Holdenhurst Road: Plan to Bar Through Traffic, Say by 9 Oct

BCP Council wants to close Holdenhurst Road between Lansdowne Roundabout and Bournemouth Station Roundabout to through traffic, leaving it open to buses, taxis and anyone driving to a destination in the area. Comments close at the end of Friday 9 October 2026.

The proposal went out on 18 September. In the council’s own words, on the information sheet published with it: “We are proposing that the section of Holdenhurst Road between Lansdowne Roundabout and Station Roundabout becomes access-only for general traffic. Buses and taxis would continue to use the route, but through traffic would no longer be permitted.”

Drivers crossing the area would be sent a different way. The council says people “travelling through the area should use St Swithun’s Road and follow the signed routes to Lansdowne and Bournemouth Town Centre”.

What the draft order would actually do

The scheme is two draft orders. The first changes how traffic may move:

• Holdenhurst Road, from Lansdowne Roundabout to Station Roundabout: prohibition of motor vehicles except buses, taxis and for access
• Lansdowne Crescent, from Lansdowne Road to Holdenhurst Road: the same prohibition
• Cotlands Road: one-way except cycles, for 31 metres south-east of the Holdenhurst Road junction, with no entry except cycles into that section

The second reorders the kerbside along the same stretch. It removes the bus stop clearway outside Nos. 115 and 117, amends the clearway arrangement outside Nos. 99 and 101, adds a new clearway outside Nos. 2 to 14, and replaces the existing restricted parking zone from Lansdowne Roundabout to Cotlands Road with no waiting and no loading at any time, except in signed bays outside Nos. 2 to 22. A new loading place outside No. 2 and Nos. 16 to 20 would run from 5.30am to 11.30pm with a 30-minute maximum stay and no return within an hour, then turn into a taxi-only waiting area overnight. On Cotlands Road, the taxi bay opposite Tamarisk House goes, replaced by no waiting and no loading at any time.

Why the council says it is doing it

Three of the seven statutory reasons available under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 are ticked on the deposited statement: avoiding danger to road users, facilitating the passage of traffic including pedestrians, and preserving or improving the amenities of the area.

The council’s own explanation is more specific. It says this length of Holdenhurst Road “experiences high levels of pedestrian activity”, and that the scheme should improve safety “particularly around Station Roundabout, which has been the location of a number of vehicle collisions”. It adds that there have been incidents involving pedestrians and cyclists at Lansdowne Roundabout and along Holdenhurst Road itself.

On the question every driver will ask, whether the traffic simply moves somewhere else, the council offers a precedent rather than a model: “This section of Holdenhurst Road has previously been closed whilst improvement works were undertaken, with a negligible impact on adjacent roads.” It says conditions will be monitored and reviewed after implementation.

The bus case rests on volume. The council’s own decision record for the earlier stage of this scheme puts 22 buses an hour in each direction on the corridor between Bournemouth Travel Interchange and the town centre, and describes it as the route that members of the local bus Enhanced Partnership see as “causing the most significant delays”, making it “the highest priority for bus priority”.

This is the piece the council put off a year ago

None of this is new thinking. It is the last and most contentious section of a bus priority scheme that has been running through the town centre since 2024.

The previous stage covered Old Christchurch Road, Gervis Place, Hinton Road and Westover Road. When the director of planning and transport signed those orders off, the decision record said plainly: “Any changes to the traffic order restrictions on the Holdenhurst Road section of this route are to be advertised as a separate set of proposals at a later date.”

This is that later date. Gervis Place, the other end of the same corridor, has been closed for rebuilding since 23 May and is not due to reopen until 29 January 2027.

Nine people decided the last stage

The number worth knowing before you decide whether to write in is how few people did last time.

The council ran three rounds on the earlier section. A public engagement from 27 February to 2 April 2024 found 72% of respondents backed the objectives. A consultation on detailed plans from 16 April to 12 May 2025 drew 68 responses, of which 39 supported the scheme and one objected. Then came the statutory stage, the legally required 21-day advertisement of the traffic orders themselves, from 22 August 2025.

Nine people responded to it. The council’s breakdown is four in support, four general comments and two points of objection, which sums to ten across nine respondents because a single response could do more than one of those things. One objection, about loading restrictions, was later withdrawn. The officer decision record concluded that the outcome “is not deemed to be significant or contentious”, and the orders were sealed.

That is the process now open on Holdenhurst Road, at the same 21-day length, and it is the stage at which a formal objection carries weight.

One thing to get right when you write in

The references do not match across the council’s own paperwork, and quoting the wrong one could attach your comment to a different scheme.

