The adopted strategic plan for Chippenham sets out a future vision for the town that meets local needs for jobs and housing while addressing some of the longstanding challenges it faces such as town centre congestion and new developments coming forward in a piecemeal way. It aims for a more self-sufficient status for the town, so that the community can meet their living, work and leisure needs locally.

This is currently being explored in the review of the emerging local plan by Wiltshire Council as Local Planning Authority.

Evidence indicates that one of the best options to deliver this vision for a sustainable future could be through the delivery of a significant new road both to unlock potential development sites but also help reduce congestion in the town centre.

This consultation focuses solely on the potential road route options.

In March 2019, Wiltshire Council submitted a bid to the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. In November 2019, Wiltshire Council was awarded a grant of £75 million. The grant ensures funding is available to contribute towards the cost of delivering the strategic infrastructure in and around Chippenham to support the potential longer-term growth of the area.

The grant will support the delivery of a new distributor road to the east and south of Chippenham, linking the A350 at the northern and southern ends of the town, as well as specific improvement to J17 on the M4.

By 2046, it is envisioned that the road will unite sustainable new communities and green spaces, including up to 7,500 homes, supported by local neighbourhood services and employment opportunities. Together this is known as Future Chippenham.

The council are now seeking public feedback on three potential routes that the distributor road could take. The public consultation on the three road route options will take place between 9am Friday 15th January and 5pm Friday 12th March 2021. The consultation documents and more information about the public consultation process can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/future-chippenham

This is the third in a series of webinar events about the project hosted by Wiltshire Council. The first two webinars gave a detailed insight into the Options Assessment Review process and the information used to inform the potential road route options being consulted on. recordings of both of these events can be found on the council’s YouTube channel linked from the Future Chippenham consultation webpage www.wiltshire.gov.uk/future-chippenham. We have listened to your feedback from the first webinars and in particular your requests for more time to ask the project team questions. This third webinar will provide an overview of the road route options, with an extended interactive question and answer session, providing more time to answer any questions from attendees

If you wish to ask questions about the road route options in this webinar, please submit these in advance by emailing futurechippenham@wiltshire.gov.uk stating ‘Questions for Webinar – 20th February’ in the heading. Questions may also be raised during the webinar event.