A?NEW?contractor has been given the green light to finish Whitehill and Bordon’s relief road.

Rob Humby, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for environment and transport, confirmed arrangements following the financial collapse of Carillion, which had been delivering the project.

Said to be a vital cog in Whitehill and Bordon’s regeneration, the relief road is almost done – the northern section has been signed off (although some ancillary work remains) and work on the southern stretch – the section being done by Carillion – was due to finish this summer.

“Having followed the due legal process with Price Waterhouse Cooper, who have been appointed to manage the wind up of Carillion’s affairs, we are now in a position to terminate the contract with Carillion,” Mr Humby explained.

As such, the council’s arrangement with the Wolverhampton-based firm was scrapped on Monday this week.

“Our first priority is to ensure the completion of the southern section of the relief road, from the A325/Firgrove Road roundabout to junction two, to allow access to the first phase of new housing,” Mr Humby added.

“We have made arrangements with Skanska to complete this work and will begin detailed programme discussions with them next week. We will be able to provide further updates following this. I would like to reassure residents that there is no doubt the relief road will be completed, and we are developing our options for the northern section.

“I would also like to reiterate Hampshire County Council’s commitment to the successful regeneration of Whitehill and Bordon which, along with the new relief road, includes the Future Skills Centre and the new school building for Mill Chase Academy - all of which promise to make Whitehill and Bordon a vibrant community for future generations.”

Skanska is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden, and is the fifth largest construction company in the world according to Construction Global magazine.

Once complete, the relief road will be approximately two-and-a-half miles long and, except for a short section of dual carriageway at the northern end, will comprise a two-way single carriageway with separate provision for pedestrians and cyclists.

It will run from the north of Bordon, off the A325 Farnham Road, pass through the Ministry of Defence area to the west of the town, and reconnect in the south with the A325 Petersfield Road, Liphook Road and Firgrove Road junction in Whitehill. The idea to take cars, almost half of which are just driving through the town, off the A325. This will allow the new town centre to be a more suitable shared space and reduce east-west severance.

The collapse of construction giant Carillion has made headlines in past weeks and set alarm bells ringing locally. Following financial difficulties, the firm went into compulsory liquidation on January 15.

The firm had seen a rapid drop in its share price in July, coinciding with the departure of its chief executive. A first-half pre-tax loss of £1.15bn, reported in September, had only added to the woes.

As the company has an eclectic portfolio and provides a variety of services, thousands of contracts across the country will be affected.

GCHQ’s Doughnut base, Heathrow’s Terminal Five and the Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment are just some of its projects.

But it also provides services to the NHS, schools, prisons, transport infrastructure and more.

This week, former Carillion chairman Philip Green said he took “full responsibility” for the company’s collapse.