The Campaign to Protect Rural England (Hampshire) has been invited to take part in the delivery of a groundbreaking 'clutter reduction' pilot project with Hampshire County Council. The project will begin with an audit of road clutter on the A32 between West Meon and Wickham and will start this year, following its featuring in Hampshire's second Local Transport Plan submission to the Government.

The project steering group is expected to be made up of officers from Hampshire County Council's environment department, local County Councillors, the Police and CPRE representatives.

Executive Member for Environment at Hampshire County Council, Councillor Tim Knight, said:

"The most important aspect of the audit has to be road user safety, so we must ensure that this is not compromised. At the same time, we support CPRE's aims and would like to reduce unnecessary sign clutter as appropriate to improve the tranquillity of rural roads, whilst improving the clarity of local signing for everyone's benefit.

"This will be a very detailed project therefore, involving close liaison with the Police regarding the accident record of the road. There are several villages along the route, all with slightly different characteristics and needs, which will make its delivery challenging. We also have to consider the findings of EuroRAP*, which is encouraging councils to introduce the 'continuity of signage' to improve road safety, particularly on rural A road routes."

Christopher Napier, the chairman of CPRE Hampshire, said:

"We are very pleased to be invited to take part in this exciting project. CPRE has a national Anti-Clutter campaign for rural roads; and as a branch we have been actively campaigning for a reduction in signage on our rural roads and the use of more sympathetic signs. Use of too many signs undermines the character and appearance of rural roads. We want to see the carefully considered use of signage and other measures to create an environment that will influence drivers to be more careful, and so reduce accidents, but without affecting landscape quality more than absolutely necessary."

"From a survey of parish councils in Hampshire we carried out in 2004, we know we have overwhelming support for this approach. So, after much discussion with the County Council and parish councils on the subject, CPRE Hampshire has now produced its "Principles of Road Signage in Rural Areas", which we shall be using to help influence this project on the A32 and assess future signage work by the County Council."

If you would like a copy of that document or to find out more about our transport and environmental campaigns please call 01962 843655 or visit our website www.cprehampshire.org.uk.

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CPRE/H/067

CPRE Hampshire strives to promote the beauty, tranquility and diversity of the countryside of Hampshire by the sustainable use of land and other resources in town and country, and encouraging the biodiversity and well-being of rural communities.

* The European Road Assessment Programme - EuroRAP AISBL - is an international not-for profit association registered in Belgium. Its members are motoring organisations, national and regional road authorities, and experts who have been elected because of the special contribution they have made to EuroRAP. The organisation aims to provide independent, consistent safety ratings of roads across borders. http://www.eurorap.org

For information on CPRE, please contact:
Becky French or Pam Mason, CPRE Hampshire
Tel: 01962 843655
Email:admin@cprehampshire.org.uk

For all media enquiries, please contact:
Keren Burney, media & communications officer, CPRE Hampshire
Tel: 01730 894123   Mobile: 07876 780065
Email: kburney000@aol.com

© Copyright. CPRE Hampshire, 2009. All Rights Reserved.