South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 17/10/2013

Highwood Road in Patchway will in future be accessible by buses and taxis only, as part of a pioneering scheme to link the communities of Patchway and Charlton Hayes via a car-free ‘linear park’ featuring new trees, play areas and cycle and walking routes.

Work on parts of the scheme had been suspended by developer Bovis Homes pending council confirmation of the Traffic Regulation Orders needed to create the dedicated public transport route.

The council introduced experimental Orders in October 2012 to help assess the potential impact of the scheme, and work can now continue after a majority of councillors voted to make the Orders permanent.

Highwood Road was previously a major dual carriageway route to The Mall and Cribbs Causeway, but through traffic now uses the new Hayes Way route which opened in 2010 and provides a direct link from the A38 to Cribbs Causeway.

Proposals for a bus-only route along Highwood Road emerged in initial consultation on the future of the North Fringe area and were developed in consultation with local people as part of the master plan for the Charlton Hayes development in 2008.

The approved plans will see the northern carriageway of Highwood Road permanently downgraded to a speed-restricted bus/taxi-only route, helping to remove a busy traffic ‘barrier’ between the existing Patchway community to the north of the road and the new Charlton Hayes development to the south.

The southern half of the carriageway will be closed entirely and incorporated into a landscaped green open space, or ‘linear park’, running the length of Highwood Road.

The public transport route will also form part of the planned North Fringe to Hengrove bus rapid transit route, helping to improve public transport and tackle congestion throughout the West of England.

The work is being funded by Charlton Hayes developer Bovis Homes, as part of the Section 106 agreement for the new housing development.