Highways Agency

A21 Lamberhurst Bypass

Project History

Lamberhurst is in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is a Kent County Council designated Special Landscape Area (SLA). Much of the village is a conservationarea.

The A21 in the Lamberhurst area forms an important part of the local road network acting as a north-south distributor road between Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and Hastings. North of the village, it links with the A262 eastwards to Goudhurst and Tenterden and the B2162 northwards to Horsmonden and Maidstone. South of the village it links with the B2169 westwards to Tunbridge Wells and the B2100 southwards to Wadhurst.

Several alternative options for a Bypass round Lamberhurst were considered and in 1988 two schemes were put forward at public consultation from which a preferred route was selected. The design of this preferred route was worked up to a stage where, in summer 1992, the necessary Orders under the Highways Act were published. At the same time, an exhibition was held in the village to explain the details of the scheme.

The proposals for the Bypass were approved following a Public Inquiry in December 1992.

The scheme was included in the Weald and Downland Design, Build, Finance and Operate project but this was cancelled in 1997. Following this the scheme was reassessed in the Government's 1997 Roads Review and subsequently included in the Targeted Programme of Improvements with award of contract scheduled for the financial year 2001/02.

Detailed design and discussions with affected landowners started at the beginning of 2000. In these discussions the National Trust asked if further mitigation of the impact of the Bypass on their Scotney Castle Gardens and Park could be provided by a "land bridge" over the Bypass to maintain their historic access which would be severed by the Bypass.

A land bridge is wider than a normal bridge with small trees and shrubs planted on each side of the drive across the bridge, not only to maintain the character of the historic access to Scotney Castle, but also to provide a corridor over the Bypass for wildlife.

Following a feasibility study, detailed proposals for the land bridge were published in October 2002 and a second Public Inquiry was held between April and June 2002. The Inquiry report, approving the land bridge, was published in November 2002 and the "design and build" contract for construction of the Bypass was awarded to May Gurney in March 2003. Construction began in June 2003 and the Bypass was opened in March 2005.