A HAMPSHIRE traffic chief has pulled the brake on the immediate introduction of some changes at a notorious junction near Winchester.

Rob Humby, executive member for traffic at the county council, had been due to cut speeds to 40mph and introduce a no right-turn out of London Road onto the A33 at the Cart and Horses junction, Kings Worthy.

Campaigners welcomed the speed cut but said the no right-turn would have unwelcome knock-on effects. They say the problem is that the junction is too confusing for many motorists with many unsure who has right of way.

Cllr Humby heard their submissions and after an adjournment said he was deferring making the final decision to investigate the impact of the right-turn ban.

County councillor Jackie Porter said the Cart and Horses junction was set to be used in the near future by the residents of the nearby 2,000-home Barton Farm estate. The public inquiry heard that those residents would be expected to turn right at that junction to get to the M3 and A34.

Stewart Newell, chairman of Kings Worthy Parish Council, said the no-right turn would led drivers to take convoluted rat-runs to access the junctions via other directions. Drivers would instead use Bedfield Lane, Springvale Road, Lovedon Lane and Park Lane.

He warned: "banning right-turns will cause as many problems as it solves."

The parish council and most campaigners want to see traffic lights or a roundabout at that junction.

Cllr Humby said: "I’d like to thank Cllr Jackie Porter and Stewart Newell for coming along to my Decision Day today to comment on the proposal to introduce an interim 40mph limit as well as an experimental ban on the right turn out of London Road onto the A33 - a measure proposed in response to feedback from the community to do something sooner rather than later to address complicated traffic movements at this junction.

“Having listened to what they had to say, and read all the correspondence I received from local residents and Steve Brine MP, I'm deferring this proposal to allow time for further technical work and detailed studies on the impact on other routes to be completed and analysed – work that we would ordinarily do before making any changes, and which would have happened alongside the introduction of the experimental scheme.

“We will continue with the process of putting in a trial speed reduction at the junction, as this proposal is one where there seems to be clear support in the community. This measure needs to follow due legal process if it is to be enforceable and, even though we will begin immediately, the process will take some months."

Some residents were unhappy about the delays which will also delay the speed reductions. Jill Prince, of Lynn Way, Kings Worthy, who addressed the county council last autumn, said: "That was five months ago and things have not improved."

The meeting heard that there had been 16 injury accidents at the junctions in the previous five years before the new junction was altered last year. A pedestrian was killed there in November. The inquest is on April 4.

One complicating factor to a solution is the proposal by Highways England in the future to alter the bottleneck at the M3 junction 9 interchange with the A34 at nearby Winnall.

Another campaigner David Learmonth, of Boyne Mead Road, Kings Worthy, said: "Whilst it was good to attend Cllr. Humby's Decision Day, unfortunately it quickly became clear that this was, in fact Indecision Day. It's now four months since our public deputation which outlined the various dangers associated with the Cart and Horses double-junction, and whilst we were pleased to see that the speed reduction to 40mph on the A33 into and out of the junction was approved, we continue to be alarmed and concerned that the key issue of traffic movement at both junctions is largely being ignored by the county's road traffic experts.

"We are not seeking to provide Cllr. Humby with the solution, that's a matter for his experts. What we are asking for is for the dangers created by the junction layout to be taken seriously and for an independent review of all traffic movement during peak periods to take place . For reasons that we don't understand, this has neither been recognised nor actioned."