I'm very pleased that after many years of waiting, the M4 to Dorset Coast strategic study which was undertaken by National Highways has now concluded, and I have read their final report.
The study was started in 2020 after the Government's roads investment strategy highlighted the need for a main strategic route connecting the ports on the Dorset coast with the M4. Wiltshire falls in between the two, and as a result our roads are used daily to transport products and services, provide access to jobs and facilitate trade and investment across the country. This is right and unavoidable, but there is a very real need to separate local and strategic traffic - large HGVs and freight traffic should not be using local roads as part of this route when it isn't absolutely necessary. The existing strategic route is relatively indirect for journeys between the M4 and Dorset Coast, meaning long journeys or the use of more local roads when this is not necessarily appropriate.
I'm delighted, after years of campaigning on this subject, that the proposed corridor (see map above) between the M4 and Dorset coast does not intend to route traffic along the A338 and A346, through Marlborough and villages. This route is currently a favourite of HGV drivers, causing havoc in our villages that are not designed to accommodate such large vehicles, and leading to huge congestion issues around Marlborough.
The report acknowledges that, while the Government can recommend a strategic route for long-distance traffic, it is not always possible to stop drivers from using them. Because of this there will be some local recommendations made 'to improve safety and access to public transport, and to reduce noise and make roads easier to cross' on the A338/A346 through East Wiltshire. I welcome the commitment to avoid Marlborough and the surrounding villages, and the indication that improvements to the road will be coming, but much more clarity will be needed. It is my view that there is still an opportunity to divert even more non-local traffic away from these roads by engaging with the Satnav companies which work with HGV and freight transport providers to agree that local roads should not be shown as a suitable alternative to the main routes.
It's also been recognised in the report that the existing strategic route via the A36 through Salisbury and up into Warminster has a 'relatively high number of collisions', particularly between Stapleford (in my constituency) and Salisbury, and that a higher than average proportion of the collisions on this section also result in death or serious injury.
I have serious concerns about what improvements (if any) will be made to help the villages along the A36 out of Salisbury which will be impacted by increased HGV traffic. The report suggests a de-trunking of the A36 north of Warminster, but does not explain how villages like South Newton, Great Wishford, Stoford and Stapleford will be considered.
These villages are also regularly impacted by the ongoing traffic issues on the A303 around Stonehenge. To suggest they also accommodate higher numbers of larger vehicles without addressing the existing issues they face on a regular basis is not enough. The Government has cancelled a multi-billion pound improvement to the roads in Wiltshire by scrapping the A303 tunnel scheme. For many years, necessary improvements to the local road network have been pushed back to be addressed when the tunnel was built, but this is now not happening and as such Wiltshire should receive some of the money saved to address the problems which have been put off for so long. While not in my constituency, the report's preferred route relies heavily on a proper traffic system for HGVs around Salisbury - a long-running and contentious goal that has not been achieved to date. Without this, there'll only be more rat-running through villages.
The study's recommendations will now be considered further by Government and by local stakeholders, such as Wiltshire Council, and a programme of further development work will be undertaken to develop more detailed options for investment in our roads. I hope the issues I have raised above for East Wiltshire will be addressed in the next stage. If the East-West route through the constituency (the A303 tunnel) isn't going ahead, we urgently need improvements to the North-South roads. This study is broadly welcome but the investment MUST come.