The statutory notice printed in the Bournemouth Echo on 18 September tells readers to quote “P134 or M117”. The council’s web page for this scheme calls it P134 and M114, and M117 is a separate proposal advertised in the same notice, covering the St Paul’s Road entry slip, where the council wants a new bus-only section with no entry except buses. That one also closes on 9 October.

The council’s own instruction on the Holdenhurst Road page is the one to follow: quote P134.

What it means for you

• If you drive through Lansdowne to reach the station or the town centre, this would stop you, unless your destination is in the area. The signed alternative is St Swithun’s Road.
• If you live, work or run a shop on the stretch, access is kept. The council says “if your destination is within the area, you will still be able to reach it by car”, and that access to Cotlands Road and nearby roads is maintained.
• If you load or take deliveries on Holdenhurst Road, read the parking schedule rather than the summary. The restricted parking zone from Lansdowne Roundabout to Cotlands Road would be replaced by no waiting and no loading at any time, with a timed loading place outside No. 2 and Nos. 16 to 20.
• If you want to comment, the deadline is 9 October 2026. You can use the interactive map on the council’s consultation page, choosing “2026 BSIP Holdenhurst Road (P134, M114)” from the schemes menu, or write to the Traffic Team, BCP Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth BH2 6DY, quoting P134.
• Expect no reply. The council says that because of the number of responses it receives it cannot respond to individual comments, and that all comments may be made publicly available on request.

What happens next is not a committee vote. On the last stage, the decision was taken by the director of planning and transport and recorded in an officer decision record, which is where the outcome of this one will appear too.

Current closures and diversions across the area are on our Bournemouth roadworks and travel page, and what is being built and where is on Bournemouth planning news.

Frequently asked questions

Is Holdenhurst Road closing?

Not to everyone, and not yet. BCP Council is consulting on making the stretch between Lansdowne Roundabout and Bournemouth Station Roundabout access-only, so buses, taxis and anyone with a destination in the area could still drive it. Nothing changes until the council makes the order, and comments close on 9 October 2026.

How do I object to the Holdenhurst Road proposal?

Comment on the interactive map linked from the council’s consultation page, choosing “2026 BSIP Holdenhurst Road (P134, M114)”, or write to the Traffic Team, BCP Civic Centre, Bourne Avenue, Bournemouth BH2 6DY. Quote reference P134 and say what your grounds are. The deadline is 9 October 2026.

Which way would I drive instead?

The council says through traffic should use St Swithun’s Road and follow the signed routes to Lansdowne and Bournemouth town centre.

Who decides whether it goes ahead?

Not a committee. On the previous stage of the same scheme the decision was taken by the council’s director of planning and transport and published as an officer decision record. The outcome of this consultation is expected to appear the same way, on the council’s highways consultations page.

Sources

• BCP Council, Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) Holdenhurst Road (reference P134 and M114) for the 18 September opening, the 9 October deadline, the instruction to quote P134, the Traffweb scheme name and the note that individual comments will not be answered, checked 24 September 2026.
• BCP Council, useful information about the Holdenhurst Road consultation on the Traffic Regulation Order for the “access-only for general traffic” wording, the St Swithun’s Road alternative, the Station Roundabout collisions, the pedestrian and cyclist incidents and the “negligible impact on adjacent roads” claim.
• BCP Council, P134 and M114 deposit document for both draft orders, the nine parking and loading items, the four traffic movement items, the 31-metre Cotlands Road one-way and the statement of statutory reasons.
• BCP Council, Officer Decision Record, Permanent Traffic Order, BSIP Lansdowne to Gervis Place reference P123 and M112 for the deferral of Holdenhurst Road to a later set of proposals, the 22 buses an hour, the Enhanced Partnership priority, the £8.9m first-phase BSIP award to 31 authorities, the 72% engagement figure, the 68 responses in 2025, the nine statutory responses and their breakdown, the withdrawn objection and the “not deemed to be significant or contentious” conclusion.
• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council notice of proposed parking, loading and traffic movement restrictions, published 18 September 2026 for the statutory notice as advertised, its schedules and its instruction to quote “P134 or M117”.
• BCP Council, Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) St Paul’s Road Entry Slip (reference M117) for the separate bus-only proposal and its matching 9 October deadline.
• morebus service updates for the Gervis Place closure dates from 23 May 2026 to 29 January 2027, checked 24 September 2026.

Reported from BCP Council’s published consultation documents and its own officer decision record. If a date or a restriction changes, tell us at hello@bournemouthpost.co.uk and we will correct it with a dated note.