THE £320 million pound scheme to build the A3 tunnel at Hindhead got the go-ahead last week, but anxious residents and members of The National Trust are still waiting to hear the fate of the old A3. The decision to build the tunnel has been 40 years coming, but finally, last week, the transport minister, Douglas Alexander, gave the scheme the green light by agreeing to release the funds for the four-year building contract. Work is expected to start in three years' time, with completion of the tunnel scheduled for 2012/13. The £320 million scheme has more than doubled in cost since it was first announced by John Prescott's office in 2001. The announcement means that thousands of commuters will be able to say goodbye to the daily congestion experienced at Hindhead, which boasts the only set of traffic lights between London and Portsmouth. Former MP Virginia Bottomley fought tirelessly for the project for decades. South West Surrey MP Jeremy Hunt took over the reins from Mrs Bottomley, now Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone. He met local residents at the National Trust café at the Devil's Punch Bowl on Thursday of last week to celebrate the long-awaited announcement. He said: "This is fantastic news for hundreds of thousands of commuters who get stuck daily in the nightmare of the A3 junction at Hindhead. "But most of all it is good news for the long- suffering residents of Hindhead and Haslemere, who have had to put up with the frustrations of coping with one of the country's worst traffic bottlenecks right on their doorstep. "This project has been so blighted with reneged promises that many of us will not believe it is really going to happen until the first digger arrives, but with the funding approved we are 80 per cent of the way there. "The next step is to see what the public inquiry recommends in terms of keeping the old A3 open. "But for once, a government decision means we have something to celebrate, which is wonderful news for people in south west Surrey." The National Trust owns and manages the land at Hindhead Common and the Devil's Punch Bowl. The National Trust area manager for the South East region, Diana Owen, said: "We are hoping that the inspector's report will be the scheme that was discussed at the public inquiry. We hope that it will support the closure of the old A3. "One of the huge benefits of undergrounding the road is that it will reunite landscape and open up 400 hectares of the land for people to enjoy. "You will also be able to walk and cycle through into Hampshire. It is part of a chain of landscapes and a big piece of a jigsaw that will be completed." She added that the scheme would do "huge" environmental damage at both ends of the tunnel, and that the landscaping of the old A3 would balance out that damage. One of the key reasons some residents want to keep the old A3 open is for access for the emergency services in the event of an accident in the tunnel. And business owners in both Grayshott and Hindhead have said they believe their businesses would be harmed by the road closure. At the public inquiry in 2003, residents opposed to the closing of the old A3 raised more than £50,000 for legal representation to present their case to the inspector. Buy in Grayshott chairman Dick Smith was also a member of STOAT, which campaigned to "Save the Old A3'. He told The Herald: "I am hoping that they will agree with most of the residents in Grayshott and that the road will be kept open. I think it will be a nightmare for Grayshott and the surrounding area should there be blockages in the tunnel. "I think in the event that they close the old A3 then it could have an effect on Grayshott for people trying to get north through Grayshott, and people coming into Grayshott. "I think the retailers would fully support the retention of the old A3 once the tunnel is built. "We support our neighbours and feel that Hindhead being turned into a cul-de-sac is not going to be the best thing for them." The inspectors' report is now expected to be released at the end of the month. l Light at the end of long-running tunnel saga: Page 3.
