THIS week saw shovels in the ground in Melksham Market Place as work to revamp the area before the campus is built got under way.
The reconstruction of the Market Place is expected to take six months and cost £560,000. The car park is being pedestrianised with a two-way road directly from the roundabout to Melksham House.
The improvements will be carried out in three phases; drivers will be able to keep using the Melksham House car park throughout, but only disabled parking will be available in the Market Place.
The Market Place improvements are the second stage of the Melksham Campus project. The first – the new football and rugby club at Woolmore Farm -was completed last month.
Local people – at an Area Board public meeting – voted in 2015 to cut the budget for the Market Place by around half, so more money could be used for the health and wellbeing centre at Melksham House.
The work was originally scheduled for spring last year, but after it was delayed Wiltshire Council rescheduled the project to avoid interfering with the Christmas lights.
A spokesperson for the contractor, Ringway, will be on site every Thursday to answer any questions. Alternatively, Wiltshire Council can be contacted on 0300 456 0100.
During the work, the weekly Tuesday markets will be held in the car park on Church Street while the bus stop and taxi rank will both be moved up the road to outside Lloyds Bank, and National Express coaches will stop outside Backhouse Bet beside the roundabout.
