As a Town Councillor the most frequent requests and complaints I get are for road safety across the ward. Given that the town council isn’t responsible for Highways – Wiltshire Council are, this can be particularly frustrating.

Local Highways Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG)

There is a however a Wiltshire Council mechanism intended to give greater democracy for small scale road improvements – the Local Highways Footpath Improvement Group (LHFIG). Residents can fill out a form found here https://www.chippenham.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Highways-improvement-form-rev-c.pdf

to request small scale road safety improvements, cycle improvements and improvements for pedestrians. Before you fill out that form though, please read on below!

I’ve been deputy chair of the town council Planning Environment and Transport committee for the last two years, and as part of that process have supported many LHFIG requests. So it seemed a natural continuation to put myself forward as the Town Council representative on the LHFIG committee to see what happened at the other end of the process. Initially LHFIG forms are debated at the Town council Planning Committee as to whether the request should be supported in principle. There is a cost to these schemes and that cost is typically split 30/70 between Town/Wiltshire council, 50/50 for larger schemes.

This can be quite difficult as the forms come in with redacted contact details. Councillors only get a few days to prepare, so it is a good idea to talk to your Wiltshire councillor and also your representative on the CTC PET committee to help them understand the issue you want resolved prior to submitting a request. Requests that only help an individual are not usually supported, they need to help a number of residents.

If the Town Council agrees to support the request in principle it is passed to the LHFIG committee for consideration. LHFIG meets quarterly. LHFIG have an excellent highways officer able to determine what is technically possible and propose solutions. However, perhaps unsurprisingly the LHFIG budget is small and resources are limited compared with the number of requests and the scope of the requests. The  Chippenham LHFIG committee also supports requests from the surrounding village Parish councils. It is possible to support larger schemes by a substantive bid process, but essentially don’t expect anything to happen any time soon. Think years rather than months!

So what LHFIG schemes are in progress in Chippenham?

In no particular order here are some of the schemes progressing…

20mph Zones

20mph Zone – Hill Rise / Barrow Green to Malmesbury Road to Langley Road

This is due to be implemented in September 2024 and has been a long time in the making. Though widely supported by residents and councillors it needed to go to Wiltshire Cabinet to be approved due to a single objection. The intention is to closely monitor this scheme to see how effective is as more have been requested. The area covers St Paul’s primary school and a popular route to Hardenhuish and Sheldon Secondary schools.

Hardenhuish Avenue 20mph Zone request

This scheme was approved in principle by the Town Council and has wide residents’ support. It is currently on hold pending the implementation and review of the outcomes from the Barrow Green zone.

Crossing improvements

St Pauls Church Malmesbury Road crossing

Whilst improvements here were approved in principle by the Town Council, the requested upgrades from Belisha beacons are currently paused due to LHFIG funding. The crossing has been noted as part of a cross Wiltshire upgrade scheme to reline and change the lights to LED lights.

John Coles Park exit crossing on Park Lane

This has been approved in principle by the Town Council and is currently being worked in detail by the LHFIG Highways officer. As well as the lining and lighting improvements being rolled out across Wiltshire, the approach to the crossing is being considered with a view to improving visibility of the crossing.

New Formal Crossing Bristol Road near Lidl

Approved in principle by the town council but stalled due to the cost of a new crossing (80k), and lack of funding.

The last update was to see if schools could access funding through their travel safety plans, or possibly via the government’s LCWIP scheme.

Dropped Kerbs

A list of 50+ dropped Kerbs across Chippenham were proposed for substantive bid funding. However the substantive bid failed so dropped kerbs are being implemented at approximately six per year. The priority has been to complete existing routes, particularly near schools.

The following were completed earlier this year

Road Safety Improvements

Marshfield Road Chippenham

Increasing levels of dangerous driving led to the residents forming an effective road safety campaigning group.

Union Road

A proposal to make Union Road one way as proposed by the local businesses through the Artisan Quarter was approved in principle by the town council and progressed to LHFIG.

Residents Parking

During my time on the PET committee and LHFIG I have seen two formal requests for residents’ parking schemes and received multiple other requests.

St Marys Street

Though I supported a request for residents’ parking on St Mary Street, it was rejected in principle by the Town council with the view that the problem should be considered with a wider remit.

