Rugby Road and Hinckley town centre improvement scheme

Improvements are being made to two key junctions on the B590 Rugby Road corridor and a range of highway improvements to cycling and pedestrian provision, parking facilities and direction signing throughout Hinckley are also proposed.

Upgrades to both the Hawley Road and Brookside junctions with Rugby Road are being constructed from April 2022.

A wider review of the town’s signage and parking has been conducted. Direction signing improvements will be implemented from December 2022 throughout 2023.

Improvements to pedestrian, cycling and parking facilities with various provision around the Granville Road, Spa Lane/London Road and Coventry Road areas are also being considered.

The improvements aim to maximise Hinckley’s economic potential by:

  • reducing congestion and improving air quality
  • improving accessibility and resilience of key routes
  • providing new traffic signal controls and signage
  • improve pedestrian and cycling routes

Scheme funding

The scheme will cost £5m and is being funded with £3.5m from the Government’s National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF). The remaining £1.5m will be provided by Leicestershire County Council and third-party contributions.

Scheme description and design layout plans

Map showing the location of all the schemes that have been considered:

Supporting documents

View plans for each of the proposed locations below

B590 Rugby Road Corridor Junction Improvements

  • Upgrading traffic signals and creating separate left turn, ahead and right turn lanes on the Hawley Road approach to Rugby Road. A single tree will be removed from the footway on Westfield Road to widen the road and create a right turn lane.
  • It is also proposed to introduce a left turn ban from Westfield Road. This will enable more vehicles to travel through the junction from Westfield Road.
  • The southbound left turn on Rugby Road will become an ahead and left turn lane.
  • A two-lane merge into one lane will be created at the exit of the junction on Rugby Road.
  • To retain all the trees in the grass bank along the southbound Rugby Road exit, a length of footway will be removed to accommodate the new lane.
  • An additional dropped kerb pedestrian crossing point will be created on Rugby Road near the junction with Hillside Road.
  • A toucan crossing is being provided across Brookside at the junction with Rugby Road to provide signal-controlled crossing times for cyclists and pedestrians.
  • Improved right turn lane road markings are being provided for traffic turning into Brookside and Dudley Rise from Rugby Road.

Latest updates

February 2023

 

Following completion of the main works and onsite inspection at the two junctions in December, some remedial works are required. We have taken the decision to carry out the works during the school half term to minimise disruption whilst the works are carried out.

All works are planned to be undertaken Monday to Friday from 7am when the traffic management (cones/barriers) will be implemented.

Brookside / Rugby Road Junction
13 February – 15 February 2023 

  • Replacement of damaged signs, kerbs, and footway surfacing
  • Relevelling of topsoil to verges

Hawley / Westfield / Rugby Road Junction
16 February – 23 February 2023 

  • Post removal in Footway on the corner by Edmundson’s
  • Replacement of damaged kerbs and footway surfacing
  • Relevelling of topsoil to verges

Most of these works will be undertaken off the carriageway, however, to protect our workforce, there will be occasions where limited traffic management and lane closures for both junctions are required during off-peak hours.

24 February 2023 (7am start)

  • Movement of traffic signal to improved location
  • Relaying of footway within traffic island
  • Resetting of rattling utility inspection covers within carriageway

Due to the location of these works, we require temporary signals to be in place and the permanent signals to be switched off for the day. This is vital to allow us to relocate the traffic signal post and in order to protect our workforce. This may cause disruption to traffic flow, however, our traffic management operatives will be on site to help ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum.

Should you have any queries regarding the scheme, please contact Joanne Plews by email at joanne.plews@eurovia.co.uk or via the telephone number 07768 940 187.

October 2022
 

The resurfacing work at the Brookside/Rugby Road junction began on Monday 24 October with night-time closures in place between 8pm and 6am for approximately eight nights to minimise the impact on the road network.

Also, as part of our Hinckley Hub improvement scheme, work started at the Hawley Road/Rugby Road junction to install the permanent traffic signals.

September 2022
May 2022
April 2022

Construction from April 2022

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the delivery of the Rugby Road and Hinckley Town Centre Improvement scheme was postponed to prioritise resources on delivering critical services across the County.

