Resident raises accessibility concerns over incomplete footpath

A resident is calling for the next section of the new footpath, which would link the completed path from Melksham East to Melksham Oak Community School with A365 Bath Road, to be finished following accessibility concerns.

Chris Davis, a wheelchair user, said he was frustrated that the path installed in July by Wiltshire Council after an eight-year delay does not yet connect to A365 Bath Road, and the unfinished section is not suitable for wheelchair users.

“I am a bit cross,” said Chris. “The pathway that took eight years to complete was never actually completed. I live up on Bowerhill on Wellington Drive. As a wheelchair user, I thought, ‘great, I will be able to go through the newly adapted entrance, onto the tarmac, up to the rugby club and back’ but no. The pathway that runs from Eastern Way runs down to Woolmore Farm but it stops at the farm.”

Chris also raised safety concerns about the unfinished section.

“From the end of that pathway to the end of A365 Bath Road, it is a mixture of broken concrete, mud and it’s too narrow for a wheelchair. It is also not lit, and I think it is dangerous if schoolchildren and any pedestrians are using it.”

The completion of the footpath was part of a planning application for residential and commercial development at Woolmore Farm, which has since been withdrawn by the developer.

Wiltshire Councillor for Bowerhill Nick Holder has also raised concerns that the footpath has not been finished. He said, “I have been told once a planning application for Woolmore Farm has been approved, the final element can be completed. As things stand there is no live application for the site and so we have no idea when, or indeed if, this will be brought forward. I totally understand the frustration from Bowerhill resident.”

The 450-metre completed section runs from the housing estates in Melksham East to the rear of Melksham Oak. It was designed to provide a safer route for the school’s 1,300 students, replacing an informal track across a field and reducing reliance on the busy A365.

Cllr Holder added, “In addition, there are no litter bins along the length of the path and it is often covered in rubbish. I know Melksham Without Parish Council shares these concerns too. I will continue to press the council for a completion date and also to ensure this delay does not add to the overall cost of the project which is already running at over £375,000.”

Cllr Adrian Foster, Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Development Management, said, “The owner of Woolmore Farm has withdrawn the latest planning application which included a condition of site sale to complete the remaining link up to the A365. Unfortunately, completion of this section of the path is outside of Wiltshire Council’s control and linked to when the approved development progresses.

“However, this section of the footpath is a legal right of way, and the owner has a responsibility to ensure that it remains usable in the meantime.”