King Arthurs Way closes overnight for resurfacing from 17 August. Plus every Andover car park is free after 4pm and all day Sunday. Roads, parking and works.

Andover’s traffic problems are mostly not Andover’s. The town sits on the A303, the trunk road between London and the West Country, and most of the serious delay here is people passing through. The roads the council and county actually dig up are the ones you use to get to work, and this page tracks both: what is closed now, what is coming, and the parking and route information that does not change between updates.

Everything below was checked against Hampshire County Council, National Highways and Test Valley Borough Council notices on 9 August 2026.

What is closed now

King Arthurs Way: overnight closures from 17 August 2026. Hampshire County Council is resurfacing King Arthurs Way as part of its annual planned maintenance programme. The works are scheduled to start on Monday 17 August and to take up to eight nights, with the road closed to through traffic between 20:00 and 06:00. It stays open outside those hours. Residents and businesses on the route have had letters, and advance warning signs go up before the start.

That is the only dated closure currently notified for Andover. Hampshire’s notices carry a standing caveat worth repeating: adverse weather can postpone works at very short notice, sometimes the day they were due to start, and the yellow sign boards at the works limits are updated faster than anything online.

On the trunk road, National Highways lists no planned closures on the A303 or the A34 in Hampshire for the week to 13 August 2026.

Recently finished

Vigo Road resurfacing, 20 to 24 July 2026. Hampshire resurfaced Vigo Road from London Road to the East Street roundabout across three phases, closed overnight between 20:00 and 06:00: London Road to Colenzo Drive, Colenzo Drive to Batchelors Barn Road, then Batchelors Barn Road to the East Street roundabout. That work is done, so if you are still routing around it, you no longer need to.

The roads that matter here

Four routes carry almost everything in and out of Andover, and knowing which one a closure sits on tells you immediately whether it will affect you.

  • The A303. The trunk road runs along the south and west of the town, with junctions at the A3093 Picket Twenty to the east and the A343 to the west. It is a National Highways road, not a county one, so closures on it are announced by National Highways rather than Hampshire, and they are almost always overnight.
  • The A343 Newbury Road. North east out of the town through Alamein towards Newbury, past the rail bridge and Smannell Road. This is the route that ties Andover to the A34 corridor.
  • The A3057 Winchester Road. South out of the town from Western Avenue and Old Winton Road down to the A303 slip road, then on through the Test valley towards Stockbridge and Romsey. It is the road that connects the two halves of the borough.
  • The A342. West towards Ludgershall and the Wiltshire border.

Most Hampshire resurfacing in Andover happens on the residential distributor roads rather than these four, and is done at night: Vigo Road, King Arthurs Way, Charlton Road, Upper Drove and Monxton Road have all had night closures in recent programmes.

Parking in Andover

Andover’s parking rules are more generous than most Hampshire towns, and the detail that saves people the most money is the one they find out by accident.

Every council car park in Andover is free after 4pm, every day, and free all day on Sundays. There are 15 of them. Overnight parking is free from the moment the charging period ends at 4pm until 08:30 the following morning, and the pay and display machines will issue a ticket for the next charging day if you buy one after charging hours end.

When Andover council car parks charge and when they are free Timeline diagram showing that Test Valley Borough Council car parks in Andover charge from 8.30am to 4pm Monday to Saturday, and are free from 4pm through to 8.30am the next morning. Sundays are free all day. Two car parks are locked overnight: the Chantry Centre closes at 11pm Monday to Saturday and 5pm on Sundays and bank holidays, and Shepherd's Spring Lane closes at 10pm and reopens at 6.30am. When you pay to park in Andover, and when you do not Test Valley Borough Council car parks, Andover. Checked 9 August 2026. Monday to Saturday Free Pay and display Free until 8.30am tomorrow midnight 8.30am 4pm midnight Sunday Free all day, every council car park Two exceptions: car parks that lock Chantry Centre: open 7am to 11pm Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm Sundays and bank holidays. Locked outside those hours. Shepherd's Spring Lane: lower barrier locked 10pm to 6.30am, in force since 30 March 2026. Access to all other Andover car parks is unrestricted at any hour.
Free parking starts at four o'clock, but two car parks will shut you in if you leave the car overnight.

