Following a meeting with Network Rail, the nature of the project to improve the bridge has been set out. This will be a major project beginning in April and running through until June. It will involve a complete closure of the railway over the late May Bank Holiday when the centre section of the bridge is replaced. The contractors will be laying a haul road to the bridge from Charlton with access most likely to be through Sidings Lane and/or Whitehouse Farm. This will involve up to 400 HGV movements and this will double if the haul road is also removed at the end of the project. The concerns of the Parish Councils involve the impact of this traffic, its routing through the villages and the management of the haulage contractors involved.
Access will be difficult in Charlton and the large number of vehicles is a concern. We await assurances and more details from Network Rail but we have agreed with them points of contact and will have regular Zoom meetings to monitor the activities and keep on top of any issues.
Apart from the potential for HGV traffic through Fladbury, the contractors will require access by foot across the Recreation Ground for some minor work on the Fladbury side of the bridge. However, the vast majority of the envisaged activities will be accessed from the Cropthorne side of the bridge.