WESTBURY town councillor and Wiltshire councillor, Matt Dean, has expressed his outrage over the construction of a continuous one-metre-high vehicle restraint barrier at the lake by Westbury Railway Station and has blasted Wiltshire Council for their “shambolic” handling of the issue.
The barrier is a safety requirement by Wiltshire Council’s highways department and has been constructed by the developer, Bovis Homes. Cllr Dean says he was told by Wiltshire Council that breaks in the barrier would be added, but he was disappointed to see the barrier go up without any gaps. He says that the work will now be done retrospectively.
“People rightly feel that this area is being encroached on; an open space has now become a fenced in space. I believe that Wiltshire Council has behaved shambolically over this and I’m really disappointed in the lack of communication from Wiltshire Council. Part of my role as a councillor will be to hold the individuals in charge of this process to account and make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again. I am absolutely furious.
“As the ward councillor, I became aware of this issue over three months ago and I said that I felt that there should be gaps in the fence to allow pedestrian and disabled access, particularly to the pontoons.
“Quite a number of residents who live in the new estate are also disappointed as they have bought houses here expecting to have access to the lake; there are a number of people that are very unhappy indeed.
“I was assured by Wiltshire Council’s highways team that gaps could be added to the fence, and I assumed that they had been negotiated with the developer. I was extremely disappointed therefore to see the fence started to be constructed. At that point, I asked the highways team to intervene to make sure that the fence wasn’t constructed, but they were unable to do so and I’m still investigating why that is the case.
Cllr Dean explained that the area is now to undergo a road safety audit by structural engineers on behalf of the developer before the gaps can be put in but added, “They are now planning on coming back and adding the gaps retrospectively.”
Permission for the gaps to be added is subject to a letter from Wiltshire Council’s highway’s director to the developer, following the road safety audit.
He said, “It’s great that Wiltshire Council are finally putting some focus behind this, but it didn’t need to be like this.”
The lake is part of Bovis Homes’ lakeside development, and it is hugely popular with dog walkers, the angling club and local residents. Kathryn Scarlett, a semi-disabled fishing enthusiast, spoke to the White Horse news back in March and explained that the area, “is one of the most beautiful places in this area, with loads of different wildlife working together”.
Cllr Dean continued, “There are some suggested locations for those gaps, but no time scale has been decided due to the lack of results from the safety audit saying the gaps are ok. I’m doing everything I can behind the scenes to accelerate that process and get the gaps in the barrier as quickly as possible.
“I’m very disappointed that Wiltshire’s highways team weren’t able to conclude these negotiations before the barrier was constructed. I am also disappointed that the views of the fishing club, the residents and the people that use the lake recreationally have not been listened to, but I am pleased that the developers and Wiltshire Council highways team are talking to each other.”
Work to build the barrier has now been completed, but there is no time scale as to when the gaps will be added.
