WILTSHIRE Council is holding a non-statutory engagement and consultation exercise on the next stage of the proposed A350 bypass project.
The engagement period is now open and runs until Sunday 8 August.
To enable people to find out more about the scheme and ask questions, the council is also holding an online engagement session next week, on Tuesday 13th July at 6pm. People can pre-book attendance for the session on the Wiltshire Council website and also ask questions in advance to be answered at the event.
Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for transport, cllr Dr Mark McClelland said, “The proposed A350 Melksham bypass will not only help to improve north-south connectivity along the A350, but will also decrease congestion in Melksham, and reduce journey times, and help to improve air quality in the town.
“We originally consulted on a long list of 18 options, and we have listened to the responses from the first engagement exercise, along with other considerations such as the original objectives of the scheme; design constraints; costs and value for money; technical deliverability; local impacts; and environmental factors.
“This has led us to consider option 10C as the most viable route for this engagement exercise, with three different variations at the north of the proposed scheme.
“I’d urge as many people as possible to take part in this engagement exercise to find out more about the proposed route, and the options for the route to the north, and to let us know their views. Feedback we receive now will help us to compile the Outline Business Case, which we will submit to the Department for Transport (DfT) for further consideration.”
A spokesperson for Wiltshire Council continued, “During the first engagement exercise, held from November 2020 to January 2021, the community suggested alternative routes, which the council has considered, and also proposed various potential walking and cycling measures, which are also being considered as part of the scheme.
“Throughout the development of the scheme, the council has been assessing feedback from the public and progressing the technical analysis works required to take forward and complete the Outline Business Case, before submission to DfT in the autumn.
“People can find out more about the route selection process by reading the draft Option Assessment Report, published on the council’s website, which details the reasons why various options have not been chosen to take forward and the criteria used to assess them.”
To find out more about the scheme, sign up for the engagement event, and take the survey, visit www.wiltshire. gov. uk/highways-a350-melksham-bypass
