Wiltshire | Archive | 2000 | May | 12
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Friday 12th May 2000.
THE Westbury bypass issue like any other tends to get any objective view obliterated by vested interest based on material/power gain such as the ability to obtain planning permission for any development, ignorance, or plain self interest.
Purely from an environmental view it is apparent that the eastern route will cause the least damage .
The White Horse argument is spurious because any road could be cut into the slope and not be visible from most vantage points any more than the existing Devizes one. The cement works and other workings are already in that area.
But with the western route a great deal of good pasture woodland and wildlife habitat would be destroyed, many more farms and other land bisected by the bypass and more rural dwellers land and property blighted.
Some options to the west will just put more traffic on to the A36 and push even more traffic through Bath.
The few Westbury town dwellers who voted for the far western route do not live in the surrounding area affected by any bypass and seem indifferent to the fact that more green fields will disappear with this route. If they carry on as they are they may not get any bypass at all. This may even please some traders in Westbury.
Despite many new roads to take traffic off rural lanes many drivers still insist on using the old roads so maybe we should ignore the bypass culture and do something about the amount of unnecessary travelling that is done.
DAVID THOMAS,
Hillview,
Hisomley,
Near Westbury.
© Newsquest Media Group 2008