Bypass dismissed as a ‘non starter’

10:59am Thursday 31st May 2007

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County councillor Margaret Taylor is calling for a Devizes bypass after Westbury was given the green light for one.

Mrs Taylor, Devizes North councillor for ten years, is urging the county council to consider a bypass.

She said: "A recent survey asked people what would improve life in their towns. Devizes residents put the relief of traffic congestion higher than any other issue raised by any other town in Wiltshire - higher even than Westbury.

"Consideration for Devizes' problems must now become a priority for the county council. We have waited long enough.

"It is not good enough to say a bypass is not an option for Devizes and do nothing to relieve the growing congestion in the town."

Congestion along Bath Road and London Road has become increasingly serious. Work to improve the pavement between Browfort and Brewery Corner has resulted huge tailbacks of traffic.

The situation along London Road is likely to worsen as more than 700 homes approach completion.

But environmental groups like Transport 2000 are vehemently against bypasses, such as the one approved last week to relieve traffic in Westbury town centre.

Jenny Raggett of the South West branch of Transport 2000 said: "Bypasses divide communities and bring more greenfield sites into the planning system.

"Devizes should take a lesson from Westbury. The bypass will bring more lorries into the surrounding villages.

"Yarnbrook will get 42 per cent more lorries through it than it gets now and people there are very angry about it."

Kate Freeman of Kennet Passengers, the local public transport lobby, said that neither Wiltshire County Council nor Kennet District Council had made use of the Devizes transport strategy published in 2000 to stabilise traffic growth.

She said: "Kennet Passengers has yet to see a master plan for the expansion of a town bus service, which will be essential to prevent the growth of traffic from the new development along London Road."

Even if County Hall was to give the go-ahead for a feasibility study for a Devizes bypass, it could take many years to come to fruition.

The Westbury scheme has been under discussion for 25 years. It is likely to cost more than £33million and work on it is unlikely to begin before February 2009.

County councillor Fleur de Rhe-Philipe, Cabinet member for transport, said a bypass for Devizes was a non starter. She said: "I am well aware of the problem of traffic in Devizes.

"But a bypass is simply not a runner because the Government has specifically said that we cannot bid for money for road schemes costing more than £5 million."