Residents hit out at Wiltshire Council over delays to opening relief road

RESIDENTS of Snowberry Lane have hit out at Wiltshire Council over the delay in opening the new relief road in Melksham East, even though the Spa Road roundabout it connects to has been completed.  

The relief road, an extension of Eastern Way, was expected to become operational once the roundabout, which took two years to complete, was finished. It is now believed that the relief road may not open until December this year. 

Residents are increasingly frustrated by the delays to the opening of the new road, which would alleviate the volume of traffic using Snowberry Lane. They have raised concerns about traffic safety and the impact of heavy goods vehicles on Snowberry Lane, including damage to nearby homes. 

“For starters, we seem to have transitioned from an abandoned roundabout to a pointless one,” explained a resident who is leading the campaign, Gary Fossey. “The purpose of building the roundabout was solely to facilitate the relief road. It is evident that houses alongside Snowberry Lane physically shake with the lorries driving past, often above the speed limit and that structural damage has been caused to some houses.” 

The residents, who have the support of some local councillors and local MP Brian Mathew, say that if the relief road is not opened by the start of September, they plan to increase their campaign, which will include leafleting 200 houses, calling for the resignation of Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and seeking financial compensation from Wiltshire Council for the ‘nuisance caused’ by the ongoing delay. 

Wiltshire Councillor for Melksham and a local town councillor, Cllr Jon Hubbard said, “it is deeply concerning that Wiltshire Council would allow this situation to persist, seemingly without regard for the safety of our community’s most vulnerable members. The safety of our residents, particularly the hundreds of young people who walk to school each day, is at stake.” 

Cllr Nick Holder, who is Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for highways, said, “Now that the Spa Road roundabout in Melksham has been opened for use, our officers are working hard with the developer to complete the final works required to be in a position to open the Melksham Eastern Relief Road (MERR) to through traffic and alleviate the high volume of traffic currently using Snowberry Lane. 

“The compound being used by the contractors that is currently situated on the relief road, will now be demobilised off the site. This will then allow for the western end of the MERR to be resurfaced and for the Toucan crossing to be completed.

“While we are keen to open the route as quickly as possible; the outstanding actions must be completed and signed off to ensure the safety of all users before we can progress. We hope to have this new road open as soon as possible.”