The National Highways infill saga has moved from all-fill to no-fill, as bridges up and down the land learn their reprieve from the depredations of the concrete mixers. One such structure is the bridge which takes Stoke Road, Itchen Abbas, over the disused section of the ex-LSWR Alton to Winchester line. The furore at Great Musgrave has led to a national moratorium on NH infillings, and the Hampshire bridge is one of the beneficiaries. The Hampshire Chronicle quoted NH thus: ‘It is the responsibility of the local highways authority to have capacity assessments for bridges that carry roads. As Hampshire County Council did not have a capacity assessment for the Stoke Itchen bridge, we have conducted one to give us further information about the bridge’s condition. The bridge passed the assessment and we have no need to conduct major works on the bridge. We are in direct communication with the South Downs National Park Authority and the group seeking to deliver the Watercress Way active travel route, and have informed them of this. At a point in the future when plans for the Watercress Way are further progressed we will be happy to support those plans and consider, with DfT, the transferring of structures as appropriate.’ (Hampshire Chronicle)