Flowers Yard

I supported a resident’s request to look at Residents’ parking in Flowers Yard and it was narrowly approved in principle by the PET committee.

However when providing the resident with details of the Wiltshire scheme, the costs and complexity involved proved too much.

A broader picture?

I have been contacted by multiple residents across Chippenham including Hawthorn and Tugela Road, Malmesbury Road, Flowers Yard, Park Fields, and St Mary Street asking for residents’ parking.

I have tried to join them together to form a wider residents parking group as suggested by the town council and LHFIG. However each time I have shared more details of the Wiltshire Council scheme it has proven too expensive and complex for people to proceed with.

The broad details are…

Wiltshire Council have a process for implementing residents’ parking schemes. They won’t simply put up a sign saying residents’ parking only. The first stage of the scheme requires residents to fill out a survey form provided by Wiltshire Council (contact your councillor for this). At least 50% of the proposed parking permit area need to return the form, and of those at least 51% need to be in favour. This survey process needs to be done before going the LHFIG route, without support it is a non starter. The survey needs to be done using the detailed Wiltshire council form, not a simple are you in favour type survey.

Residents’ parking permits are charged annually and don’t guarantee you a parking space. Extra permits are charged at a higher cost and similarly there are visitors permits. Though the scheme is intended to be non profit and the permit fees cover admin, there is an initial setup charge that would need to be covered by the LHFIG budget and the town council.

If you want to try to set up a residents parking permit zone you need to be prepared to become a residents’ champion and undergo a long process! Other towns have implemented such zones, but there seems to be a ‘beware of what you wish for’ caveat.

The first step is to contact your councillor, be prepared to be a residents’ champion, and complete the survey with the help of your councillor.

Cycle Network Improvements

The Chippenham Cycle Network Development Group have done some great work in trying to improve the cycle network across Chippenham with very limited resources.

To appreciate some of the schemes in progress it helps to look at this map…

Fairfoot to Gascelyn Close

Construction expected in June 2025 with funding from LHFIG, the Town Council, and other fundraising by the Cycle Group. This is part of the strategy by the Cycle Network Development Group to utilise quieter backroads to eventually be able to signpost a completed cycle route linking routes to schools.

Fallow field Close / Foxglove / Footpath CHIP115

Removal of six chicane barriers to allow improved access for cyclists, pushchairs, and those with mobility issues.

Footway Tunnel Bath Road to Southmead – Lighting

This a cycleway and pedestrian route. Currently under discussions with Network Rail to look for a lighting solution.

Various Side Roads across Chippenham

Improvements to side road crossing following updates to the Highway Code.

Waiting and Lining Restrictions

Lots of requests for these across Chippenham. Lining is generally only used to support issues affecting groups of residents or safety issues.

Restrictions are generally grouped into batches to save advertising costs.

Waiting restrictions

A large number are about to be advertised in September 2024. These included parking on Marshfield Road outside John Coles Park opposite Deansway, Queens Crescent, and many other locations across Chippenham.

Queensfield Court – Parkfields access

Approved in principle, H bars are to be included as part of lining works

Langley Road

H bars to be included in front of two entrances

Market Mead

Difficulty getting in and out of Market Mead, councillors to undertake a residents survey.

Greenaway Gardens

Local councillor to discuss with residents and take forward to police enforcement

Nameplates and Signage

new Street name plates for Primrose Way and Saxon Street

A new direction sign requested for Lordsmead primary school, currently being checked regarding pre-school signing

Lighting Improvements

Though an apparently simple request these can often be the hardest to implement due to land ownership. An example being the alley opposite the Cause to the car park. As the land is privately owned it proved an almost impossible task to put up a simple light through the LHFIG process!

River Street Chippenham

Lighting improvement approved in principle, awaiting Atkins input.

Bath Road Tunnel

As previously mentioned – discussions underway with Network Rail.

Conclusions

I’ve only covered a snapshot of the current schemes here. LHFIG also covers the surrounding villages and parishes, all of whom have safety improvement requests in action. If you consider the remaining LHFIG budget for this year is circa £3000, you can see that it’s hard to manage the expectations of what can be achieved. Nonetheless sometimes clever solutions and alternate funding can be found.

If you do want to put in an LHFIG request please contact your Wiltshire Councillor and your CTC PET committee councillor  before putting in the request, as this will very much help your application navigate the process with the help of your councillor.