Calne traffic plans could help tackle congestion on A4

A public consultation on the draft version of the Calne Community Neighbourhood Plan is currently underway and will last until March 22.

If approved, this plan will influence development decisions and priorities in Calne, and the parish of Calne Without, during the coming years.

The document, which is two years in the making, covers a wide range of issues including transport infrastructure, housing development, the future of the town centre, and sustainability.

One of the key issues raised by the scheme is local concern over high levels of congestion on all the town’s main routes, following recent housing development in the area.

In particular, junctions on the A4, including the Curzon Street, Silver Street and Studley Crossroads areas, are identified as traffic hotspots at peak times.

Studley Crossroads (pictured in the day) is a traffic hotspot at peak times (Image: Newsquest)

There are also fears the villages around the town are hazardous due to significant “rat running.”

The report said: “It is considered that most development would cause a detrimental impact to the already congested, polluted and unsafe road network.”

The neighbourhood plan proposes to tackle this issue by ensuring only developments that mitigate adverse transport impacts will be supported in the future, to prevent further detriment to the community.

This document is currently in draft form and responses from residents will help shape the final plan.

The draft can be viewed online or in person at the Calne Town Council offices, the library, Bank House, or the mobile library that visits Derry Hill and Stockley.

Drop-in events will be held on February 23 at the library (3.30pm to 6.30pm), February 24 at Calne Town Hall (10.30am to 2.30pm) and March 2 at Lansdowne Hall (10.30am to 2.30pm).

Traffic on the approach to the A4 Calne (Image: Siobhan Boyle)

Locals were urged to view the document and voice their opinions.

Ed Jones, the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group chair, said: “I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to respond to our surveys over the last two years, what you told us has helped create this revised Neighbourhood Plan.

“While the Plan must work within national and Wiltshire policy, its success will depend upon it having the support of the local community. We can only achieve this if people help us again now by taking part in this consultation.

“So please come and visit one of the events or look at the website and fill in the survey, letting us know what you think we’ve got right and what we still need to work on”.