Wiltshire Council can’t escape bypass suspicion

WILTSHIRE Council has been unable to shake off suspicion that the selection of its preferred route for the proposed A350 bypass was a ‘done deal’. 

Eyebrows were recently raised when Wiltshire Council announced it was moving forward with only one route option – known as 10c – for the proposed A350 Melksham bypass, despite promises of drawing up a ‘short listing of the most viable routes’. 

And at last month’s Melksham Area Board, when Wiltshire Council shared its more detailed ‘emerging option’ for the A350 bypass to the east of Melksham, around Bowerhill, they faced similar criticism again. 

“I feel that the general public are one step behind all the way here,” said one local resident at the meeting who described the ‘emerging’ route as “already quite well considered”. 

“It’s very specific [the route], and a lot of work has clearly already been done about where that route is,” the resident continued, “and it just feels quite frustrating. It seems like a decision has been made before anyone else gets a chance to discuss it.” 

Melksham resident, Phil Chipper, also highlighted at the meeting that in 2019, Wiltshire Council’s funding request to the Department of Transport (DfT), noted that the route known as ‘10c’ would offer “high value for money”. 

He also questioned a statement made at the meeting by Wiltshire Council’s major projects highways engineer, Stephen Wilson, that the “sifting process” for the route selection, which had 18 options, started nine months ago. 

Referring to the council’s 2019 funding request, Phil Chipper pointed out that the council had started the whole process with only two route options – with route 10c a clear favourite. 

“It’s clear that two years ago the council were only ever going to take forward the 10c route,” said Phil Chipper. 

However, Wiltshire Council’s Stephen Wilson acknowledged that whilst the 2019 application had “limited options”, those options did not “define” any solution to the case for a new A350 bypass for Melksham. 

“It’s right and proper that we look at all options and re-evaluate,” explained Wiltshire Council’s Stephen Wilson about why the council had 18 route options to “sift”, instead of just the two proposed in 2019. 

He also stressed that Wiltshire Council has worked “dutifully and progressively”, and that all work has been done “in accordance with DFt requirements”. 

The more detailed plans for the bypass shared at the meeting, which are now undergoing a new non-statutory consultation until early August, showed a route approximately nine kilometres long, with construction costs estimated to be in the region of £135million. 

The plans include four new roundabouts, including one at the northern end of the bypass at the A350 between Halfway Farm and Lacock village, where Wiltshire Council has proposed three options. 

However, the council has presented ‘Option A’ – a roundabout at the existing Lacock junction, where the A350 meets Melksham Road – as its “preferred option”, despite claiming that it is “keen” to know what people’s thoughts or preferences are on “what would be best”. 

Wiltshire Council’s Stephen Wilson described ‘Option A’ as “useful and sensible” because of its potential to improve the “substandard” junction and because it would only need one bridge across the River Avon and its flood zone and the archaeological Roman Road. He said, “We’re almost killing two birds with one stone. We think this is an elegant solution and if there were no constraints on land availability, that’s the one we would be focussing on.”  

He highlighted that ‘Option B’ – a roundabout near Roman Road – would “conflict” with the Roman Road and potential archaeological interest in the area. 

And about ‘Option C’ – a roundabout south of Roman Road – the major projects highways engineer said that Wiltshire Council would “seek to avoid” that option as it impacts on a nearby local residential property and would need to be built in a flood zone. 

All three options are included in the council’s questionnaire that asks respondents which of the three options they prefer.