Hockley Viaduct - TrustNews Jun 12
Hockley Viaduct
Hockley Viaduct is to be restored at last and become a cycleway
At its meetings in July and November 2011, the City Council approved the proposal to incorporate the Hockley Viaduct into the final stretch of National Cycle Network Route 23 which links Reading through to the Isle of Wight. The Council was also keen to ensure that the Route provided a car-free option for completing work journeys into Winchester from the Park and Ride South car park.
Following the completion of ecological and technical studies, the method of repairs to the viaduct was discussed with Councillors and the Friends of Hockley Viaduct, and proposals presented at a public meeting in November 2011. No planning consent was necessary for the works, which are largely ‘like for like’ repairs, other than the creation of a number of viewpoints by the lowering of the parapet wall at points along the water meadow side and the inclusion of a new drainage system to reduce future damage. The Council commissioned Sustrans to carry out the tender process with a view to carrying out these urgently needed works between July and October 2012. And so work will start shortly.
The Trust has campaigned for over 20 years (tirelessly led by one-time Trust Council member, Chris Webb) for the viaduct to be properly maintained and brought into public use. Former chairman of the Trust, Michael Carden comments “It might amuse you to know that many years ago, when I was chairman, we saw in the Hampshire Chronicle that the Army had agreed to a request from Winchester Council to blow up the viaduct as a training exercise. Not knowing who else to contact I wrote on behalf of the Trust to Field Marshall Lord Bramall (of Bushfield), and to my great surprise I received a personal reply almost by return of post, in which he assured me that the Army would never act in a case like this if the matter were locally controversial, so the offer had been withdrawn. He finished his letter with the words “good luck with the defence of Winchester”, over his name and title: “Chief of Defence Staff”! How good it is that the attitude to the viaduct of our present City Council is so different.”