New Access Road
Following the grant of outline planning permission in March 2018, Dunsfold Airport Limited (DAL) has been able to acquire land which lies between the eastern boundary of the airfield and the A281, which is around 300m from the end of the main runway.
This created an opportunity for a revised main access to the existing business park and the new village, replacing the access forming part of the outline planning permission, which lies some 530m further south along the A281. The revised access offers the following significant advantages:
- Shorter and more direct access to both the business park and the proposed village
- Early separation of commercial and residential traffic
- Clearer wayfinding both into and within Dunsfold Park
- Safer crossing points on the A281 for pedestrians and cyclists and improved links to existing routes
- Removes all impact on the canal and associated ancient woodland
The new access road will provide a direct link from the A281 to the main Perimeter Road within the Aerodrome site. It will be capable of accommodating existing traffic, and is designed to be ‘future proof’ to cater for the phased implementation of the approved outline masterplan. It will also provide a more suitable and safer access for Heavy Goods Vehicles than Stovolds Hill to the north and Dunsfold Road to the south.
As well as vehicular traffic, the new access road will also provide new facilities for cyclists and pedestrians, creating a new link between the existing Aerodrome facilities and the surrounding rights of way network.
The new access road will be around 0.5km in length, extending from the A281 to the Aerodrome Perimeter Road. The highway design has been developed with the input of Surrey County Council.
The new road has been designed as a dramatic celebration of Dunsfold’s aviation heritage, extending the alignment of the main runway and adding further richness to the concept of Runway Park set out in the outline planning permission for a new Surrey village.
A planning application for the new road was submitted in September and consent granted in October 2019.
New Access Road Layout Design
Delivery & Phasing
A significant milestone was reached at Dunsfold Park on Monday 3 October 2022 as construction began on the new access road onto the aerodrome. Independent contracting group, Natta, broke ground on the new access road.
The first phase of the works comprise the roundabout and the majority of the realigned A281 that forms two of the arms of the roundabout. The roundabout has been designed so that it can be built off-line from the A281. This allows the first phase of the works to be built without affecting the A281.
Phase 2 involves (near) simultaneous work on the A281 to punch through onto the new approach arms and allow traffic to leave the existing A281.
Phase 3 then remediates the now unused road and completes the footways, landscaping access extensions. The works will be co-ordinated with Surrey County Council to manage the impact to traffic flows on the A281.
The construction process will take between four to six months to complete, but it is anticipated that disruption to the A281 will be limited to a few weeks, due to the off-line construction phase.
The new access road is anticipated to open in April 2023. Once open restrictions will be implemented on Stovolds Hill and Compass Gate, with construction traffic and HGVs re-routed to the new access road.
New Access Road Ground Breaking October 2022