Wiltshire Council defends delays in safe path for Oak School

WILTSHIRE Council has defended their position over the time taken to build a safe path and cycleway for students at the rear of Melksham Oak School.

The path was one of the conditions of the planning permission given by the council in 2018 for 450 houses on the nearby Hunters Wood development. And although that development is nearing completion, the path has faced delay after delay leaving school’s 1,300 pupils having to get to school along the busy A365.

Wiltshire Council asked for a contribution of over £100,000 from the developers towards the path – a sum that was paid in 2019 – but, as revealed by Melksham News earlier this month, the council now estimates the costs to be £450,000. The council admit they have yet to secure the funding for this, leaving doubts over when the path will be provided.

Melksham News has asked a series of questions of Wiltshire Council and here are their replies:

1. A path / cycleway with lighting was part of the planning permission for the development and Wiltshire Council asked for £100,631 for this in s106 funding. How was the £100,000 figure arrived at?

WC: Such contributions are negotiated on a case-by-case basis, exercising professional judgement on what is fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.

2. Did the council cost out the scheme at the time?

No, this is not possible without comprehensive feasibility, surveying and design.

3. Did the council know that the £100,000 would not cover the entire cost of the path?

See (2) the sum only represents a contribution to the full cost of the scheme.

4. How can the council explain such a discrepancy between the £100,000 received and the estimated £450,000 costs?

See Question 3.

5. If planning permission is given on the basis of a path being built, is it normal to only ask for a contribution towards the scheme and not the entire cost?

Planning permission was granted with an obligation to provide a contribution ‘towards’ the provision of the path, not the completion of the path.

6. Why did the council not ask the developers to build the path themselves which is common with schemes like this? That way, it wouldn’t have mattered how much the path cost.

Given that the land required for the path lay outside of the application boundary, it was considered that a contribution was more appropriate.

 7. Is a pedestrian crossing part of the scheme now? Has it always been part of the scheme?

The Toucan crossing was not included in the 106 agreement. However it is included in the scheme.

8. As the path was part of the planning permission granted in 2018, can we have a timescale of when the path will be built?

We cannot currently provide a timescale until the scheme has been fully costed and funding confirmed.

9. If you don’t have a timescale, is it acceptable that, five years on from the planning permission and with the housing development almost completed, there is still no timescale for the path?

Section 106 contributions are not received by the council at the granting of planning permission. Background work on the path commenced in 2020, however the pandemic resulted in progress being delayed during this period.

In a statement, cllr Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport said, “Construction of the housing development started in 2019 after all planning, design, surveying and mandatory reporting had been completed.

“Wiltshire Council subsequently received a S106 financial contribution for infrastructure improvements, which enabled us to undertake initial investigations into the proposed path in early 2020. However, the Covid pandemic restricted access to the site and diverted resources, which hindered progress.

“As soon as the surveying, planning and reporting has been completed, a construction timeline will be established and a funding source secured. The majority of work is complete, and we are just waiting for confirmation of the lighting specification. Once this is received and agreed, we can submit a planning application.

“The council acknowledges that delays have occurred due to the impact of the Covid pandemic and the build-up of project work in this time. We will be happy to share plans for the footpath with local residents as soon as the preparation work is complete.”