The long-awaited footpath linking Melksham Oak Community School to the housing developments in Melksham East has finally been completed – eight years after it was first proposed.
The 450-metre path, designed to provide a safer route for the school’s 1,300 students, replaces an informal track across a field and will reduce reliance on the busy A365.
Wiltshire Council had faced repeated criticism over delays to the project, which was originally proposed in 2016, with the authority blaming Covid and a hike in costs of up to £450,000.
The official opening of the path took place on Monday 28th July, with Wiltshire Council cabinet members Cllr Martin Smith and Cllr Jon Hubbard, along with Cllr Nick Holder, joining engineers at the site to mark the completion.
‘Long overdue’
Construction of the path took just over two months to complete, after beginning in May. This followed years of pressure from local residents and councillors, including Cllr John Glover of Melksham Without Parish Council and former Wiltshire councillor for Melksham East, Mike Sankey, who described the project as ‘very long overdue’.
Although the path is now open, further improvements are still to come. Seating and planters will be installed along the route over the next six weeks and are expected to be in place in time for the new school year. Lighting is not yet operational but is also expected to be completed before the new school term starts in September.
‘Challenges’
Cllr Martin Smith, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Highways, said, “There have been some challenges along the way to building this shared-use path, but we’re pleased that we can now celebrate its opening.
“This project is a step forward in our commitment to creating safe, accessible and environmentally friendly travel options for Wiltshire residents, and this path will benefit students, residents, and visitors alike, providing healthier and more sustainable travel options, and enabling more people to leave their car at home should they wish to do so.”
Phase two of the project, which will extend the path from Woolmore Farm to the A365 Bath Road, will be delivered by the housing developer as part of the wider Woolmore Farm development. The council says it looks forward to this next stage progressing in due course.
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I’m not sure the LibDems have the right to take ANY credit for this path finally opening (to be honest the Conservatives took too long to get it built). They had nothing to do with it being progressed to the construction phase, with much of the effort coming from Independent Cllr Mike Sankey, Conservative Cllr Nick Holder and local residents. As someone who was involved, I can state from experience that no tangible impact was made on getting this path built by local LibDem councillors, whose sole contribution to this area was their failure to progress the construction of East Melksham Community Hall behind Spa Medical Centre. I don’t hear them trumpeting about this and they seem to be more interested in censoring recordings of their meetings! They’re not Liberal or Democratic and I think we’re going to witness much more of LibDem misinformation and taking the credit for other peoples’ efforts.