Who parks free, and where

  • Blue Badge holders park free all day in medium and long stay car parks, and free for up to three hours in short stay car parks or the marked High Street bays. The badge must be displayed with the expiry date face up.
  • Solo motorcycles park free in the designated motorcycle bays within car parks.
  • Coaches pay £3.50 for five hours or £7.00 all day. Shepherd’s Spring Lane coach parking is by prior arrangement only because of a locked height barrier, on 07833 930655.

For the Leisure Centre and The Lights

Both sit on the same side of town, and the council names five car parks for them: Leisure Centre, Marlborough Street, West Street, Shepherd’s Spring Lane (a five-minute walk, and mind the 10pm lock) and the Simplyhealth car park, which is open to the public on weekday evenings from 5pm to 6.30am and at weekends. Simplyhealth is pay and display on Saturdays from 8.30am to 4pm and free the rest of the time it is available. The adjacent Simplyhealth staff car park is private, and the council asks people not to cut across it.

Getting to the station without a car

A £2.1 million scheme to rebuild the walking and cycling approach to Andover station was funded in summer 2026. Hampshire County Council leads it; Test Valley Borough Council agreed £158,973 of Community Infrastructure Levy money and £41,027 of Section 106 developer contributions towards it at full Council on 22 July 2026.

The work extends the cycleway from the top of Bishops Way to Station Approach, realigns the Cross Lane and Avenue junction to make room on the south side, adds crossing points on Station Approach and Cross Lane, and creates a new green space with planting. It is the third version of the scheme after several rounds of public consultation, and the council recorded that the junction changes “received overwhelming support”. Expect Cross Lane and Station Approach to be disrupted while it is built.

Train times and fares are on our Andover trains to London page.

How to check a road yourself

Hampshire County Council publishes its live works map through One.Network, which is the source its own notices point people to, and it covers county roads, utility works and diversions. For the A303 and other trunk roads, National Highways publishes a rolling road closure report and live travel updates. For anything on a council car park, Test Valley Borough Council’s parking pages carry the current rules and the exceptions.

Frequently asked questions

Is parking free in Andover?

Partly. Every council car park in Andover is free after 4pm every day and free all day on Sunday, and free overnight until 8.30am. Between 8.30am and 4pm Monday to Saturday they are pay and display. Blue Badge holders park free all day in medium and long stay car parks.

What roadworks are there in Andover right now?

King Arthurs Way is being resurfaced from 17 August 2026, with overnight closures between 20:00 and 06:00 for up to eight nights. National Highways lists no planned A303 or A34 closures in Hampshire for the week to 13 August 2026.

What time do Andover car parks close?

Most do not close at all. Two do: the Chantry Centre car park is locked outside 7am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 5pm on Sundays and bank holidays, and Shepherd’s Spring Lane is locked between 10pm and 6.30am, a change that came into force on 30 March 2026.

Which car park is best for The Lights theatre?

The council names Leisure Centre, Marlborough Street, West Street, Shepherd’s Spring Lane and the Simplyhealth car park. If you are staying for an evening performance, remember charging has stopped by 4pm, so an evening at the theatre parks free, but avoid Shepherd’s Spring Lane if you will still be there after 10pm.

Which roads run through Andover?

The A303 trunk road passes south and west of the town with junctions at the A3093 Picket Twenty and the A343. The A343 Newbury Road heads north east, the A3057 Winchester Road heads south towards Stockbridge and Romsey, and the A342 heads west towards Ludgershall.

Related

Sources

Roadworks dates move, often at a day’s notice. Check One.Network or the yellow sign boards at the works before you plan a route around them.