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A350 at West Ashton to close for one night in April for essential tree felling work

A350 to close at West Ashton, from Ashton Hill Farm to the crossroads with Bratton Road and West Ashton Road, from 7pm on Thursday 13 April until 5am on Friday 14 April.

Published 3 April 2023

Wiltshire Council is closing the A350 at West Ashton, from Ashton Hill Farm to the crossroads with Bratton Road and West Ashton Road, from 7pm on Thursday 13 April until 5am on Friday 14 April for essential work to cut down diseased ash trees.

The trees along the highway verge have ash dieback disease, which weakens them and can cause branches and even the whole tree to fall. This presents a serious risk to road users, particularly along high-speed roads. Some infected trees within falling distance of the road are also located on private land, and the council is working with the landowners to cut down these at the same time.

The closure is necessary because of the heavy machinery needed to remove the trees, and to keep the teams safe, and a signed diversion will be in place.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these essential works to diseased ash trees on the A350 at West Ashton. There is never a good time to undertake these works, but this overnight closure for one night represents the best compromise.

In our Business Plan, we have committed to improving and protecting Wiltshire's biodiversity, and that's why we plant more than one native tree for each ash tree felled and also leave some fallen logs on site to benefit insect and plant life. Most of the trees and chippings are removed from site and used as biomass to create renewable energy.

Any Wiltshire landowners with ash trees on their land, particularly next to a public footpath or highway, should have their trees professionally surveyed regularly and felled if necessary to keep people safe from falling branches.

As part of its programme to tackle ash dieback disease in Wiltshire, the council has felled more than 4,000 trees in the past two years. This is in addition to the usual tree management work that takes place around the county. To replace these lost trees, the council is planting more than 5,100 native species, such as beech, oak, cherry and elm, both at the roadside and in other parts of the county.

The council also commissions an annual independent survey for A and B roads, which identifies how many ash trees there are, how many are diseased and the stage of the disease in each tree. Work on the trees is then scheduled based on the priority order established by the survey.

To find out more about roadworks in Wiltshire, people should see Roadworks and related information.

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