This article appeared in the Newbury Weekly News dated February 22nd 1968 (42 years ago)Far-sighted plans for the future road pattern of Newbury are disclosed this week by the Town Council. The plans, approved in principle by both the town and County Councils, provide for a dual-carriage way ring around Newbury with access roads leading to shops and car parks.
Existing roundabouts will serve as distributor points from which motorists will leave and enter the central area, and the dual-carriageways will fly over or go under these junctions. Designed by the Borough surveyor, Mr John Knowles, the plan is for a system of roads and car parks to see Newbury into the next century.
Said Mr Knowles “we expect the traffic flow to increase by 2.6 times by the turn of the century and we have designed the road widths to cope with this “.
The plan is based on the belief that by the time the roads have been constructed the M4 will be in operation and taking East-West through traffic, and there will also be a new stretch of A34 by-passing the town with North-South traffic.
Main feature of the new plan is a dual-carriageway on the Western side of the town and linking St John’s and Oxford Road roundabouts. A complex junction with a roundabout and fly-over is planned for the vicinity of the Craven Road / Bartholomew Street junction.
All car parking areas will be within the dual-carriageway ring. Several such areas are earmarked for multi-storey car parks and, in all, it is planned to provide 5000 parking spaces to meet the needs of the year 2000.
In deciding upon the road needs of the future Mr Knowles has considered local traffic census figures and the probable growth of the town.
“We have allowed for an additional population of 10,000 in the Newbury and Thatcham area and we think this can largely be provided on the Northern side of the town.”
To allow for the extra traffic in this area he proposes a dual-carriageway for Shaw Road and has made a preliminary scheme for using the disused Newbury-Didcot railway line as a road which would link up with the King’s Road roundabout.
Originally, the town’s future road pattern was based on a ring-road with traffic flowing in one way only, but when the likely traffic flows were worked out it was found there would be an unmanageable flow in the Market Street area.
The new plan has been evolved over a period of 2 years and includes the results of detailed surveys to find out the origins and destinations of motorists journeys.
The survey on Newbury prepared by Professor Colin Buchanan in 1963 has also been closely studied. The plan was approved in principle by the Town Council in July last year (1967) and then sent to the County Council. They gave similar approval in September, agreeing that the map was a basis for further consultations and consideration.
A dual-carriageway ring around Newbury with 2 new roundabouts, 5 fly-overs and an underpass, is proposed in an ambitious road scheme revealed this week by the Town Council.
The plan, devised by the Borough Surveyor, Mr John Knowles is based on the volume of traffic expected by 1985 and parking areas have been designated to meet the needs of the year 2000.
Mr Knowles has based the scheme on the assumption that the M4 will be in operation and will be taking the East-West traffic and that a Western by-pass for Newbury will be constructed clear of the town and that this will take North-South through traffic.
Link RoadOne of the main features is a dual-carriageway on the Western side of the town to link St John’s Road roundabout with the Oxford Road roundabout. This road follows the course of Newtown Road roughly as far as Black Boys Bridge where it gradually veers left.
A complex junction is planned for the Craven Road / Bartholomew Street junction area and this has a fly-over for the ring-road traffic, and, beneath it, a roundabout to provide access to the Westfields area and to take traffic to and from the Market Street car parking area, the Bus Station, which will be at Market Street, and the West side of Bartholomew Street and the Kennet Road area.
DemolitionThis part of the plan would require the demolition of a number of properties particularly in Craven Road and Bartholomew Street, but it should be remembered that the scheme is a long term plan and a blueprint for development rather than a fixed working plan.
In particular, service roads in the Kennet Road area may be altered dependant on where development takes place in the coming years.
When the Southern part of Bartholomew Street becomes dual-carriageway, direct access to various side roads will be cut off.
Motorists will be unable to join or leave the new ring-road from the ends of Derby Road, Argyle Road, Pound Street or St Michael’s Road. Instead they will have to join the dual-carriageway at the Buckingham Road / Andover Road junction or the network at Craven Road.
