KENNET District Council has complained to the county highways authority after it refused to carry out a survey into how new housing in Devizes would impact on traffic on London Road.

At Thursday's meeting of Kennet's planning policies executive committee, members expressed their disappointment that the county council was not carrying out a traffic modelling exercise, as they had indicated they would, to see what effect on the already congested London Road the addition of nearly 700 homes in the area would have.

The Devizes Strategic Development Brief, which aims to put some detail onto the Kennet Replacement Local Plan, foresees housing development at Quakers Walk, Roundway Mill and Le Marchant Barracks and there is a planning application in for housing at the former Kverneland factory site, also in the London Road area.

If all developments take place, 680 homes will be built, adding more than 1,000 vehicles to London Road.

Coun Jeff Ody said he was gobsmacked by the county decision.

He said it was nonsensical that the county was instead proposing to do mini-traffic models for each of the developments when planning applications are submitted.

It was suggested that Kennet carries out its own traffic survey but councillors were told, as they are not the highway authority, they would not be allowed to spend money on it.

A spokesman for the county council said it had turned down a traffic modelling exercise on the grounds of cost.