The A286 in Midhurst is set to reopen on Friday (June 23) after having been closed for over three months following The A-road, which is a major road running through the town, had been closed for safety reasons after The Angel Inn Hotel was structurally damaged by a large fire in March.
The road was forced to remain closed by the West Sussex County Council and Highways Authority until the structure of the building was stabilised. Contractors who have been on site have ensured this safety and will be removing the fencing around the site on Friday morning (June 23) to allow the road to reopen.
Although motorists will now be able to use the A286, safety barriers will be installed between the hoarding and the carriageway with some changes needed. Among the changes are the fact that there will no longer be usuable parking bays outside the affected buildings, and there will also be no pedestrian access directly outside the buildings either.
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This is because of the “shoring up structure and hoarding” which cover the footway and parking bays immediately in front of the fire damaged buildings. Pedestrians will have to use the crossings to cross to the opposite side of the road and use the pavement there.
The council have assured that on-street parking will remain along other parts of North Street. New lining arrangements have also been added on the carriageway south of the Angel Inn to safely allow access in and out of Angel Yard.
A spokesperson for the West Sussex County Council said: “We would encourage motorists to please take care when travelling along this section of North Street, while people become used to the new layout. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the community of Midhurst for their ongoing patience and understanding around the road closure and the temporary traffic management solutions we had to implement as a result.”