Melksham: A350 town bypass plans move forward

A section of the A3102 east of Melksham, which could be crossed by the new A350 bypass

Plans to proceed with a proposal for a £135m bypass around a Wiltshire town have been approved.

The plan, for the A350 bypass around the eastern side of Melksham, follows Wiltshire Council's second public consultation, which ended in August.

There will now be a third consultation, this time focusing on finer details of the scheme, such as the exact route.

Cabinet member for transport councillor Dr Mark McClelland said despite concerns it would benefit the town.

Dr McClelland said the scheme would improve air quality, reduce congestion and would be an economic boost for the county.

'Expensive fiasco'

However, Andrew Nicholson, of the group Wiltshire Climate Alliance described the plan as "an expensive fiasco" with "low level support".

Plans for the "emerging route" are moving forward for the A350 Melksham bypass, says the council

Wiltshire Council will now prepare a carbon management plan before submitting its outline business case to the Department for Transport, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Explaining the decision to move forward with the scheme, Dr McClelland added "If the scheme is successful at the outline business case stage, then it is right to look again to refine and develop that route based on the feedback from residents and parish councils, and that's what we agreed today at cabinet.

"We will also consider the outcome of National Highways' current north-south connectivity study, which looks at routes between the M4 and the south coast and isn't expected until summer 2022."

Once the final scheme is approved, the bypass could be built and open by mid-2028.