THE owner of a Cricklade industrial estate has joined the campaign for a bypass to keep lorries out of the town.

John Sweet, 77, established the Chelworth Industrial Estate in 1956 and has two companies - Whitehall Warehousing and Loadpoint based there.

Cricklade has been plagued with heavy traffic, some of which passes through the town on its way to the site.

The Evening Advertiser outlined the problem last month and reported how residents, campaigners and Michael Wills MP for North Swindon have been calling for lorries to use alternative routes to avoid Cricklade.

Wiltshire County Council says weight restrictions are inappropriate because much of the traffic is local.

But Mr Sweet claims the Chelworth area is not the only cause of the problem.

He thinks many of the lorries are travelling through Cricklade as a short cut to other destinations such as the Hills Recycling Plant in Purton and the Dyson site in Malmesbury.

He would like to see a bypass linking the A419 to the Chelworth Estate so lorries can get there without travelling through Cricklade's High Street.

Mr Sweet is also concerned about increased heavy traffic from the northern expansion of Swindon and wants a further road linking the area to his outlined bypass.

Chris Morley, chairman of the Cricklade Action Partnership, has been lobbying North Wiltshire District Council to include a bypass in the North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011 a planning document, which outlines what can and can't be built before that date.

Mr Sweet says the Chelworth area makes a major contribution to the local economy, which cannot be fully exploited unless the traffic issue is resolved.

Eight companies rent units in Braydon Lane from Mr Sweet. These include South West Transport, Flytec and Unique.

Around 300 people are employed at this site.

Other firms such as Watson Petroleum, J & B Transport and Glevum transport are also based in the Chelworth area.

Mr Sweet claims the problems of HGVs in Cricklade have not been tackled for the past 20 years and says the planning authorities have failed to be forward thinking.

He said: "This area is ideal for industrial development. It is a waste of time for agriculture. It has some of the poorest land in the county.

"This area contributes around one per cent of the county's total business rates.

"Over the years we have employed a lot of people from Cricklade."