Roads & Traffic
A36 Survey Work
Overnight Closure
Monday 18th October to Tuesday 16th November
8pm - 6am, weekdays only
UPDATE! The overnight closure has been extended until TUESDAY 16th NOVEMBER.
National Highways have informed us that they have completed the first phase of survey works on the A36 at Limpley Stoke to investigate historic cracking in the footpath which has significantly worsened over the last few months. They are now ready to complete the next stage of the surveys, which will involve boreholes and the installation of slope monitoring equipment.
To carry out this next phase, the A36 will be closed in both directions between Hantone Hill, Bathampton and Beckington roundabout from the evening of Monday, 18 October until the morning of Friday 29 October. The work will be carried out at night time only from 8pm until 6am, weekdays only. While the road is closed, maintenance and surfacing work will be carried out at the same time.
The diversion will be via the A361, A363, A350 and A4. Reasonable access will be maintained to properties within the closure. National Highways will have marshals at both Down Lane in Bathampton and Beckington in the south to ensure no traffic accidentally tries to rat run through the lanes near Limpley Stoke during these planned night closures.
Woods Hill Experimental Closure Report
15th September 2021
The results of all traffic data collected during the 6 months since the Woods Hill Experimental Closure began have been collated and the following report has been sent to Wiltshire Council.
LJB/TRO/LSTOexp Report Submission
Note: The results of surveys received by the cut-off date of 15th September are as follows:
39 respondents
33 respondents in favour of permanent closure (85%)
3 respondents in favour of re-opening (7.5%)
3 respondents in favour of re-opening with one-way system (7.5%)
To reiterate, it is Wiltshire Council that have the final say on the future status of Woods Hill.
Woods Hill Experimental Closure Begins
23rd March 2021
The experimental closure of Woods Hill started on March 15 and will be in place for 6 months. From June 15th Limpley Stoke Parish Council will be asking for your comments. By that time we will all have had time to reach a view on how it is affecting the village and us personally.
If you wish to make your views known to the Parish Council. please click HERE to complete our survey.
All responses will be collected by the Parish Council and will be published. For the purposes of traceability, names and addresses of respondents will be retained by the Parish Council but for privacy reasons will not be made public on the website unless people request in writing to show their names. All comments themselves, however, will be made public in full so that respondents can see that their feedback has been included. Once collated, all comments will be supplied to Wiltshire Council and a copy will be viewable on the website.
To reiterate, it is Wiltshire Council that have the final say on the future status of Woods Hill.
When the consultation begins, all documents will be posted on the Wiltshire Council website and there will be an online form which can be filled out following this link: https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/troconsultations
You may also email trafficorders@wiltshire.gov.uk quoting the reference LJB/TRO/LSTOexp or you may write to TRO Team, Highways & Transport, Sustainable Transport Group, County Hall, Bythesea Road, TROWBRIDGE, Wiltshire BA14 8JN quoting the same reference.
If you know of anyone who does not have access to the internet and would like to receive hand delivered Parish Council bulletins please email lspc.chair@gmail.com with their addresses. Several residents have already done this for neighbours.
Plans for Experimental Closure of Woods Hill
Limpley Stoke Parish Councillors are asking for your understanding in the coming months as we implement an EXPERIMENTAL TRAFFIC RESTRICTION ORDER (ETRO) on Woods Hill.
For the longer term safety of residents, and consistent with the Traffic Management Considerations published on the website, we will be putting in place the following:
On January 12 and 13th 2021 white lines to be repainted along Midford Lane, Church Lane and Crowe Lane virtual pavements. There will be added walking people logos for extra warning. Also, we are adding reflective road studs at both ends of Church Lane pavements and at the top of Crowe Hill to distinguish the starts of the pavements.
Repainting of 20mph road markings on Church Lane/Middle Stoke junction, Church Lane and Crowe Lane.
Mid January 2021, a speed warning sign will be installed on the 30 mph stretch of Church Lane but will be moveable around the village. A second mobile unit will be used at various points. This is part of our wider plans to manage traffic in and passing through the village.
We are also planning installation of bollards and village gates at the end of Lower Stoke both to protect pedestrians but also to help deter rat runners. We are currently looking for sites for additional gates and signage on Church Lane, Midford Lane and Middle Stoke.
The Parish Council appreciates that there are objections to the experimental closure and understands the feelings and reasons behind these. However, the statement below from Wiltshire Highways explains our decision to pursue this course of action.
“Concerns have been expressed to Wiltshire Highways for a number of years that Woods Hill is a dangerous junction and should be addressed. Limpley Stoke Parish Council has taken the necessary step of looking at the problem and is pursuing an ETRO. In the view of Wiltshire Highways this is the correct and most effective means of measuring the impact on surrounding roads and community and giving the local residents the opportunity to comment during the closure. Final decision on whether the ETRO becomes permanent rests with Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for Highways.”
The Parish Council will ensure that everyone in the village receives notification and instructions on where to send their views and conclusions about the ETRO.
We hope that you will bear with us in trying something which has wide ranging ramifications but which we feel has to be evaluated.
Wiltshire Highways Maintenance Programme 2021/2022
For information on Wiltshire Highways Maintenance Programme 2021/2022, please visit:
For road closure information. Follow the link below. Enter a postcode in the box on the map and search:
Useful Links
If you see anything untoward (fly tipping, blocked drain, dangerous trees etc.) you can register your concern here (as well as reporting elsewhere should you wish). This is a national clearing site which passes problems on to the local council within minutes.
https://www.fixmystreet.com/around?js=1&zoom=2&lat=51.34454&lon=-2.31187
Long Term Plans & Initiatives
As a parish council we know that the roads, pedestrian safety and traffic in general has long been a priority issue for many residents, we therefore have five themes to our consideration of this issue and how we currently aim to improve it:
Pedestrian Protection & Safety
Traffic Management & Safety
Parking in the Village
Road & Pavement Maintenance
Main Roads & Wider Area Issues (through the Valley Parishes Alliance VPA)
The current plan for all activities underway for these themes can downloaded and be viewed here [2.5MB], and a summary plan is shown here below:
