MORE than 1,000 people have had their say on a controversial new bypass that could open to motorists next year.

It is hoped that the proposed Botley bypass will help the county’s roads cope with additional traffic caused by new developments in the area.

It comes after Eastleigh Borough Council proposed that both Hedge End and Botley could be extended with an extra 1,300 homes to the north.

The council says the proposals will help meet the borough’s housing needs, but residents fear the developments and new bypass could merge Hedge End and Botley.

Now they have had their say on the bypass as part of a six-week-long consultation process.

More than 470 people submitted their views on the new route while 727 people attended three information events organised by the council where they could view the plans and ask council workers questions on the work before the public consultation ended on July 29.

The council has now begun analysing residents’ views and processing the results of the survey.

But a final decision on whether work will go ahead and what the bypass will look like will not be made until November.

The bypass would connect to Woodhouse Lane with a new roundabout heading east and crossing Winchester Street west of Holmesland Lane with a new priority junction.

The design then runs towards and in parallel to the Botley railway line, heading towards and crossing the River Hamble via a new bridge.

It then heads south to the west of Bottings Industrial Estate, before turning east again to join the A334 where a new roundabout connection will replace the existing A335 and A3051 priority junction.

Woodhouse Lane would also be widened as part of the scheme.

The plans for the bypass come after the council revealed there is a significant amount of through traffic on the A334 Botley High Street between the Fareham area and wider Eastleigh, North Hedge End areas and Winchester in the north.

The proposals are part of Hampshire County Council’s five-year plan to improve some of the county’s worst bottlenecks. They include the current roadworks which aim to widen a footpath on Chestnut Avenue which will be used by both pedestrians and cyclists.

The council also hopes to install traffic calming measures in Eastleigh’s Toynbee Road.