WESTBURY councillors seeking to resurrect an A350 bypass plan faced a largely hostile audience at an area board meeting.

Concerns were expressed over both the western and eastern alternative routes and about the potential cost, as the last attempt at getting a bypass, thrown out by Government inspectors, cost about £4.5 million.

However, the board voted to carry the motion by Cllr Russell Hawker that Wiltshire Council should begin discussions and identify an appropriate route.

Speaking at the meeting, on Thursday last week, he said: “This is the biggest issue in Westbury. It is our job, as councillors, to try and improve the town. All we can do is make the request.

“We all know money is short at the moment, but we are not calling for a bypass in the next decade. The last project took 10 years.

“This is about starting discussions and trying to move forwards.

“I would like to see a community discussion on routes first, but it has to be an informed debate, on whether the routes are viable or not.

“We are putting it back on the agenda; something the vast majority of Westbury residents want.”

One person at the meeting, Ken McCall, said: “The planning inspectors recommended very firmly against an eastern route. It is wrong to progress it again. The last attempt has become notorious.”

Another participant, Peter Campbell, said: “Without being clear in our statement about what route will be examined, it is worthless.”

A Dilton Marsh resident said it was unfair for people to favour the western route on the basis that the east was a more attractive landscape, as it was a subjective issue.

Other concerns raised by the audience included the impact on nearby villages, such as West Ashton, and how the bypass would tie in with road schemes already under construction.

Also at the meeting, Wiltshire Council leader Jane Scott said that one of the main criticisms of the previous project by inspectors had been the lack of a convincing economic argument.

“The only money I can see coming forward is from the local enterprise partnership, but, in my opinion, arguments about air quality and local people’s views won’t attract any of that,” she said.

“We have a duty to consider these large highways projects, but there is still not a strong case for the economic benefits of the bypass.”