Devil’s Punch Bowl transformation begins
One month on from the opening of the A3 Hindhead Tunnel, work is underway restore the internationally prized countryside around the Devil’s Punch Bowl in Surrey – and create the largest area of lowland heath in southern Britain – by returning the route of the old A3 trunk road to nature.
The Highways Agency has started work to break up the old A3 and cover it over with sandstone excavated from the tunnel. The work is expected to be complete early in 2012, whereupon the land will be handed over to the National Trust to look after for the nation.
The National Trust has also unveiled some of its future plans for the Punch Bowl, including extending the views across the landscape at the café and, once the road has been infilled, returning the area around it to heathland. This will be the final stage in reuniting the Punch Bowl with Hindhead Common and will really allow people and wildlife to make the most of the new space and tranquillity.
Speaking at the Devil’s Punch Bowl today, Highways Agency senior project manager Paul Arnold said:
“It is four weeks to the day that the first traffic started using the new tunnel, which overnight has transformed journeys on the A3 and had an instant effect here at the Devil’s Punch Bowl too, already more serene and impressive without the constant rumble of traffic.
“The work we are doing now will realise the enormous environmental benefits of the scheme by restoring the original contours of the Devil’s Punch Bowl, reuniting it with Hindhead Common for the first time in 180 years and creating the largest area of lowland heath in southern Britain.”
David Kennington, manager for the Surrey Hills at the National Trust said:
“I’m delighted that the work to infill the old road has begun. Hindhead has a special place in the heart of the National Trust – one of our founders Sir Robert Hunter being instrumental in its acquisition for the nation in 1905 just ten years after the charity was founded in 1895.
“Already the atmosphere at Hindhead has been transformed – the air is lovely and fresh and the peace and quiet is amazing. I’ve met so many people excited by the change and feeling refreshed by a visit. The opportunities for people and wildlife are now immense.”
The Devil’s Punch Bowl is a large natural amphitheatre – the largest spring-formed valley in Britain – and contains heathland, streams and ancient woodland as well as abundant wildlife. The old A3 was built in the 1830s and dissected the Punch Bowl, looked after by the National Trust since 1905 and now part of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the Wealden Heaths Special Protection Area.
Some sections of the old road are being dug up and removed, while others are being broken up and covered over. All the sandstone being used to cover over the road was excavated as part of the project, so it provides a good match for the soil conditions already found in the Punch Bowl. Because the sandstone was excavated from so deep underground it is being specially seeded with heather and grass which were harvested from the Common to ensure that the mix of plants which will grow on it match the rest of the Punch Bowl.
Work has also started to remove the old signal controlled crossroads in Hindhead Village and replace them with a double mini roundabout; work that it is hoped will kick start rejuvenation of the village.
See also:
No comments yet
