LOCAL MP Andrew Murrison has called for a further meeting with the roads minister Richard Holden to find out what the Department for Transport’s north-south strategic study means for Westbury.
The work is intended to find the best route for traffic from the south coast to the M4, and the minister, Richard Holden, has said that he does not anticipate the A350 south of Warminster could form part of the route but the A36/46 through Bath or the A350 via Chippenham could be considered.
Andrew, who has long campaigned for a western route Westbury bypass said, “It isn’t clear what this means for Westbury. To better understand what’s in the minister’s mind I’ll be asking for a meeting to discuss.
“The apparent exclusion of the A350 south of Warminster is, on the face of it, good news for my constituents in Crockerton and Longbridge Deverill but I wonder if the minister means south of the A303 which would be potentially problematic for them. Otherwise, there would be several villages along the A36 west of Salisbury that could, potentially, be disadvantaged.”
Andrew Murrison’s team said, “Mr Holden’s letter suggests that any action on the north-south route would not, in any event, be taken before 2030 to allow for dualling of the A303 which is currently held up by a legal challenge to the construction of the Stonehenge tunnel.”
Andrew added, “The Bath route cited in the letter does look interesting. If it took heavy through traffic, it would relieve Westbury which, without a bypass, could certainly not form part of a strategic north-south route via Chippenham.”
