Wiltshire Council responds to MP’s criticism of proposed bypass route

WILTSHIRE Council has responded to local MP, Michelle Donelan’s comments about the proposed route for the A350 Melksham bypass. 

In an interview last month with Melksham News, the local MP described herself as ‘supportive of the principle of a bypass’, but ‘not convinced’ that the route chosen by Wiltshire Council is the right one. 

The MP said the proposed route - a route to the east of Melksham, around Bowerhill – would ‘devastate’ the countryside and that land between the bypass and the town would ‘inevitably’ be filled with new housing. 

Describing the route, the MP said, “It is extremely broad; when you look at the route that has been chosen, it would devastate huge amounts of the countryside, and I believe quite unnecessarily so.”

Instead, the MP called for another solution to be found to help solve the ‘bottleneck’ problem that is faced by the residents of Beanacre, who say that the A350 is congested in their village, causing an impact on air pollution. 

“I just feel that the solution that’s on the table at the moment will actually not deliver for anybody,” said the MP.  

In response, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for transport, cllr Dr Mark McClelland said, “The proposed A350 Melksham bypass is a Large Local Major scheme that has been awarded development funding by the Department of Transport (DfT) to take it to Outline Business Case (OBC) stage. 

“If approved, the scheme will reduce congestion in Melksham and improve air quality in the town, while also improving journey times on this important transport link between the M4, west Wiltshire and the south coast.

“We have explored 18 different options for the proposed A350 Melksham bypass, including non-road options, such as improvements to cycling and walking facilities, and several different indicative routes for the road. 

“All 18 options were the subject of a public consultation in late 2020 to early 2021, and the results were reported to Cabinet on 1st June 2021, when it was agreed to progress with further consultation on the emerging route, Option 10c for a long eastern bypass. 

“We then held a second stage of consultation on that emerging route in summer 2021, and after considering the feedback, we have agreed to hold a third consultation exercise later this year that specifically looks at where the route may go. 

“There are many factors that need to be considered in developing a scheme of this type and scale, including the transport objectives, landscape, archaeology, ecology, air quality, flood risk, climate change, cost and benefits. 

“From the detailed assessment work, Option 10c has emerged as a viable route corridor to the east of the town, as it meets the transport objectives and appears to meet the criteria for funding to develop the project to the next stage in the business case process. 

“We’ll continue to engage with the local community on these proposals and look forward to hearing their views as we refine the route during the next consultation process.”