The improvements to the Rugby Road/ Hawley Road and Brookside junctions were due to be built in 2020. Construction of the improvements at these junctions is now due to start on 6 April 2022.

Eurovia have been appointed by Leicestershire County Council to carry out improvement works at the B590 Rugby Road/Hawley Road junction with Westfield Road, and the B4109 Rugby Road junction with Brookside. The work is programmed to be completed in autumn 2022.

In January 2022 Leicestershire County Council consulted residents on a proposal to use land behind East Close as a temporary site compound in association with these road works. 

The outcomes were reported to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC). Following assurance that the concerns of residents would be addressed by LCC and their contractor, HBBC Councillors approved a recommendation, on 2 February 2022, for the land to be used as a temporary site compound. Work to set up the site compound will begin on 28 March 2022 with construction works beginning on 6 April 2022.

During the roadworks

To enable us to carry out the changes to the road layout safely, traffic management (lane closures, barriers etc) and a speed restriction will be implemented throughout the works for the safety of the workforce and all road users for the duration of the works. 

Our experienced onsite teams are aware of the impact that road improvement schemes have on road users, residents, businesses, emergency services and members of the public. It is our priority to work closely with everyone involved to ensure that you are well informed throughout the scheme and that we minimise disruption as far as possible. 

The dedicated Public Liaison Officer assigned to the scheme, working on behalf of our construction contractor, Eurovia Contracting and Leicestershire County Council, will be holding a ‘drop-in session’ at The Hub in Hinckley on 4 April 2022, where information for the scheme will be available. 

Regular contact with stakeholders will be maintained once the scheme is up and running. A ‘Construction Update Report’ we will be made available and will include updates of any changes to the road layout, such as lane closures/lane changes/surfacing works etc. 

The updates are available to all interested parties. Please forward your email contact details to Joanne if you wish to receive the updates or give her a call using the details below. In line with Data Protection guidelines, (GDPR) your information will only be available to Joanne and will not be shared with any third party. Once the scheme is completed your information will be deleted.

Regular media updates will be published by Leicestershire County Council using twitter, and information can also be found at, www.streetworks.org.uk or on the Leicestershire Live App.

Joanne will be based onsite and can be contacted by email at joanne.plews@eurovia.co.uk or via the telephone number 07768 940 187.

Other Highway improvements

  • Closing the junction of Granville Road with Coventry Road and introducing a turning point to prevent Granville Road from being used as a through road. 
  • Introduce further safety measures for cyclists and pedestrians.
  • Latest update - These improvements are not as yet committed and subject to further review following the introduction of new Department for Transport Cycle Infrastructure Design Guidance (LTN1/20).
  • Provide a north/south footway link with crossing points.  
  • Introduce traffic calming measures on London Road.
  • Proposal to widen the footway at certain points, in order to create a shared footway cycleway which links Rugby Road, Coventry Road and Granville Road.
  • Add a pedestrian island outside the entrance of the new development on Coventry Road.
  • Latest update - These improvements are not as yet committed and subject to further review following the introduction of new Department for Transport Cycle Infrastructure Design Guidance (LTN1/20).

Parking review

Increase on-street parking and where appropriate introduce road safety features for pedestrians and cyclists.

Resident’s parking update

The proposal for a residents permit parking scheme was formally advertised between 30 September 2020 and 21 October 2020. Residents and businesses residing on streets affected by the proposals were consulted by letter and provided a copy of the plans shown here:

The results revealed that of the 675 properties consulted, 40.7% responded with 52.7% of those respondents objecting to the permit parking proposals. 15 objections were received against the proposed parking restriction changes, with 3 objections to the one-way system.

The outcome was considered by the Director of Environment and Transport in consultation with local elected representatives and the Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Transportation and Flooding and on the 21 February 2022 the decision was taken to abandon the proposals to implement a permit parking scheme due to the majority objecting to permit parking proposals. However, the additional improvements as shown on "Plan B" were approved and we will look to implement them after the road has been surfaced in summer 2023.

Direction and cycling signage improvements

Remove and replace outdated road and traffic signs. 

Creation of new cycling networks connecting Hinckley, Barwell and Earl Shilton. Each route will be designated by route number, colour and clearly sign posted.