TRAFFIC disruption is set to hit Wimborne for a year as temporary traffic lights will be in place to make way for the build of a new housing development.

Leigh Road will see temporary traffic signals and junction control of three traffic stages pop up on March 21 and will not be removed until the end of March 2024.

Disruption will be brought to Wimborne as construction for the new development known as Quarter Jack Park, a housing development consisting of 300 homes on land off Leigh Road.

The work is for the new Quarter Jack Park housing development (Image: Google Maps)

A spokeswoman for Dorset Council said: “The works are undertaken and fully funded by the developer, with no financial burden on council tax payers. As the work progresses, we, the Highway Authority, will check they are safe and, once finished, are to our complete satisfaction and approval.

“The work comprises carriageway widening for a right turn lane, traffic signal junction installation, and cycleway/footpath provisions on the north and southern sides of Leigh Road.

Read more: Plans submitted for 75 homes at Quarter Jack Development

“The crossings points will be controlled for pedestrians and cyclists. The water course, on the southern side of Leigh Road, will be culverted to allow for the access road (Lonsdale Road) to be widened.

“In conjunction with this scheme, the existing Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) project (for the footpath and cycle routes along Leigh Road from Canford Bottom to Brook Road junctions) can be completed to enable the continuous pedestrian and cycle movement on the south side of Leigh Road towards the town centre.”

Quarter Jack Park CGI (Image: Barratt Homes)

Traffic management will be dealt with in five stages, starting in the south-eastern corner of the Leigh Road/Lonsdale Road junction to complete the culvert works and the footpath/cycle provision.

Next the south-western area of the junction will be widened, with additional culverts installed to facilitate the three-metre wide pedestrian and cycle route towards Wimborne town centre.

Read more: Wimborne Lounge plans to turn former bank into hotel

The third and fourth stages will be on the north side of Leigh Road (west then east) to widen the existing footpath.

The final area will be both sides of Leigh Road east of the junction where works will be completed in the vicinity of the medium pressure gas main and the gas governor compound.

The spokeswoman added: “As the initial junction works involve the installation of new culvert sections into the water course, delays may occur if the weather is not favourable and the local water table rises.”