Pipers Area Residents Association to host stakeholder event for community to discuss new bus corridor from Wichelstowe to Swindon town centre

An additional stakeholder event for community groups/organisations to discuss the proposed bus corridor from Wichelstowe to Swindon town centre will be held on Monday 20 March from 7 - 9.30pm.

Set to be hosted at the hotdesking centre Desk at The Core in Old Town, the Pipers Area Residents Association say that the consultation for the new bus route has brought up "a range of interesting / associated issues" which give cause for the event.

Old Town Councillor Nadine Watts has raised concerns that not enough people are aware of the proposals for the quality bus corridor from Wichelstowe to the town centre via Old Town.  

The public consultation events were quite well attended. But Councillor Watts feels that more people should get involved, as the proposed changes could be seen as dramatic.  In particular,  three controlled crossings would be replaced with a shared space crossing surface similar to the crossing in Regent Circus. 

This is proposed for Victoria Road outside the Post Office, Devizes Road outside Los Gatos and the High Street outside the Co-op. 

Old Town Councillor Nadine Watts said: “The aim of the scheme is to provide a fast and reliable bus service from Wichelstowe to the town centre while at the same time improving the local environment and quality of life for pedestrians along the route, particularly in the Old Town area. 

"Often people say that they would use buses more often if they were more frequent and the journey times were improved, so this would address these issues.  If the proposals are agreed, the scheme will be designed in detail later in 2017.  The scheme will be funded by the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

"People may feel that because they don't use the bus or don't live in Wichelstowe, they don't need to take part in the consultation.  However, the proposals involve buses using Wood Street, and this could impact on pedestrians and shop owners as well as causing congestion, especially during delivery times.  There are also plans to narrow carriageways and widen pavements.

"My main concern involves the removal of three controlled crossings which would be replaced by a shared surface similar to that in Regent Circus.  I am aware that the Regent Circus proposals caused a lot of concern, especially among elderly and disabled people.  There are lots of retired people living in Old Town, and of course some of them have impaired mobility.

"I would urge residents to have their say.  The closing date for feedback is Wednesday 22 March 2017.”

 The meeting will co-chaired by Colin Doubleday of the Pipers Area Residents Association and Mark Walker from Swindon Borough Council and starts at 7pm. Attendees are advised to arrive before 6.45pm for a prompt start.