We were delighted to read the statement from Wiltshire Council in response to our petition for the landscape of the White Horse to be protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (Call to defend White Horse) last week.

We would note that the council’s spokesman was able to deny that there was a saved route only because in April this year the Inspector examining its plan for the county to 2026 told it to remove the safeguarding of the eastern bypass route from its draft Local Plan.

You quote the spokesman as saying that the council “has no plans to revisit the idea of a bypass.” This is excellent, if rather surprising, news. I hope the council will now be able to reassure us that it also has no plans to pursue the proposal submitted to government by the Local Enterprise Partnership for a new study of options for a Westbury bypass. The government has so far declined to contribute the requested £1m to such a study.

Presumably that is what the WC spokesman meant when he said “the proposal was not taken forward by the council in our negotiation with government.”?

Council taxpayers may be relieved that they will not have to contribute the other half of the projected £2m cost of this study.

We will watch out in case the council’s proposed examination of “pinch points along the route, including Westbury” comes up with another bypass plan. Meanwhile we will take the council at its word – there is no plan for a Westbury bypass and there will be no new study leading to the revival of this zombie road.

If that really is the council’s position, will it now support our application to Natural England for the landscape of the White Horse and the western escarpment of Salisbury Plain, including the Wellhead Valley, to be protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty?

Patrick Kinnersly, Secretary, White Horse Alliance, Lypiatt Farm, Rough Street, Neston.