Gillingham Principal Street

Construction of Gillingham Principal Street is complete, paving the way for new homes in the south of the town.

With the 1.3km road, currently known as Principal Street, in place, the surrounding land will be used for new homes, a primary school, health facilities, sports pitches, play areas, shops and open leisure spaces.

A successful bid by Dorset Council to the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) secured £6.31 million to fund the design of the road and planning approval, and for construction of the road. As part of the agreement, the council will now recover the money from the housing developers for reinvestment in other housing projects across Dorset.

Hanson Contracting built the road for the council, connecting the B3092 New Road and B3081 Shaftesbury Road. Construction incorporated services for utilities, water, and drainage, so it is ready for the development of housing.

The road will be adopted by Dorset Council, with the council taking responsibility for its maintenance. There will be no through-access along the new road until Redrow Homes has completed its first phase of housing development. This includes building a junction at the eastern end of Principal Street onto Shaftesbury Road.

Redrow Homes will construct 961 homes on the site initially, including 25% affordable housing.