Talks held as five-month road closure postponed

Surrey County Council previously said the Lightwater Bypass would be closed from 13 October to 20 March 2026

Talks will be held over the five-month closure of a key road in Surrey after the scheduled start date on Monday was postponed.

A series of improvements are due to be made to the A322 northbound carriageway junction with the M3 in Lightwater.

The road was due to be closed on Monday, but a spokesperson for construction company Skanska said it had been delayed ahead of consultation.

"As the Mindenhurst village continues to grow, this work is an important step in improving local connectivity and relieving congestion," the spokesperson said.

"We will meet with councillors, Surrey County Council and National Highways to agree on a new start date."

The upgrade works include the construction of a new footpath, a new signalled crossing, and the relocation and installation of street lights.

Skanska said it was aware of concern amongst residents over potential disruption.

Surrey Heath MP Dr Al Pinkerton had called for the scheme to be paused.

He told BBC Radio Surrey last week that, during a recent meeting with National Highways, he discovered that they "knew nothing about the scheme at all".

He said: "If you're not doing these things in coordination with National Highways...then we're unlikely to get the right kind of scheme to alleviate the years and years of traffic congestion that we've had at these junctions."

Reacting to the postponement, the MP said he believed all parties had "done exactly the right thing".

"I was really, really pleased that they [Skanska] picked up on the public mood...to their great credit, it takes a considerable decision to postpone the start of these works," he said on Monday.

Pinkerton said the junction was "probably" the number two issue in his email inbox currently.

"It is a 20-year long issue that I've just picked up in the last year," he added.