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Salisbury and the Wylye Valley
 
A36 Southern Salisbury bypass

The A36 Salisbury bypass is one of those impossible roads that lives on in the dreams of chambers of commerce and MPs and the nightmares of environmentalists and campaigners for transport justice.  Salisbury’s MP, John Glenn, believes the city needs an A36 bypass. Veteran transport activist Margaret Willmot has shown that the scheme axed in 1997 could not be built today because long sections of the route have been built over or soon will be.  The MP is undeterred, claiming that ‘relatively minor deviations’ would avoid the environmental obstacles of the Avon at Britford and new housing development at Robarrow, Netherhampton Road and St Peter’s Place.  

This Department Of Transport (DOT) scheme was finally rejected by government in July 1997 following re-examination of the environmental evidence. None of the government watchdogs objected at the first inquiry.  After independent ecologists working pro bono with anti-bypass campaigners discovered rare flowery meadow (MG8) grassland that had been missed by DoT’s ecologists, English Nature gave it a rapid SSSI designation and also recognised the potential impact of the proposed road on the Wiltshire Avon  candidate SAC. 

 

Other watchdogs then woke up, belatedly recognising the damage to the landscape setting and heritage of the cathedral city that would result from building and operating an elevated road across the flood plain of the Avon.  The DoT’s assertion that the road would ‘afford the motorist splendid views of the cathedral’ now counted for less than the fact that Constable had already painted splendid views of this ‘quintessentially English landscape.’ 

 

The southern bypass would have extended northwards up the valley of the River Wylye (one of the five rivers of the Avon chalk stream SAC) to Stapleford, approximately 10km NW of the city.

 

No more road building promised 

Following cancellation of the bypass the Government Office for the South West (GOSW) set up the Salisbury Transport Strategy, leading a steering group consisting of Wiltshire County Council, Salisbury District Council, the Highways Agency and consultants WS Atkins. It was promised to be a model on how to solve traffic problems without building more roads. However when a ‘Preferred Strategy’ was put forward in April 2000, over half of the proposed expenditure was allocated to new roads in the form of a Wylye Valley Relief Road and the Brunel Link/Harnham Relief Road. Taken together these two roads would have followed much of the route of the scrapped southern bypass.

Wyle Valley Relief Road and Brunel Link Harnham Link Road are dropped too

 

The cost of the Wylye Valley Relief Road grew from an estimated £15 million in 2000 to £38.6 million in 2004 and it was subsequently dropped.  

 

Planning applications for the Brunel Link/Harnham Relief Road were submitted first in 2002 and then in 2005; both received large numbers of objections, and were withdrawn.

 

Margaret Willmot, veteran campaigner against the Salisbury bypass and other major roads across Wessex has pointed out that large sections of the route have now been built over, for example at Rowbarrow, on the Netherhampton Road and at St Peter’s Place. She superimposed these housing estates on the old bypass plans and showed them to the local MP, bypass champion John Glenn. He said he didn’t have any particular attachment to this route … Those who do, think it can still be achieved with relatively minor deviations near the areas you outline. Margaret disputes the 'relatively minor deviations' (e.g. south of hospital? east of Britford? through the Longford estate? west of Wilton? through the Wilton estate?)

 southern bypass would have extended northwards up the valley of the River Wylye (one of the five rivers of the Avon chalk stream SAC) to Stapleford, approximately 10km NW of the city.  

 

Following cancellation of the bypass the Government Office for the South West (GOSW) set up the Salisbury Transport Strategy, leading a steering group consisting of Wiltshire County Council, Salisbury District Council, the Highways Agency and consultants WS Atkins.

Rail

Salisbury is on the line from Cardiff to Portsmouth via Bristol, Bath, Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster and Southampton. It is also on the line from London to Exeter.  Reinstatement of the second track between Salisbury and Exeter has been proposed for decades, notably by the Bristol\Bath to South Coast Study. 

 

Container trains from Southampton cannot follow the line west of Salisbury because of low headroom in the tunnel to the east of the station.  They can however go north to the Midlands.

 

Wilton: Reopening the station has been proposed for many years, most recently as a park-and- ride and commuter station on an extended TransWilts service from Salisbury to Swindon. Reopening Porton station has been shown to be viable for many years but it too languishes on Network Rail’s distant-future-project list.

Illustrations: material from Margaret Willmot. Photos: Avon Navigation and fishing lodge; memorial stone. 

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A36 Salisbury bypass Avon at Britford (2).jpg

The A36 Salisbury bypass would have crossed the Avon Navigation here at Britford. The Fishing Lodges on left would have been demolished.

A36 Salisbury bypass memorial stone (1).jpg

Above: A36 Salisbury bypass memorial stone at Britford. Bronze plaque on Chilmark stone from the Cathedral stonemasons’ yard.

 

Inscription

 

The Salisbury bypass would

have buried this place under a

20 ft chalk embankment.

Remember the folly that was

planned. Treasure the glory

of the valley that was saved.

Always be ready to defend it.

 

This black poplar was planted

by Salisbury Transport Action

Committee on 6th March 1999

We read in the Salisbury Journal March 2021 that the City council has voted to oppose calling for a bypass or relief road for Salisbury.

In a full council meeting last night (March 8 2022), Salisbury City Council also voted to oppose a housing development on the field between East Harnham and Britford - but did not oppose the further extension of Rowbarrow on the opposite side of the road.

 

A big part of the debate at the meeting was concerning the city council's response to Wiltshire Council's Local Plan Review - specifically, whether or not it should ask Wiltshire Council to safeguard land that could be used for a future bypass route 

It comes after Britford Parish Council criticised the impact hundreds of new dwellings could have on the village’s identity, as well as raising concerns about flooding and ecological damage risks.

Wiltshire Council’s Local Plan Review has identified two separate spots - Site 6, between Salisbury and Britford north of Downton Road, and Site 7 to the south of Downton Road behind Britford park and ride - as potential areas for development in future.

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