Plan for £303m bypass dropped by government

Plans for a £303m town bypass are in jeopardy after a Government review.

Roads minister Justin Madders said - in a letter to MP Brian Mathew - that plans for the A350 Melksham Bypass in Wiltshire have been dropped following a review of the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme.

Melksham South councillor Jon Hubbard told BBC Radio Wiltshire he was "horrified" by the decision.

In his letter, Madders said the Government had inherited "a long list of unfunded, unaffordable schemes" and wanted a more realistic programme which councils and ministers could afford.

The bypass has been discussed for years as a way of reducing traffic on the A350 through Melksham and Beanacre, which see about 35,000 vehicles a day.

The road connects the south coast with the M4, Bristol and the Midlands.

Hubbard said the government had spent tens of millions of pounds improving junction 17 of the M4 to only "feed more traffic through that junction onto the A350", which he said was "the definition of madness".

"We have a substandard road that can't carry the traffic we're now putting on it," he added.

Melksham Forest councillor Jennie Westbrook told also the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We [Melksham] deserve better."

However, the minister told Mathew the decision did not prevent the bypass being considered in the future if a compelling business case and appropriate funding programme emerged.

In a post on Facebook, MP Brian Mathew said: "I will keep pushing for other ways to ease transport worries, particularly better public transport and improved rail and bus services to get more people out of their cars

"Melksham has waited long enough. We need real solutions to our transport problems, and I will keep working to deliver them."

Wiltshire Council's preferred bypass route around Melksham and Bowerhill was estimated at £146m when consulted upon in 2021. That figure rose to £238m in 2022 and reached £303m by this summer, according to the Local Democracy Reporting service.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Given the challenging financial picture we inherited, we have had to make difficult decisions on a number of road projects and can only progress schemes that are affordable for taxpayers

"We're backing drivers with over £1bn for 16 major road schemes that will deliver the most benefits to local people, on top of a record £7.3bn to repair local roads and fix potholes."

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