New twist in festival row

The council is to close the main shop-ping street on a Saturday to hold the event, even though shopkeepers have argued it will disrupt their most profit-able day of the week.

But maps distributed to Wootton Bassett traders showing the details of the High Street closure were inaccurate.

Town clerk Johnathan Bourne said the map sent out to businesses indicates that the entire street, as far as Beaman's Lane, will be closed to traffic.

In fact, only the section between the mini-roundabout at Coxstalls to Station Road will be pedestrianised on Saturday August 3. Station Road will remain open and people will be able to access roads off the High Street from this point onwards, such as Wood Street, Rope Yard and Beaman's Lane.

Mr Bourne said: "We are sorry to have given wrong information. Someone was over-zealous with the highlighter pen."

Traders objected to the closure of the High Street fearing it would prevent customers, staff and delivery vans from getting to the shops. Despite the protests, the district council's area committee gave the town council permission to close part of the High Street.

Peter Davis, of Wootton Bassett Post Office, was one of the protesters. He says trade may still be affected, but hopes the event will draw people into the town and not deter them.

"We were sent a mistake but it's no great surprise," he said.

"Everyone in the town knows what the standard diversion is.

"I live in this town and support it. I am not interested sticking the knife in although I feel it would be better to do the festival on a Sunday when there's about a tenth of the traffic.

"On Saturdays we take between 22 and 26 per cent of the week's trade. Closing part of the road is going to mean wiping out lots of parking spaces, which I think is going to prevent people from coming.

"I will eat humble pie if people do come in."

A park and ride scheme from the Ballard's Ash Sports Ground is proposed for the day.