Lyneham 'colossal' road damage affecting local business

Mr Manners said: "We've got too much love and money tied into this place so we will stay, but for how long - who knows?"

A pub owner has spoken about how the closure of a damaged road is affecting his business.

Simon Manners, the owner of the Cross Keys Inn in Bradenstoke, said the closure of the B4069 near Lyneham is causing a "vast" loss of business.

The road was shut in February 2022 after it buckled due to subsidence.

A spokesperson from Wiltshire Council said: "The Lyneham Banks project is a complex civil engineering challenge with a number of factors at play."

Since the road closure has been in place, Mr Manners said his pub has seen fewer visitors, resulting a "vast" loss of "at least £1,000 per month" for him and his wife.

The road has been badly damaged by subsidence

The couple made the difficult decision to close the pub for one day a week and only serve food for four days, in an attempt to recuperate the losses.

He said: "It's a knock-on effect where you're not selling as much.

"Over the year, you're not going to get good discounts from the brewery because you're not buying as much."

Mr and Mrs Manners have owned The Cross Keys Inn for five years

"Everybody within this village, within the area, within the country pays our road fund licence, which is supposed to go towards road funding.

"We all pay our taxes, which don't seem to be going anywhere.

"The council are quite happy to go and put new traffic lights up in the local areas and new road signage, so why are they not using the money to come and fix our road?" he said.

Local resident John Williams has become so frustrated by the "colossal" road damage that he has issued the council with a Highways Act Section 56 notice, requiring them to act.

Mr Williams has lived in Lyneham for 36 years

He is hoping that the notice will speed the repair process up.

"[Wiltshire Council is] legally obliged to repair the road. It's a public right of way and it is their duty", he said.

Wiltshire Council has acknowledged the frustrations of the local residents, as well as the notice issued by Mr Williams.

It said its highways team has worked closely with specialist consultants to understand the nature of the damage and complete thorough ground investigation surveys.

Wiltshire Council described the road as a “complex engineering project”

Now that has been completed, the team are starting the design phase of the repair, which is expected to cost approximately £6m.

The council says it is working with the Department for Transport to secure additional funding where possible.

Samantha Howell is the Director of Highways and Transport at the council.

She said: "We understand it is frustrating for the community, particularly for the locals, but also for the wider area.

"We ask for people to bear with us because we're working incredibly hard to fix the road as quickly as we can, subject to the safety issues and the funding availability.

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