To receive an update from Octavius Infrastructure about the progress towards reinstating the road at Lyneham Banks.
Minutes:
Monty De Souza (Project Manager), Paris Linkins (Stakeholder and Social Value Manager) and Gareth Hudson (Senior Site Manager) from Octavius Infrastructure Ltd., gave a presentation about the proposed works to repair the B4069 at Lyneham Banks. Points included:
· The road had been closed since February 2022 when a major landslip broke up the road, moving it 25 metres downhill.
· Octavious had initially planned to start reconstruction from the western end of the site but, following a review, would now start at both ends to speed up construction.
· Octavius would be holding regular community progress meetings and traffic surveys would be undertaken every three months during construction to monitor the impact of additional traffic on local roads.
· Work would take place six days per week between 7am and 7pm.
· Local businesses would be notified about the access arrangements to the site to minimise any impact on their trade. People living in neighbouring properties would be contacted directly.
· Octavius would engage with Lillybrook Estates and try to support their bee friendly initiative.
· Other plans for community engagement included organising a litter pick and helping students at Lyneham Primary School and Brinkworth Earl Danby CE Primary School with STEM subjects.
· A webinar would be held for undergraduates to help them study the project.
During the discussion, the following points were raised:
· Geoff Greenaway from Purton Parish Council asked whether there would be a dedicated route to transport aggregate materials and whether the temporary road installed by Network Rail would be used for this purpose. The Chairman noted that the temporary road did not legally exist and should have been removed.
· Approximately 160 cubic metres of material would be moved on site each day. There would be approximately 16 Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) visiting the site each day, so 32 journeys in total.
· The workers may not come from the local areas as specialist contractors were required from a company based in Newcastle.
· The Stakeholder and Social Value Manager explained that they were in the process of arranging accommodation for the workforce before work commenced on 8 July.
· Shendie Green from Lyneham and Bradenstoke Parish Council sought assurances that HGVs would not be travelling through Bradenstoke. The Project Manager explained that they had a traffic management plan in place with contractors that did not involve HGVs travelling through Bradenstoke. It was noted that if HGVs were found to have used the incorrect route then issues could be reported by contacting LynehamBanksProject@octavius.co.uk. The email address would be monitored during normal working hours.
· It was requested that an emergency contact number was shared with parish councils. It was noted that a ‘phone number was available on Octavius’s website 01737944830.
· It was highlighted that a newsletter would be available online and that a paper copy would be delivered to residents within a certain radius.
· In response to a query about cracking to parts of the B4069 that were not part of the main section that had slipped, Jack Francis, Highway Engineer at Wiltshire Council, confirmed that ground investigations had been carried out along the route and that monitoring stations had been installed.
· Construction would start on 8 July.