Cabinet member for highways John Thompson has reassured people in Bradford on Avon that Wiltshire Council will not treat them differently, despite them rejecting plans for the multi-million pound Historic Core Zone.

John Thompson said that funding for the project, which was already allocated for the first phase of the work to make Market Street and Church Street more pedestrian friendly, will now go back into capital funds.

He said: “The money will be spent on similar projects. It could be spent anywhere in Wiltshire on any scheme.”

The HCZ plans, including the town poll, marketing material and road drainage works carried out last year, have cost the council nearly £280,000.

The drainage works, which closed Market Street for a month, were in preparation for the HCZ, although Mr Thompson said the work had to be done regardless.

He said: “The work needed to be done sooner rather than later, particularly given the issues Bradford has with flooding.”

Cllr Thompson said it was up to the people of Bradford to decide what they wanted.

“It [HCZ] was a community-led project but it wasn’t supported by the majority of the community. In the future we’ll ensure that any community-led project has full support before we spend money on it.”

He dismissed residents’ concerns that Wiltshire Council will not offer them funding for projects because they have rejected two schemes to improve the town in the last five years including plans for a footbridge linking to Kingston Mills.

Almost 3,000 residents visited one of seven polling stations last Thursday evening; 1,315 voted in favour and 1,669 against.

Cllr Thompson said he hopes to continue looking at plans to improve pedestrian safety but has to take the decision as final.

He added: “We have a target to reduce road accidents by 40 per cent. We will look at all areas to continue this, including pedestrian safety. The people who voted against the HCZ thought more people would be put at risk.”

Despite the withdrawal of funding for HCZ, the town will still receive investment from the Kingston Farm development. It was agreed in its planning application that contractors would contribute £155,000 towards phase two of the plans for Silver Street. This investment will still be spent on the town, although it is not clear at this stage what on.

Hopes momentum created by poll will lead to fresh ideas

Voters disappointed by the outcome of last week’s town poll say they will look at ways to address Bradford’s traffic problems even if it means appealing against the result.

Residents and business owners are now taking the town’s problems into their own hands and have arranged a meeting next week to discuss their options.

Organiser Steve Brewer said that everyone is welcome, even those who voted against the HCZ.

He said: “We are looking to work with residents and businesses whether they voted in favour or against. We still have an excellent town and we are going to draw a line under HCZ and try to direct our energy into something useful.

“We won’t go back on old ground and we won’t talk about traffic problems because that is a constant problem.”

Mr Brewer believes people are disheartened that funding has been withdrawn but hopes the momentum created by the poll will lead to new plans.

He said: “Business owners say there is a buzz about the town at the moment. We’ve lost the opportunity for the HCZ, but there are plenty of other people who are willing to say what else needs to be done.”

This week MP Duncan Hames proposed on Twitter that the town could look into becoming a Business Improvement District (BID). Businesses would pay a levy to fund town improvement projects.

Alex Campbell, a self-employed writer, is hoping to raise the issue of how the town deals with big projects like the HCZ.

She said: “We need to really look at how we do things here. There are clearly political agendas and we can’t keep paying experts to look at plans if it only goes to a no vote.”

She also said she would support an appeal against the decision: “I’d like to understand how years of research came to this decision. The plans were devised by experts but decided by lay people. If we can appeal then we should and if we can’t, it will be a shame.”

The meeting is next Thursday at the Swan Hotel at 8.30pm.