Calls for a safer pedestrian route to primary school

LOCAL parents and residents have raised safety concerns for families walking to Shaw Primary School from the housing development of George Ward Gardens.

They say that the pavement along the route is narrow and in a poor state of repair. In addition, the road has a speed limit of 40mph, which parents say is too fast and should be reduced.

“The speed limit should certainly be 30mph,” one parent told Melksham News. “We’re encouraged to walk our children to school but I’m not happy doing that; it’s not safe. 40 mph is just too fast, particularly as the pavement is narrow and in a shocking state.”

A resident of Bath Road, Alistair Hughes, also said, “If the council spent a few minutes here either end of the school day, they would see that urgent action is needed. It’s a very simple solution covering just a few hundred yards between two 30mph zones which would make all the difference.

“There are lots of primary school children walking along a 40mph road to school, with large vehicles within inches of young children and other pedestrians.

“I would implore that some action is taken to try and mitigate the effects of an accident on the road. At 40mph it will be a fatality, at 30mph at least they stand a chance.”

The school’s principal, Thomas Brewer, told Melksham News, “At Shaw Primary we want our children to be safe at all times during school pick up and drop off. Having a sensible speed limit on a road next to a school is paramount to this.

“We are starting work this new year on our school travel plan to see if we can make any positive changes to support pupil safety at pick up and drop off so any changes from Wiltshire Council to help reduce speed on the roads would be most welcome for our school community.”

Wiltshire Council says that the stretch of road is “unlikely to meet the qualifying criteria for a lower speed limit.”

Regarding improvements to the pavement, Wiltshire Council say that funding from the George Ward Gardens development, which was completed in 2018, has been earmarked to improve the pavement with some work already completed and with more work due to start this month. However, this work will only cover the pavement from Dunch Lane to the corner opposite Shaw Country House and not the main stretch of road leading to Shaw Primary School.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport said, “£25,000 was ringfenced for footway improvements as part of the Section 106 agreement with the developers for George Ward Gardens.

“Working with the Local Highway and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG), it was agreed that priority for this S106 funding should be given to improving the crossing point at the Dunch Lane junction. This work is now complete and cost just under £5,000.

“The LHFIG agreed that the remaining sum should be used to improve the footway surface, from Dunch Lane to a point just beyond the adjacent access to Shaw Country House, a distance of approximately 160m. This work is due to take place in January.”

Melksham Without parish councillor, Alan Baines, told Melksham News, “Melksham Without Parish Council has addressed various related issues along the A365 between Atworth and Melksham for many years.

“A traffic survey (undertaken by Melksham Without Parish Council) did not identify a speeding problem, and the results would not have been exceptional for a 30 zone, let alone a 40.  There have been no material changes in the road characteristics which would justify a review of the appropriateness of the current 40 limit.

“Long stretches of 30mph on rural roads tend to lead to poor adherence to the limit generally.

“In respect of the pavement, we have achieved a number of improvements recently.  Firstly, some width increases and revised dropped kerbs were built around the Dunch Lane junction, utilising funds arising from the George Ward Gardens development.

“However, that funding was specifically for improvements and not maintenance, so the encroaching soil and vegetation which restricted the usable width of several lengths of the route presented great difficulty.

“The Wiltshire Council highway maintenance team were very concerned that clearing that back could have exposed surface defects, causing other hazards, and so refused to undertake any work.

“I refused to accept ‘no’ for an answer and went out and cleared the worst stretch at the Shaw end myself by hand, which revealed no hazardous defects.

“Subsequently, there was a change of heart at Wiltshire Council and they did agree to clear back the stretch from Dunch Lane to the cottages on the bend.  Whilst there will always be more that might be desirable, some re-surfacing has also been undertaken too.  There are no quick fixes here, but these actions have considerably improved the situation which existed only a short time ago.

“In view of the high level of pedestrian use of this footway, it is kept on the parish council’s list of areas that we ask the parish steward to inspect and address any issues, during their two or three days a month in the parish area.”