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Mr David Sledge

Projects Sponsor for Renewals

Highways Agency

Temple Key House

2 The Square

Temple Key

Bristol

BS1 6HA

27th November 07

Dear Mr Sledge

I have recently had a conversation with your colleague Mr Shaun Walsh regarding the repair situation and traffic calming measures on the A36 through the villages of Stoford and South Newton. From an initial programme by Mouchel Parkman some traffic calming facilities were installed at the commencement of the original plan in April 2007 as well as some safety issues being addressed and facilitated by the installation of two pedestrian crossings. Since then the condition of the road and pavements along this part of the A36 have seriously deteriorated and no amount of requests have produced any further response as to whether the road improvements plan is to be continued or when the actual road surface will be renewed or indeed even repaired.

Following the depressing information of the decision that the quasi de-trunked A36 continues to now officially be a trunk road for an increasing number of heavy goods vehicles travelling on the A36 from Southampton to link with the A303 we are addressing two serious issues within this decision.

1)The ever deteriorating road surface which is fast becoming a health and safety issue as well as hazardous. Chunks of solid material are missing from the drain cover surrounds, the sides of the road are shifting into hazardous cambers particularly close to residential housing and the surface of the pavement along the A36 between the villages, also a school walking route, is now crumbling to the extent of usage for pedestrians being at their own peril of tripping every few metres.

2)The heavy duty and high vehicles still using this road have limited access through their own tonnage and height. There are not sufficient signs prior to this stretch of road leading to or from the A303 to inform them of such, resulting in enforced village C roads being used as slip roads for access. The C283 continues to suffer from blocking by heavy goods vehicles using it to link to or from the Devizes road prior to South Newton and Wilton where there are restrictive rail bridge heights, and using this as an access road to continue either through Salisbury or back onto the A36 heading for the A303 from Salisbury.

These traffic blockages result in some extremely hazardous situations that have had to be dealt with by local residents controlling and directing traffic which are far beyond the legalities of public policing of such situations.

As we now understand the distribution of responsibilities has been handed to the Highways Department we wish to make this situation known and will do so on a repetitive basis until some response is forthcoming.

I enclose the first copies of photographs taken with a listing of where these are on the A36 between South Newton and Stoford villages. We undertake to regularly monitor the deterioration of the A36 through our villages and voice our concerns for the safeness of this stretch of road for the traffic using it as well as the imminent dangers to the residential properties along it, the impact of deterioration on the public service installations running under it and the public safety of the residents using the pavement along it.

Following my conversation with Mr Shaun Walsh I will present with disappointment to Council at our next meeting on 4th December the information that the Highways Department has no further information they can currently give us towards the roads improvement or has any scheduled action for review of this current situation.

Should any positive information be available in the near future we would of course welcome this being forwarded and made known to us as soon as possible, failing this we will continue to monitor and record the situation as we feel necessary.

Our invitation to yourselves to present any comments or explanations to our Parish Council at any time remains open, our meetings are the first Wednesday of every month. Please contact me prior to any you might like to attend.

Yours sincerely

Sandi Hammer

Parish Clerk.

cc. Cllr Ian West – WCC

Cllr Sarah Dennis – SDC

Department of the Environment – Health and Safety SDC

Chief Constable – Wilts Constabulary

South Newton Weather