WORKS are set to start tomorrow along a busy Stroud road. 

Gloucestershire County Council is set to make cycle improvements alongside the A46 Bath Road in Stroud, between Rodborough Hill and the Kwik Fit garage.

GCC says that the improvements will remove barriers to existing cycle and pedestrian journeys, by updating the existing infrastructure to the latest cycle design guidance, with raised crossings of the side roads and setting the street lighting to back of footway.

As a result of the works, a small number of trees will need to be removed or pruned.

During the work, which is scheduled to take place between Monday, 11 March and Wednesday, 13 March, there will be three-way traffic lights in place with one lane closed.

This small section of the cycle lane will also be closed for the works.

These removals will be limited to the trees in a bad condition.

Alongside this, there will be Ash Dieback tree removals in the same location, to remove any unsafe and infected trees.

The scheme is designed to limit the loss of trees wherever possible, but sometimes they cannot be retained because of design and safety requirements.

To compensate for the loss, two trees will be planted for every one removed, as part of upcoming planting schemes at the site and in Cainscross.

Following the work to remove the trees, further works will be undertaken to improve the streetlighting and cycleway at a later date.

Cllr David Gray, cabinet member for environment and planning, said: “We never want to lose any trees, but here it is necessary to make improvements to the cycleway.

"We have explored all options to see if they could be retained but unfortunately that wasn’t viable in this case.

“We will be replanting two trees for every one lost to compensate for this loss.

"We are committed to creating a greener Gloucestershire and tree planting is an important part of doing this, as they help to tackle climate change and support biodiversity.”