Christchurch, Motoring & Transport | Posted on March 10th, 2026 | return to news

Proposals to reduce congestion in Christchurch area

The Purewell area suffers from traffic congestion, with a two-minute journey often taking up to 13 minutes.

Local people are to be given the opportunity to have their say on plans to reduce traffic congestion and improve bus reliability in the Purewell area of Christchurch.

The consultation by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council runs until 11.59pm on Sunday 29 March and forms part of the council’s wider Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

Proposals include the strategic removal of some low-usage parking sections in the daytime to establish passing places to improve traffic flow, and the provision of additional parking where available.

The busiest parking sections near to shops and the current provisions for evening, overnight and Sunday parking would remain unchanged.

Cllr Andy Hadley, Cabinet member for Climate Response, Environment and Energy, said: “Residents told us they wanted a balanced approach that keeps the area moving while protecting access to homes and businesses. These updated proposals reflect that feedback. By improving traffic flow and making bus journeys more reliable, we can help everyone – whether they travel by bus, car, bike or on foot – while supporting local shops and reducing congestion for the long term.”

Purewell is served by five bus routes, with up to nine journeys per hour linking Christchurch, Highcliffe, Bournemouth, Royal Bournemouth Hospital and destinations beyond the BCP area such as New Milton and Lymington. Additional school, Ringwood and summer open-top services also operate along this corridor.

However, journey times along this stretch can be highly variable, with the two-minute journey between Purewell Cross Roundabout and Stony Lane taking more than 13 minutes in some cases. This disruption can cause services to be unreliable, reducing passenger confidence in using these services and increasing their cost to operate.

View the designs and have your say at haveyoursay.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/bus-service-improvement-plan-purewell.