Possible A350 bypass routes to be revealed next week

THE options for a new A350 bypass around Melksham will be revealed at a public meeting next week.

Wiltshire Council will present the possible routes at the Melksham Area Board on Wednesday 4th November.

The presentation at the meeting will signal the start of a ‘non-statutory engagement exercise’ on the plans, that will run until the end of November.

Following the area board meeting, an information pack, plus ‘questions and answers’, and a survey, will all be available on the Wiltshire Council website.

Whilst there has been no confirmation from the council about which routes will be considered, recent options have included a route to the east of the town connecting the A350 north of Beanacre with the A350 Semington bypass, south of Bowerhill; a route that would connect the A350 north of Beanacre with Eastern Way (where it meets with Sandridge Common); and a route connecting the A350 north of Beanacre with Eastern Way.

And a recent Wiltshire Council report has confirmed that “all options are being revisited” and considered for the bypass route, including the eastern route and ‘non-bypass’ options.

Debate has already begun in the town prior to the launch of the consultation, with some Bowerhill residents expressing concern about the impact of a bypass around the east of the town, and  some Beanace residents, who currently live on the A350, welcoming the news.

Wiltshire Council’s cabinet gave the green light to proceed with plans for the bypass and a public engagement exercise at a meeting earlier this month.  

The council will be seeking the views of residents, businesses, town and parish councils, and other stakeholders on the progress made so far on the bypass plans, and the proposed route options.

The engagement exercise will seek feedback on the early stages of the scheme development as the council creates an outline business case. It will be followed by further consultation later in 2021.

Cllr Bridget Wayman, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for highways said, “This marks the next step towards a bypass for Melksham that would create a more reliable, less congested transport network; support economic and planned development growth at key locations; reduce air pollutants and emissions from transport; and also improve safety for all road users.

“We’ll be releasing more details soon on how people can have their say on the proposed route options at this early stage of the project, though it is important to note that at this stage, all route options are indicative and do not show the exact route that any road may take. The specifics of any preferred route will be subject to full consultation in 2021.

“Once this initial engagement is complete, we will begin to prepare an outline business case that will also include the outcome of the consultation, before it can be submitted to the Department for Transport in autumn 2021.”

The council was initially awarded Department for Transport (DfT) funding in March 2020 to further develop the case for the A350 Melksham bypass, having considered its initial submission in July 2019.

Since then, the council has been undertaking technical exercises to enhance the evidence base for a bypass, with this work, along with public feedback, due to inform the outline business case.

The scheme is being promoted through the DfT’s Large Local Majors Fund, which is intended to support a small number of large local highway authority road schemes that could not be funded through normal routes. If approved, the scheme could cost around £135million in total, but this would depend on the route option chosen.