Wickham Horse Fair – Road Closures
Motorists and visitors should be aware of road closures when Wickham Horse Fair takes place on Wednesday, May 20 2009.
The fair takes place in The Square, Wickham, which will be closed to traffic from early in the morning until approximately 7pm. The A334 Fareham Road from the A32 School Road junction to the Blind Lane junction will also be closed.
Winchester City Council has been working with the Police and Hampshire County Council to ensure the smooth running of the event. Residents with properties closest to the event have been given permits to allow them access through the closure points.
Signs will be put up in the area to provide information and directions. Accredited Community Support Officers (ACSOs) from Hampshire County Council will be assisted by police officers in the staffing of these points to help motorists and to direct traffic.
Stagecoach and First Bus which run services to and from Wickham have been informed of the closures and have put diversion routes in place. Temporary bus stops will be located as close to Wickham Square as possible.
Those attending the horse fair should plan to arrive early and should come into Wickham from the north. There will be no vehicular access to the Horse Fair from the A32 during the closures.
Motorists who are not going to the fair are advised to avoid the Wickham area on the day and to allow extra time for their journeys. Diversionary signs will be in place to maintain traffic flow around the horse fair and minimize inconvenience to motorists.
A major change to the fair this year is that arrangements have been made for horse boxes to be parked on the east side of the A334 between the north end of Wickham Square and the junction at Blind Lane. There will be no facility for parking horse boxes in any other area this year.
*Any vehicle parked in an unauthorised place will be towed away.
Fareham Police Sergeant Neil Jenkins said: “I would ask that anyone planning to attend the horse fair takes careful note of these arrangements and plans for their journey and attendance accordingly.
“These arrangements have been made to keep disruption and inconvenience to local people and motorists to a minimum and to provide a safer environment for all those involved in and attending the fair.”