A TOWN meeting will be held next week, to help decide whether a parish poll about Historic Core Zone (HCZ) plans in Bradford on Avon should take place.

A series of public meetings and an exhibition have already allowed residents to explore proposals to reduce the dominance of traffic in the centre of town.

The project, in progress for more than two years, would create 25 crossing points in clearly identifiable zones, making it obvious to drivers that pedestrians have “equal rights” to vehicles.

The HCZ would be rolled out in phases, with funding already in place for phase one covering Market Street and Church Street.

Later phases would involve Silver Street and St Margaret’s Street.

An exhibition is on at the coach house room, behind The Swan, in Church Street, until January 29.

It is hoped the town meeting will allow the electorate of Bradford and neighbouring parishes to voice opinions to the town council and Wiltshire Council, which will ultimately be able to call for a town poll.

John Thomson, the cabinet member for highways, said: “This really is all about giving the people of Bradford on Avon all the information they need in order to make an informed decision when they vote.”

Simon Fisher, chairman of the town council’s HCZ working group, said: “Schemes like this have been shown to work elsewhere in the UK and other countries.”

The meeting will be on Tuesday, January 6, at 7.30pm in St Margaret’s Hall.