THE team behind plans for a Melksham canal are hopeful that the project will move forward in “the next month”.
Plans for the ‘Melksham Link’ – a new canal connecting the Kennet and Avon Canal in Semington and the River Avon at the Farmers Roundabout – have been in limbo since the submission of its planning application in 2012.
Objections from the Environment Agency has slowed down the progress of the project, but according to the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, their concerns have been “boiled down” to just two – the effects of discharging locks into the river, and the possible “negative environmental impact” of a proposed weir.
But the trust says that Wiltshire Council and the Environment Agency are on the cusp of agreeing a solution.
“Wiltshire Council planners have confirmed that they are working with the Environment Agency to put some conditions to get around those two,” said Wilts & Berks Canal Trust’s project manager Paul Lenaerts, updating town councillors at a meeting last week, “which could be agreed in the next month.”
The project manager explained that once an agreement is reached between the two authorities, the trust is hopeful planning permission will be finally approved. The next stage of the project, following planning permission approval, will be for the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust to draw up a “masterplan” for the ‘Melksham Link’, which will include plans for housing – which will help fund the project, a school, and a marina. This will then be submitted for planning permission.
“The masterplan is being drawn up by our financial partner and details are still under discussion, so we won’t know numbers of houses for a while,” said project manager Paul Lenaerts, when asked by Melksham News how many houses are proposed to be built.
It is hoped that the scheme will be completed by the late 2020s.
“I think it’s such an exciting scheme and I can’t wait for it to happen,” said mayor cllr Jon Hubbard at the town council meeting last week.