We have been working on the potential of route assessments in Hampshire and so were very pleased to see this approach adopted by the government in a pathfinder initiative, and also to be able to benefit from the Safer Roads Fund.

Cllr Humby was one of the delegates at a recent briefing at the House of Lords, hosted by The Rt Hon the Lord Whitty, chair of the Road Safety Foundation and Andrew Jones MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport. It was attended by representatives from contributing local authorities to the initiative as well as from the RAC Foundation and the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).