BUILDING a link road through the Camrose will cause pollution and block the resident in her drive, a resident has said.

Hampshire County Council is planning on building a road from Western Way to Winchester Road, via the Camrose ground, which would allow them to close the Western Way entry onto Brighton Hill roundabout. 

The resident of 38 years, Julie Cotterill, 61, of Western Way is concerned that she will not be able to get out of her drive safely.

She told the Gazette: “Cars will come off the mini roundabout at Buckland Avenue and we will be stuck getting in and out of our drive.

“I am worried about the traffic, it will be heavy. I don’t see how the link road will make a difference, it will cause more problems."

The 61-year-old also has asthma and cannot sit in the garden for long periods of time.
“It will be even worse with another road there. Breathing in the fumes will be horrible,” she added.

The resident used to have a hedge and every time it was cut, she could see black from vehicles.

“It is scary seeing all of the fumes come off the vehicles," she continued.

Julie is worried about the amount of traffic the Camrose link road will bring to the area.

She said it will “devalue [their] property because it will be stuck in between three roads”.

“It’s like piggy in the middle. The link road is not the answer. They could put a cul-de-sac road there and it would be much safer.” 

Air pollution in the UK is a major cause of diseases such as asthma, lung disease, stroke, and heart disease, and is estimated to cause forty thousand premature deaths each year, which is about 8.3 per cent of deaths, while costing around £40 billion each year. 

Councillor Rob Humby, deputy leader of Hampshire County Council and executive member for economy, transport and environment said: “Should this scheme go ahead, subject to the relevant planning process, during construction, access to properties would be maintained at all times.

"The County Council carried out a number of modelling scenarios during the design stages for this scheme which aim to enhance accessibility for local and wider transport network. The traffic assessments undertaken for this scheme demonstrated that the Camrose Link Road proposal would not have any adverse impacts on the highway.”