Wiltshire Council’s planning application for the £31M Westbury bypass has been rejected by the Government.
The long-proposed scheme would have brought a single carriageway to the eastern side of Westbury, cutting through the protected landscape below the famous White Horse.
But the secretary of state for communities and local government, in agreeing with the inspector’s recommendation to refuse planning permission, said the scheme would do little to encourage modal shift from cars, and ‘might encourage the reverse’.
The refusal letter from the Government stated: ‘The proportion of HGVs and the accident rate are not exceptional for a primary route passing through a town.
‘Traffic delays and journey time unreliability are primarily caused by problems elsewhere rather than on the length of the A350 that would be by passed.’
It also said there was no clear evidence of how the scheme would encourage sustainable economic development in the West Wiltshire area as a whole. Instead, it would increase climate change emissions and damage the landscape and tranquillity of the Wellhead Valley.
Welcoming the decision, Richard George, Campaign for Better Transport’s roads and climate campaigner, said: ‘It should come as no surprise to anyone that this road was rejected, because it would have destroyed swathes of countryside but provided very little relief for the people of Westbury.
‘This decision should send a signal to councils across the country that it is no longer acceptable to try and force unnecessary roads through in the face of widespread environmental destruction and concerted community opposition.’
But Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, Dick Tonge, said: ‘The decision will come as a blow to many residents and businesses in Westbury.
‘We did everything in our power to try to get the scheme off the ground, as we believed it would benefit many residents and businesses in the town, as well as traffic using the A350.’
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