B4069 Lyneham Banks repair plans take step forward

The B4069 was shut in February 2022 after it buckled due to subsidence

Plans to fix a road which buckled during stormy weather more than two years ago have taken a step forward.

A planning application has been submitted to repair the B4069 near Lyneham, Wiltshire.

But Wiltshire Council has been criticised by local businesses over the time taken to repair the damaged road.

Councillor for Lyneham, Alison Bucknall, said: "It's important we get it right, and we want this to be fixed once."

Simon Manners, who runs the Cross Keys pub in Bradenstoke, said he had lost money because of the closure.

"Vegetation has taken over the road, it's going back to how it once was.

"Nothing ever seems to get done, we hear they are planning all the time, but this has impacted us by around £40,000 per year with the loss of trade," he said.

Although only a short stretch of road has been affected, motorists have faced a diversion of several miles and one-way systems in nearby villages.

Simon Manners believes the repairs have taken too long

If the planning application is approved, Ms Bucknall believes the road will be re-opened between six to eight months after work begins.

She said: "The plan is quite extensive and a huge amount of drainage work is planned in order to futureproof it.

"In fields either side, a herringbone of drainage will take water away.

"The replacement part of the road will be built on pillars, which is quite a major engineering project."

Wiltshire Council said it would share updates on the project on its website.