March 2020

What's happening

Gloucestershire County Council is making transport improvements in West Cheltenham from spring 2020.

The A40 eastbound (towards Cheltenham) including Arle Court and Benhall Roundabouts will see carriageway, walking and cycling improvements with the work lasting for about two years.

The £22 million of funding for this transport scheme has come via GFirst LEP, Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership. The transport scheme will improve traffic flow and public transport options. The work also contributes to long term plans for the area, opening up employment land as part of the Joint Core Strategy, which includes the proposed Cyber Park and Cyber Innovation Centre.

This scheme is split into several parts

The first part involves Arle Court Roundabout and roads leading to it. We anticipate these works will start in May 2020:

• An extra lane around the roundabout with wider approaches and exits
• A new bus lane on the B4063 approach from Staverton and bus lane improvements; giving cyclists and those on public transport a better journey
• The M5 Junction 11 southbound slip road and carriageway will be widened

Prep work will start in March

You may see crews clearing some vegetation and taking soil samples. This is so our engineers can prepare the site, but it should not disrupt traffic. Please take care if you see our crew on your journey.

Looking ahead

The next part of the transport improvements include Benhall roundabout, Cheltenham Road (A40) and Telstar Way, improving access for cyclists in this area. There will be significant cycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements from Arle Court to Cheltenham Railway Station in this stage.

The development of the Full Business Cases and Preliminary Design is underway in advance of full submissions to the GFirst LEP Board in July 2020, with works anticipated to start in early 2021.

You are invited to our public share events for the next stage of this scheme:

Please pass the details for these drop in sessions to people you know who may be interested.

Travel Plan

We know this work will cause disruption for local businesses and commuters travelling within West Cheltenham and between Cheltenham and Gloucester. Highways England will also be continuing their work at Junction 11 and other locations on the M5 corridor in this area during a similar time period.

We are working with Highways England to co-ordinate our work with theirs to minimise disruption but inevitably some inconvenience will be caused which we apologise for now.

We are planning ahead and looking at alternative transport options for people travelling around and through the West Cheltenham area.

We have been working with some of the largest organisations in the area and we have some ideas about how to ease the disruption. We will share this plan with you when it is available.

Sustainable travel is vital for tackling Climate Change, and we are working on how the council can help ease congestion and reduce car emissions while helping hard working people get from A to B.

Thinktravel is a good place to start when planning your journey during this scheme. Here you can find a public transport trip planner, cycling maps and much more. 

Website  www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/WCTIS 

Email   majorprojects@gloucestershire.gov.uk