Over three years of failure leaves safe path to Melksham Oak under threat – Costs have now soared to £450,000

PLANS for a new path and cycleway into the rear of Melksham Oak School are under threat after the costs have soared to £450,000.

Wiltshire Council initially promised the path in 2016 and received over £100,000 from housing developers for the scheme over three years ago. However, the scheme was delayed, with the council blaming Covid.

Now, Wiltshire councillor Nick Holder, has revealed that the estimated costs have soared to £450,000 and says the council ‘doesn’t have the money’.

“A scheme is currently being worked up by the highways team at Wiltshire Council; the cost is sitting at £450,000,” he told a meeting of Melksham Without Parish Council last Monday, 20th February.

£350,000 shortfall

“There is a £350,000 shortfall,” he said, adding that “Wiltshire Council doesn’t have the funding for that.”

Back in September last year, local councillors pressed Wiltshire Council to ‘pull their fingers out’ and build the new footpath and cycleway. Currently, students use a footpath along the busy A365 to access the school, raising concerns for their safety due to the volume of students using the single-point entry.

Following the criticism, the council said plans were ‘moving along,’ but progress since has stalled

Last week, Melksham News sent questions to Wiltshire Council, asking why there has been such a delay to the footpath, which is believed to be around 300-400 metres in length. In her reply, cllr Caroline Thomas, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for transport confirmed that the Covid pandemic restricted access to the site and diverted resources, which hindered progress.

Asked by Melksham News, how it was possible to build nearly 450 houses on land nearby during the pandemic, but not a path, the council did not answer.

Fresh criticism

The delays have brought fresh criticism from Melksham Without Parish Council who say they believe “very strongly that the access should be improved straight away”.

The council commented, “Melksham Without Parish Council have always advocated a footpath to the rear of the school, from its onset at planning application stage before the school was even built, and then again when the plans for the new housing development at Hunters Wood/The Acorns were in discussion.

“The parish council was delighted that the funding for this footpath/cycleway was included in the s106 legal agreement for the development, which would fund this addition.  A sum of £100,631 was agreed to be paid to Wiltshire Council towards the provision of a pedestrian/cycle link from the development to the school, before work started on site, in the legal agreement dated September 2016.

“In the spring of 2019, the parish council made a request to Wiltshire Council to start the ball rolling on this rear access, and whilst it was accepted that it made sense to not open it whilst it crossed a live building site, all of the ecological studies, design work and plans could have been put in place, so that as soon as it was safe for children to use the route to walk or cycle to school, it could be implemented.

“The right of way was reopened in 2022, and the design work was only undertaken in the latter part of last year, as were the ecological studies.

“The parish council feel very strongly that the access should be improved straight away, as it’s now a route across the fields to the school, and any further funding required for the lighting and toucan crossing must not hold up the whole project; these elements can be done at a later date.

“To hear that the whole project is now on hold whilst additional funding is being sought, when £100k has been in Wiltshire Council’s bank account for over three years is very frustrating.

“The pupils who live in the east of Melksham, both in the existing housing and that being built in the new development, need this much quicker direct route to school and to alleviate the pressure on the A365 route of so many pupils on the only usable route at present, often overspilling off the pavement onto the busy road.”

School principal Alan Henderson told Melksham News in September last year, “The traffic along the Bath Road (A365) seems to be getting busier and faster than ever. I can’t believe that this matter has not been taken more seriously by Wiltshire Council, as something clearly needs to be done to make access to and from the school much safer for our students.

“I have always been concerned that Melksham Oak has a single point of entry off a very busy main road. The end of the school day is particularly challenging, with nearly 1,300 students spilling out onto a relatively narrow footpath next to the busy Bath Road, where most drivers seem unaware of the 30mph speed limit.

“The majority of our students then walk or cycle along the footpath into Melksham, which can get very congested and lead to some cyclists using the road, when they shouldn’t.

“A second access point is long overdue and would be very welcome. It would enable us to redirect many students away from the Bath Road which can only be a good thing.”

Wiltshire Council were approached for a comment about the £450,000 costs but had not responded by the time we went to press.