Infrastructure improvements on the way for Arrow Valley

Significant infrastructure improvements at Arrow Valley Country Park, will begin from early April.

Visitors to Arrow Valley are being issued advanced notice that three popular car parking areas serving the country park will be undergoing infrastructure improvements from early April throughout May, in various stages.

As part of the council’s car park improvement scheme, the car park off Battens Drive opposite Lidl and the car parks closest to the visitor centre and next to Stitch Meadow, will be undergoing extension and improvement works, as well as infrastructure improvements and the widening of the road that connects the two areas.

A number of trees and bushes were cleared earlier in March, outside of nesting season, in preparation for the council’s contractors at Kelbec to begin the first phase of the work, due to take place from April 8 onwards. The first phase of the work will take place opposite the visitor centre with the addition of 9 new spaces in the parking area currently for disabled use only.

From mid-end of April works will then take place to extend the other car parks, with 24 extra spaces being added to the car park which backs onto Stitch Meadow, and the car park off Battens Drive which will have 9 new spaces.

Following this initial work, a more difficult and disruptive phase of the work will begin which will require the car parks to be closed to the public during the week but open at weekends.

From the end of April until early May, contractors will be working to widen areas of the connecting road between the car parks, as well as adding a layby to ease the flow of traffic.

The work will then continue throughout the latter part of May with the construction and relocation of the current entrance to the Battens Drive car park. The entrance will no longer be opposite the access to the Lidl car park, but higher up to improve the flow of traffic into both the park and the supermarket car parks.

The works will be finishing with the closure of the old entrance, relining work, fencing and the installation of a new height barrier. The final part of the work should only take a few days and it is hoped that the project will be completed by the end of May or early June, weather permitting.

Alongside the larger civils works, there will also be improvements to the nearby pathways in the park and the creation of a children’s mini cycle track, where the table tennis tables are currently located, with plans to move these elsewhere.

Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, Cllr Brandon Clayton, said: “This is an incredibly popular location to access Arrow Valley, so we apologise for any inconvenience caused to visitors whilst the works take place. In the long run it will however benefit both park visitors and shoppers, improving the infrastructure, reducing traffic, and making the car parks fit for purpose, so that more people can access and enjoy our lovely park going forward.”

Alternative parking options for Arrow Valley are available to view here.

Leader of the council, Cllr Matt Dormer, said: “This is yet another great example of how we are investing in Redditch to make it fit for the future. We are continuing to unlock our town’s potential and making significant improvements for the benefit of both residents and visitors.”

For more information go to our parks webpage or contact the Parks Team.