£303m and 35,000 vehicles a day: the Melksham bypass the DfT has now dropped

The A350 Melksham bypass, estimated at £303m, has been removed from the government’s Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme after the Department for Transport judged it lower value for money than other schemes. The A350 Melksham bypass has been dropped from the government’s road programme. The roads minister confirmed the decision in a letter to Melksham and Devizes MP Brian Mathew, after a review of the Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme. In brief: The Department for Transport assessed the £303m bypass as offering lower overall value for money than other schemes in the programme. Wiltshire Council says the bypass remains a priority and it will look to revive it if new funding opportunities arise. The minister says the decision doesn’t stop the bypass being considered again if a compelling business case and a suitable funding programme emerge. Why the Melksham bypass was dropped, and what happens next The A350 through Melksham and Beanacre carries about 35,000 vehicles a day. It’s the main north–south route between the M4 and the south coast, and much of the heavy goods traffic between the two passes through the middle of the town. Wiltshire Council has described the bypass as a longstanding priority, intended to ease congestion, cut journey times, improve road safety and reduce the effects of air pollution and noise on the existing route. The Major Road Network and Large Local Majors programme is the government’s main source of funding for big schemes on council-run A roads. The DfT reviewed it nationally and concluded that Melksham offered less value for money than other schemes competing for the same funds. For a scheme estimated at £303m, that was always going to be a high bar. The minister told Mathew the door isn’t closed. The decision doesn’t prevent the bypass from being considered in future if a compelling business case and an appropriate funding programme emerge. Wiltshire Council has said it’s disappointed, but remains committed to considering the bypass again when new funding opportunities arise. There’s another possible route for the scheme. A study by National Highways into the corridor between the M4 and the Dorset coast confirmed the A350 as the preferred route for traffic between the two. It recommended “trunking” the road, which means transferring it from the council to National Highways as part of the strategic road network. Wiltshire’s council leader, Cllr Ian Thorn, has said that trunking would make the A350 eligible for future Road Investment Strategy funding, a much larger pot than the one Melksham has just lost. Local reaction has been mixed. Melksham South councillor Jon Hubbard (Independent) criticised the government for removing funding for a road it had itself described as substandard. Melksham Forest councillor Jennie Westbrook (Liberal Democrat) said: “We deserve better.” Bowerhill councillor Nick Holder (Conservative) called the decision unsurprising. Devizes Rural West councillor Tamara Reay (Conservative) noted that some residents will welcome it, but that Wiltshire still faces significant transport problems. Mathew said he would keep pushing for other ways to ease transport problems in the town. Melksham isn’t the only scheme affected by the review. In North Northamptonshire, the A509 Isham Bypass has also been removed from the programme . The council hasn’t said how much it has already spent developing the scheme. For now, the 35,000 vehicles a day on the A350 keep using the road through Melksham and Beanacre.