CONTRACTORS have moved in to start work on Salisbury's third park-and-ride site, on the Salisbury-Bournemouth road at Britford.

The site, which will have parking for 437 cars and 18 coach bays, is due to open early in April next year.

It will follow on from the opening of the city's second park-and-ride site off The Avenue, in Wilton, which is set to open early in the New Year.

The Britford site will cater for traffic using the A338 Ringwood-Salisbury road and the A354 Blandford-Salisbury road.

The site will have a purpose-built waiting-room and toilets and will feature real-time passenger information, which will enable passengers to see when their buses are due to arrive.

The site will be fully landscaped and trees will screen it from the A338.

The coach-parking area can double up as an overflow car park, with spaces for a further 50 cars if it is not needed for coaches at any time.