Town council unanimously agrees way forward on traffic

At Full Council on 24 September, Bradford on Avon Town Council unanimously approved a traffic scheme to recommend to Wiltshire Council.

The town council has worked closely with Wiltshire Council throughout the process.

Earlier this summer, we met with Councillor Nick Holder, cabinet member for Highways at Wiltshire Council, who highlighted that any motion must show an ‘overall level of local support’.

After a thorough debate and hearing questions and comments from the public, the town council agreed to:

Bradford on Avon Town Council recommends Wiltshire Council to design a scheme on an experimental traffic order with the ability to be made permanent, and which will be assessed continually against our top priority of pedestrian safety, which has:

• 20mph speed limits throughout the town
• wider pavements being prioritised and maximised throughout the scheme, particularly at the bottom of Silver Street and the top of Market Street 
• one-way traffic east to west on Silver Street
• two-way traffic on Masons Lane
• serious consultative mitigation measures put in place from the start in any areas negatively impacted
• transparent consultation with emergency services, local bus services and local schools on the impacts of any scheme.

We are open to exploring both one-way and priority shuttle working at the top of market street, and would welcome guidance from expert Wiltshire Council highway engineers as to which system it would be most beneficial to our priorities to put in place first on a trial basis.

After the meeting, Councillor Jack Vittles, Mayor of Bradford on Avon said: “I am delighted that as a town council we have voted unanimously for change in the town with a new traffic scheme.

“Traffic is a decades-long problem in Bradford on Avon, and this is the culmination of a thorough and consultative process over the last few years.

“I really want to thank all residents and town councillors for their engagement and considered thoughts on this topic throughout the process.

“I am particularly happy we have addressed our top priority of pedestrian safety with an emphasis on significantly wider pavements and reducing the speed limit in the town.

“We have also emphatically recommended that any mitigations required for areas that could be potentially negatively impacted by the scheme will be on the ground from the start.

“We now look forward to working closely with Wiltshire Council in designing a scheme that makes this recommendation a reality for everyone in the town.

“Wiltshire Council remains responsible for the roads and pavements in Bradford on Avon – and their knowledge and expertise will be essential for the detailed design work and consultation that happens next.

“Our recommendation of a trial on the pinch point at the top of Market Street is one area we’d very much welcome their guidance.

“I will be writing to Wiltshire Council in the coming days to set up a meeting as soon as possible to start work on the design phase.”

This resolution will now be submitted to Wiltshire Council to develop and design a traffic scheme for Bradford on Avon.