Melksham bypass decision due ‘early summer’

A decision on the Melksham bypass is expected in early summer as uncertainty remains over its funding and future.

Wiltshire Council says it received confirmation at the end of March from the Department for Transport that a decision on the A350 Melksham Bypass is expected to be announced in early summer.

The council’s preferred route for the bypass, running east of Melksham and around Bowerhill, was consulted on in 2021.

The update comes as the Government has published its Road Investment Stra-tegy 3 (RIS3), setting out national road investment plans for the period to 2031. The document makes no specific reference to a bypass at Melksham and includes no funding commitment for the scheme. However, the strategy backs the findings of the M4 to Dorset Coast Strategic Study, which confirmed the A350 as the preferred route for traffic between the M4 and the south coast and outlines potential improvements to the route.

Wiltshire Council has reallocated £10million from this year’s budget that had been set aside for the bypass scheme while it waits for news from the Department for Transport on moving the project forward.

Cllr Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, said, “The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3) for 2026–2031 does not make any specific reference to potential bypasses for Melksham or Westbury.

“However, the document does endorse the findings of National Highways’ M4 to Dorset Coast Strategic Study, which recommends ‘detrunking’ sections of the A36 and ‘trunking’ the A350 instead. DfT and National Highways are now working to develop this recommendation, which would be used to inform future investment decisions, including any potential new bypasses.

“As both Melksham and Westbury lie on the A350, this could mean that, in future, the road through these towns is managed by National Highways as a trunk road rather than by Wiltshire Council as a local authority road, as it is now. If this happens, there would be an expectation of greater national investment to improve the route and increase capacity, which could include bypasses for both towns.

“We will continue to work with DfT and National Highways to make the case for bypasses at Melksham and Westbury and to secure continued investment in Wiltshire’s road network.”

On the decision to reallocate £10million set aside for a Melksham bypass scheme, Cllr Smith said, “We are pausing our capital funding allocation that is earmarked for the project and reintroducing it only if DfT confirms it is ready to move forward with the scheme.

“This both protects the budget and frees up resources for deliverable capital projects that can make a difference in Wiltshire.”

With no firm commitment for a Melksham bypass in the RIS3, Councillor John Glover, Chair of Melksham Without Parish Council, said, “It is disappointing not to have a decision on the M4 to South Coast infrastructure project. Especially so, as the housing development in the West Wiltshire area is expected to lead to more out-commuting, thus putting further pressure on the A350 for access to the M4 from Melksham and towns to the south and south-west of us.

“This provides no relief for Beanacre, other parish residents nor for residents of the town, when delays and hold-ups on the A350 cause diversions throughout the area.”