THE long overdue Birds Marsh Link Road to set to open this afternoon.
The road, between the A350 and the B4069 in Chippenham, has been built by developers behind the Birds Marsh View housing scheme, which will eventually see up to 750 new homes constructed.
The date then slipped to June, and then to July or August, with ‘snagging’ work still to be done to get the road into a state where Wiltshire Council is happy to adopt it.
These include new signage on the approaches to, and at, the roundabout on the A350, and resurfacing where it ties in with the A350 after damage by HGVs.
But now, Wiltshire Council's Highways team has signed off on the work.
Michelle Donelan, MP for Chippenham, has been working closely with Persimmon, Barratt Homes and Wiltshire Council to open the road.
Michelle has been told by Barratt Homes that it is planned for the road to be opened to traffic approximately 4pm today (Friday October 7).
Michelle says that many residents in the north of Chippenham have taken the time to contact her about the "completely unacceptable delay" to the opening of the road and the impact this is having on increasing the volume of traffic on roads such as Hill Corner Road.
She said: "It was outrageous that the road was largely completed for several weeks and yet it has taken months for the road to be opened for residents.
“I am pleased that this long running saga is finally coming to an end. It will come as great relief for local residents who have been waiting for this road to be opened to traffic for an unacceptable amount of time.
"The lack of information from the developers throughout this process has not been acceptable. Giving residents unrealistic timeframes is counter-productive and thoroughly unprofessional. I have been pushing for weeks to get this sorted.”
The first foundations were laid for the fifth and final phase of the development in July this year.
Phase 5 will see a further 37 new two, three and four-bedroom homes, adding to the 271 homes built to date.
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