No immediate solution for high pavement safety issues following recent fall

The long-standing issue of the safety of the high pavement on Bank Street is due to be considered by Wiltshire Council as part of a safer road scheme. The news follows a confirmed report of a pedestrian falling off the pavement last month.

Debate has been ongoing for years by local people, councillors and businesses about the safety of the pavement which has a drop in places of 3ft at the edge of the road, and the cost of adding safety measures.  In April, Wiltshire and town councillor Jon Hubbard suggested installing bollards with decorative chains, which would act as a visual deterrent rather than a physical barrier, along the town’s high pavement to reduce the risk of accidents. His proposal was discussed by Wiltshire Council, but no action was taken at the time.  The council has now confirmed that this suggestion, along with all other options for improving this stretch of pavement, is being considered as part of the A3102 Safer Road study.

Cllr Jon Hubbard said “I’m delighted that the council has finally put this issue forward for consideration, but considering the number of times they have told us that nothing can be done I do wonder what has changed. Both Councillor Sankey and myself have put forward suggestions about a scheme that Highways Officers have told us would be both a viable and practicable solution to the issue considering the site constraints – I await with interest to see what alternatives the review will achieve. I suspect that we will end up spending more on consultancy fees to tell us that the projects proposed by Cllr Sankey and myself could be delivered that we would actually spend on just getting on and delivering them!”

The issue was discussed by Melksham Town Council in February 2020, then again in April last year. At the time, councillors revisited the findings of a report carried out by Wiltshire Council in 2004, which resolved that the edge of the high pavement was not strong enough to support the weight of any railings and suggested a supporting wall would need to be built in front of the existing wall to provide a secure base.

An estimated cost for this at the time was £44,000 and councillors concluded that due to inflation, costs could now be around £100,000. Town councillors agreed to refer the matter to Wiltshire Council’s Local Highways and Footway Improvement Group (LHFIG), for their input.

Earlier this year, Cllr Jon Hubbard referred the matter to LHFIG again, with his proposal to erect regular bollards with a cost of between £30,000 and £50,000.

Wiltshire Council says that the idea will be considered as part of their A3102 Safer Road Scheme.