Basil Hill Traffic Management - is this really a solution?

Funny things are going on in Corsham at the moment. An exhibition has sprung up at short notice in the Town Hall today and is going to be on Neston Memorial Hall tomorrow 3pm - 7pm to show the planned alterations to traffic movement along the A4 in Pickwick, and Leafy Lane. What makes it odd is that is not the public consultation exercise as it may first appear - planning permissions were granted last year as this is tied in with the MOD Basil Hill developments. The works are costing millions and people are starting to ask why is all this necessary?


The reality is that this is not just about Basil Hill but about an apparent attempt to 'future proof' the A4 against future traffic growth and in particular future development of the land currently occupied by the MOD at Copernacre, Rudloe etc for other uses.


The exhibition is being staged now to pre-empt a possible angry scene at next week's first Area Board meeting on Tuesday 21 July 7pm in the Town Hall because local people are understandably really concerned about the blinkered approach to the way these proposals have been put together.


'Consultants' have been paid a small fortune to come up with a plan to addresses the future growth of traffic on the A4. In my view this was the wrong question! They should looking at the bigger picture here. First of all a few facts:

• There are currently no other proposals for development on the existing Copernacre / Rudloe sites

• There are currently limited traffic flow problems along the A4.

• The Basil Hill developments, once completed, will apparently generate no additional traffic in this area.

• Any existing or potential traffic speed issues are ignored in these proposals

• Pickwick is a conservation area and the addition of traffic lights is yet another addition of further unnecessary street clutter - exemplifying English Heritage's recent report on the decay and neglect of our conservation areas across the country from 'Cluttered streets' and 'intrusive traffic-calming measures'.

• The proposed works would not help to prevent a repeat of the recent tragic accident at the Bradford Road Junction

• The proposed shared cycle / footpath runs the length of Park Lane but the cyclists entrance to the Basil Hill site is still shown on Westwells Road along with the cars entrance - hardly an incentive to cycle from Corsham to work at Basil Hill.

• Although discussed there is no evidence as to how the cycle routes are planned to connect to the cycle routesto link with the Town Centre or Box

• Despite the apparent money available there is not even a single bus stop shown on the plans so public transport will be simply a last minute add on to the plans.

• A possible link to the rail service, despite enthusiasm from the MOD itself does not figure in any of the proposals

• I asked if cabling etc for real time bus information was being installed - I was told no but it could be added later - so the roads would be dug up as soon as they are laid. How daft is that?

My main concern is that the starting point for the consultation was all about traffic flow. There is apparently £450K (money from Basil Hill and Spring Park developments) for public transport improvements. This sounds a lot but there is currently not a single proposal as to how any public transport improvements could be made - not even a bus stop is shown on the map so once again we consider public transport as a last resort rather the natural default way of travelling in this country. Why could there not have been a more holistic approach to the whole consultation which considered cars, buses, trains, cycling, walking all together in the same proposal and on the same map? Everything starts from the assumption that everyone will simpy get in their cars and drive!

I do hope lots of people will turn up for the first Area Board meeting next Tuesday. We need to show the new Board that local people really do care and want their voice to be heard. Just because planning permission has been granted does not mean that the plans have to be implemented as they are currently presented or that they are necessarily the best solution to a perceived future problem.

It could be a lively meeting!