Council asks for refund over axed bypass scheme

A council has called for a refund after plans for a £303m town bypass were axed by the government.

The A350 Melksham Bypass project had been proposed as a solution to the issue of heavy traffic through Wiltshire areas like Melksham and Beanacre.

It was dropped after a government review. During an emergency debate, Wiltshire councillors backed a motion to condemn the decision and they also called for the £500,000 already spent by the council on developing the scheme to be refunded.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said a "challenging financial picture" had led to "difficult decisions" on the future of several road projects, such as the Melksham bypass.

During the emergency debate on 20 October, councillor Jon Hubbard told the meeting that 24 people had been killed or seriously injured on the A350 between Chippenham and Melksham over a five-year period.

"That works out at roughly one... every 11 weeks," he said. "That's the cycle that we are facing on that route over a sustained period of time - of serious injury or death."

Meanwhile highways cabinet member Martin Smith said he wanted to see "joined-up thinking" and an "emphasis on safety" from the government.

He said: "These are all the things that have been sadly lacking from the Department for Transport in recent times."

Other councillors also pointed to issues across the county, such as the long-awaited Westbury bypass and improvements to the A350/A36 corridor to tackle heavy traffic through Marlborough.

Of the 35,000 vehicles which pass through Melksham on the A350 each day, 800 are lorries.

Sam Gompels heads up Gompels Healthcare, a family-run company which has been based in Melksham since 1967.

He previously told the BBC that the A350 getting busier made "life difficult" for his drivers who were often affected by delays.

"It is a blow for Melksham yet again," he said.

Melksham mayor Saffi Rabey said the decision to axe the bypass was bad for both residents and businesses.

"This bypass was essential to maintaining our town's integrity and protecting our villages," she said.

"Now that it's not going ahead, it's so disappointing for so many people."

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