Issue - meetings

a.    To consider Marlborough Town Council’s request to the area board seeking support to upgrade the crossing in George Lane to a ‘Puffin’ crossing.

b.    To receive a short presentation by Ian Ritchie, Chairman of The Friends of The Ridgeway about the proposed ‘Great Stones Way’ walk from Avebury to Stonehenge.

c.    To receive an update report on the closure of Pewsey Road Bridge from Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways.

a.George Lane Puffin Crossing

The Area Board considered Marlborough Town Council’s request to the area board seeking support to upgrade the crossing in George Lane to a ‘Puffin’ crossing.

Decision

It was agreed that the Marlborough Area Board supported Marlborough Town Council’s request to upgrade the crossing in George Lane to a ‘Puffin’ crossing and that the issue was to be forwarded to Spencer Drinkwater, Wiltshire Council for consideration at the Community Area Transport Group workshop on 7 October.

b.Great Stones Way Walk

The Area Board received a short presentation by Ian Ritchie, Chairman of The Friends of The Ridgeway about the proposed ‘Great Stones Way’ walk from Avebury to Stonehenge which would provide an attractive route for walkers and bring valuable recreational and employment opportunities, and boost tourist earnings for local communities.

The Chairman thanked Ian Ritchie for his presentation and wished him well with the proposal, it was felt that the group should talk to all local members and parishes to gain as much local backing as possible and increase publicity for the proposed route.

For more information please see the Great Stones website at www.ridgewayfriends.org.uk or contact ridgewayfriends@googlemail.com

c.Pewsey Road Bridge

Councillor Dick Tonge, Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways gave an update on the works at Pewsey Road Bridge and advised that Wiltshire Council appreciated that any roadworks in a busy town like Marlborough was likely to increase traffic congestion, but the current works was unavoidable

Closing the bridge or implementing weight limits was not feasible because of the importance of the route and its use as an alternative route when the High Street is closed. In view of the bridge’s condition and type of construction it became apparent that replacing the existing structure was the only feasible option.

The works had been phased and timed around local events, including the Jazz Festival in July and the Mop Fair in October when the road would be temporarily reopened. The scheme had to fit in with other work on the network being carried out by public utilities elsewhere in the town, and this affected the start date.

The future programming of the works was being reviewed to see if there was scope for increasing the time the bridge could be opened before Christmas, and the council and contractor were working on this at the moment. To some extent this may depend on the weather and the conditions encountered during the demolition of the existing bridge and the construction of the foundations of the new bridge.

Points made included:

·        Better traffic information covering the town centre would be welcomed.

·        It was vital to keep the Marlborough open to tourists.

·        George Lane residents were suffering from noise created from the traffic and have had cars using their drives as turning points.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Tonge for his update.