Six years on – plans for safe Oak school footpath under way

Wiltshire Council has confirmed a budget and timeline is in place to build the path and cycleway at the rear of Melksham Oak Community School to improve safety of students. Works are expected to finish in May 2024, six years after it was due to be constructed.

Plans for the pathway, believed to be 450 metres long, were initially included in the designs for Oakfield Stadium in 2014 and was one of the conditions of the planning permission given by the council in 2018, for 450 houses on the nearby Hunters Wood development. 

 Questions around when the pathway would be built have been frequently raised, following numerous delays which Wiltshire Council blamed on Covid and a hike in costs up to £450,000, which the council admitted it didn’t have the funds for. 

 With the school’s 1,300 students left to commute alongside the busy A365, Wiltshire councillors, Nick Holder and Mike Sankey have successfully lobbied for the project to move forward; Wiltshire Council has now confirmed a budget is available for the works out of reserved funds and will submit a planning application in August this year. 

Cllr Nick Holder said, “I am very pleased Wiltshire Council has confirmed the budget is available to fully fund the construction of the footpath to the rear of Melksham Oak, and we have agreed an indicative timeline for the project to be completed. 

“Along with cllr Mike Sankey, I have been lobbying the leader of Wiltshire Council, cllr Richard Clewer, to find the balance from council reserves and I am thankful for his support in getting us to the position where funds have now been secured.” 

In 2019, the council was given £100,000 from the developers for the project but with the hike in costs, this was not enough to cover the work.

Cllr Holder said, “There has been a lot of speculation about the council’s commitment to completing this project and it has been suggested the sum provided by the developer had been spent elsewhere. The contribution from the developer was never going to be enough to fund all of the costs and Wiltshire Council was encouraged to seek the balance from central government. Bids were made for Levelling Up money for Melksham and also to the government’s Active Travel Fund, but no grants were awarded to the council.” 

He added, “The construction of this footpath will provide a new walking route to the school and will enhance the safety of our children in Melksham.” 

With plans to build the footpath now under way, cllr Holder is turning his attention to the safety of the road which runs past Melksham Oak Community School. He said, “Keeping our children safe as they make their way to school is a key priority, and I am still seeking support for the petition to reduce traffic speed outside the school on the A365.”