Chippenham traffic problems 'would be eased by eastern link road'

A new survey was commissioned by developer Chippenham Riverside after Wiltshire Council abandoned its earlier commitment to create an eastern link road to support plans for over 3,500 new homes for the town.

The first section of the road had already been built at Birds Marsh, with the second due to start when homes go up at Rawlings Green.

Independent research agency Marketing Mean surveyed 1,800 households and received 359 responses, 53 per cent of which favour the eastern route.

Only 23 per cent of respondents want to see a link road around the south of the town and 24 per cent expressed no preference.

The council sacrificed a £75 million Housing Infrastructure Fund grant, intended to pay for both eastern and southern link roads, after it failed to reach an agreement for a southern route only.

Traffic in Chippenham (Image: Gary Lawrence)

The council’s own investigations and a traffic study commissioned last year by Chippenham Riverside showed an eastern road would reduce town centre congestion.

The council’s own Local Plan Transport Review in 2021 said: “The road network is congested with bottlenecks in and around the town centre.

“Previous work has shown that any meaningful growth would require a new Eastern Distributor Road connecting the east of the town to the A350 to the north.

“Without this access, it is expected there would be considerable capacity, congestion and delay through the town centre.”

The new residents’ survey, carried out in March, said 91 per cent of the people polled want the town’s growth to be planned so that it reduces traffic jams in the town centre.

Last year’s traffic survey showed an eastern road would cut congestion by 1,000 vehicle movements an hour more than a southern route in the centre at rush hour.

Plans for eastern and southern distributor roads. (Image: Gary Lawrence)

The poll also showed people want to protect the town centre through planned roadbuilding.

When asked, 80 per cent said Chippenham should expand in a way that favours retailers and services in the town centre.

The majority of people who responded to the postal survey have lived in the town for at least 10 years and have at least one car.

A spokesman for Chippenham Riverside said: “We genuinely want to do what is best for the town and commissioned this survey to give a voice to the silent majority, whose views are so often ignored.”

Wiltshire Council leader Cllr Richard Clewer was approached for comment but did not respond.