After passing over Craven Road the Western link road crosses Northcroft where there will be a figure of eight junction with the dual-carriageway passing over connecting roads. AT this point there will be further access to the Town Centre businesses and car parks and the service roads will also cut through to Northbrook Street and The Broadway.
As has been shown in previous Town Centre plans Northbrook Street, as far North as Albert Road, the Northern part of Bartholomew Street and the Market Place area will be a pedestrian precinct.
UnderpassFrom Northcroft the ring-road passes under the Old Bath Road and under the Oxford Road roundabout. The dual-carriageway road then joins the existing Western Avenue link as far as the curve near the Fire Station where there will be a junction with a northern extension of the North-South relief road.
This junction, together with one at the London Road roundabout, has yet to be designed.
As has been previously announced the Ministry of Transport propose extending the North-South relief road to Donnington, and in the other direction, up Greenham Road and eventually to the Winchester Road near Pinchington Lane.
There will be a fly-over at the King’s Road roundabout another at a roundabout to be constructed at the junction of Greenham Road, St John’s Road and Queen’s Road, and another fly-over at the St John’s Road roundabout.
In addition, St John’s Road and Andover Road will be widened into dual-carriageways.
Other roads to be sealed off from the dual-carriageways are Cheap Street, where it at present meets the ring-road; Mill Lane, which at present has an awkward junction with King’s Road and the roundabout; and Old Newtown Road (opposite the hospital). Access to Old Newtown Road and Paddock Road will be via an extended Highfield Road.
Berkeley Road will also be cut just short of the ring-road, and there will be no access to Hawthorn Road from London Road.
Joining Estates
To avoid having junctions with the housing estates on either side of Western Avenue an underpass is planned close to Dolman Road and a road built to link the two estates. Access to the estates will be via Castle Grove on the Oxford Road or via Hawthorn Road and Pelican Lane.
Laburnum Grove will be extended but will remain a cul-de-sac, and Catherine Road will be extended to link with Station Road.
In addition to the ring-road, dual-carriageways are also visualised for Shaw Road and London Road from Park Way to the roundabout, and from there to Thatcham.
An extra route to and from the North of the town is provided by a road from King’s Road roundabout to the Turnpike Estate area. This will be dual-carriageway as far as the Hambridge Road railway bridge where the new road turns North along the disused railway line. To cross the London Road it would be necessary to re-build a bridge by Skyllings.
This part of the plan, together with the widening of Shaw Road, is to allow for extra development in the Northern part of the town.
Access PointsAs well as access to the Town Centre via the proposed junctions at Craven Road and Northcroft motorists will still be able to enter via the Oxford Road roundabout, and London Road and King’s Road roundabouts. Buses will also follow the inner access roads to pick up passengers close to the shops.
New road patterns are also proposed for the area around St Mary’s Road and a light industrial estate to the East of the North-South relief road.
From a new road to be constructed closer to the London Road roundabout there will be two roads leading to one which will connect with Park Way.
Access to the light industrial site will be via London Road and the ring-road and the estate road will also lead to Newbury Town Football Club’s ground.
5,000 Car Parking spaces requiredA series of multi-storey car parks in Newbury are visualised by the Borough Surveyor, Mr John Knowles, who has incorporated in the plan areas for parking to meet the expected demand in the year 2000. About 2,000 cars can be accommodated in present and proposed car parks in the town, and the new plan published this week is a blue print for increasing this number to about 5,000.
To do this there will need to be multi-storey car parks of two and three levels. These are proposed for Park Way, Pembroke Road, the Central Car Park and Market Street.
Other car parking areas are shown on the map for South of the cattle market area which is at present a coal yard; to the North of the proposed Craven Road / Bartholomew Street roundabout; Northcroft Lane to the South of Oxford Street; Pelican Lane; and between Park Way and St Mary’s Road in an area where it is proposed to change the road pattern.
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