Engagement on next stage of proposed Melksham bypass begins today

Wiltshire Council is holding a non-statutory engagement and consultation exercise on the next stage of the proposed A350 Melksham bypass project.

The engagement period begins this evening (Wednesday 23 June) with a presentation and question and answer session at Melksham Area Board, and then ends at 23:59 on Sunday 8 August.

To enable people to find out more about the scheme and ask questions, the council is also holding two online engagement sessions, on Tuesday 6 July at midday, and Tuesday 13 July at 6pm. People can pre-book attendance for these sessions on the Wiltshire Council website and also ask questions in advance to be answered at the events.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: "The proposed A350 Melksham bypass will not only help to improve north-south connectivity along the A350, but will also decrease congestion in Melksham, and reduce journey times, and help to improve air quality in the town.

"We originally consulted on a long list of 18 options, and we have listened to the responses from the first engagement exercise, along with other considerations such as the original objectives of the scheme; design constraints; costs and value for money; technical deliverability; local impacts; and environmental factors.

"This has led us to consider option 10C as the most viable route for this engagement exercise, with three different variations at the north of the proposed scheme.

"I'd urge as many people as possible to take part in this engagement exercise to find out more about the proposed route, and the options for the route to the north, and to let us know their views. Feedback we receive now will help us to compile the Outline Business Case, which we will submit to the Department for Transport (DfT) for further consideration."

During the first engagement exercise, held from November 2020 to January 2021, the community suggested alternative routes, which the council has considered, and also proposed various potential walking and cycling measures, which are also being considered as part of the scheme.

Throughout the development of the scheme, the council has been assessing feedback from the public and progressing the technical analysis works required to take forward and complete the Outline Business Case, before submission to DfT in the autumn. People can find out more about the route selection process by reading the draft Option Assessment Report, published on the council's website, which details the reasons why various options have not been chosen to take forward and the criteria used to assess them.

The engagement exercise runs from today (Wednesday 23 June) until 23:59 on Sunday 8 August. To find out more about the scheme, sign up for one of the engagement events, and take the survey, people should go to our A350 Melksham bypass web page.