Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

Will BANES get to shut their A36 bridge?

I have received the following from the WC Cabinet member for highway issues.

'Dear Ernie,

Thank you for your email setting out your concerns re the process that Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) council appear to be relying on in placing a weight restriction on the A36 Bathwick Street. Please be assured that I broadly share your concerns, and they will be duly considered alongside a number of significant issues with the proposal as it stands.

Firstly, the A36 Bathwick Street is part of the Primary Route Network which, as per European Directive 89/460/EC, is widely interpreted to mean that the route must provide unrestricted access to 40 tonne vehicles. I understand however that B&NES has obtained legal advice which suggests that this is not the case. Wiltshire Council has requested to see this legal advice.

Secondly, the evidence currently provided by B&NES Council is not considered to be robust enough to support the decision to implement the experimental order. In particular, the methodology used to redistribute HGV's on to alternative routes is too simplistic in that it only considers differences in distance and takes no account of factors such as route topology, traffic congestion and fuel consumption. As a result, the proportion of HGV's estimated to be redistributed to alternative routes in Wiltshire is very low and considered highly unrealistic.

The Council will raise these and other significant concerns as part of the statutory consultation on the experimental Traffic Regulation Order that B&NES Council are to undertake in due course.

Regards,

Dick.'