Almost a year has passed since the latest fatal accident on the stretch of the A4 to the West of Marlborough. It was the tragic accident where Jeff Brown of Beckhampton sadly lost his life in a crash adjacent to the Ridgeway crossing at the brow of the hill.
Tragic for Jeff, his family and the whole community of Beckhampton, West Kennett and Avebury. Since then there have been numerous other accidents (thankfully non-fatal) in that same area, but each one causing its own deep levels of trauma, frustration, lost/wasted time and effort, and of course – expense. Everything that none of us needs, or wants (but dreads).
But there were plans drawn up after much discussion and involvement of traffic management experts some years ago in 2015. Entitled ‘Avebury World Heritage Site – Transport Strategy’ [click here to view / download] its aims (set out by then Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Heritage and Arts, Cllr Stuart Wheeler) were to ‘provide a holistic approach to managing the negative impacts of roads and traffic in the World Heritage Site and maximising the ease and enjoyment with which visitors and local people can explore this magnificent landscape’.
But nothing has happened since. Why? The obvious answer is cost, responsibility (who / which body / level of Government) and general imprecision regarding taking a decision.
Decisions cost. The strategy for the works set out by Atkins, with substantial input and vision from (the late) Ben Hamilton-Baillie (renowned expert in schemes for traffic management involving shared users of a space), was universally regarded as a viable and effective proposition designed to act as an innovative blueprint for best practice in an internationally protected landscape. Also to make the A4 safer.
Accordingly one key element of this (above) strategy related to this part of the A4. An important road, running alongside and through an area of major tourist importance and part of a Unesco World Heritage Site – one of this country’s most prominent areas of neolithic history. To implement just this A4 element would have cost a significant amount, but at 2015 estimates a sum still comfortably in the ‘six figure’ range. Whereas the cost of a single fatal road accident is currently estimated at more than £2 million. Considerably more, possibly at least twice the cost of the entire works along that complete stretch, and that is without taking into consideration the costs involved of any of the other non-fatal accidents.
So if it’s a decision of cost, who will pay? Us. We fund, directly or indirectly the cost of all road / infrastructure works, as we do directly or indirectly the cost of dealing with every accident. So the decision/recommendations lie in the area controlled (or influenced) by the ‘spreadsheet warriors’, who will be guarding (their) budgets and deflecting (or otherwise?) commitments to outlay investment. But it’s still money, our money and if it costs less to reduce the risk of accident on a stretch of road than it does even to clear up after one serious incident then surely we should all welcome such a ‘return on investment’ and aim to ensure that the precious funding is deployed for the benefit of all. As ultimately, it’s ours. Our money, and our safety.
This section of the A4, from Marlborough all the way to Beckhampton is unique. Unlike any other stretch of highway. It is of national importance due to what it goes past and through – Silbury Hill, Avebury, West Kennett Long Barrow, The Sanctuary, the National Trust yard (at West Kennett), The Ridgeway (ironically the ancient Neolithic equivalent of the M1). And as such it should be the responsibility of National Government to address, in terms of safety, security and general usage for everyone concerned, including local residents, travellers on the A4 and (the very many) tourists, estimated at easily a quarter of a million every year, or more.
It’s a deceptive stretch of road. It would appear to be safe – a wide, well-marked stretch of rural main highway. But in reality it features a host mof hazards, many of which aren’t easy to see or to anticipate. And that makes each hazard a greater potential danger. In the relatively short distance between Fyfield and Beckhampton there are at least twenty entrances to the A4, a mix of road, farm, residential, bridleway, business, tourist and more, many of which are only visible from a short distance, but most of which are in regular and frequent use. It’s a wide road and traffic speeds are accordingly high.
So it shouldn’t be for the local Parish / Town Councils to deal with this. Nor even the Local Authority – Wiltshire Council – as it’s above the ‘pay grade’ of each. It should be the responsibility of the main Highways England. It is a stretch of road of National – and International – importance. And all of this entire work would cost less than one dealing with one further fatal accident which we hope will never happen, but…..
However Wiltshire Council are doing something, or they are about to. They are planning to do some resurfacing and a repaint of faded white markings on the road around the Ridgeway and West Kennett. This is scheduled for June, with the A4 to be closed overnight – 19:00 – 06:00 between 17 and 25 June.
What could have been done? Ben’s innovative plan, set into a practical project context by engineers Atkins, was for much of this ‘white lining’ to disappear, much of the road, in areas of the many particular hazards present to be narrowed, with wider verges, lack of white lines, and (probably) with a speed limit set to cover this entire stretch. Ironically it wouldn’t take a driver any longer to drive between Marlborough and Beckhampton, but it should make it a far safer and more enjoyable journey. Ben’s belief was about ‘shared space’ – i.e. a road (or of this nature, anyway) isn’t just for the driver intent on getting from A to B as quickly as possible. It’s about respecting the others for whom that piece of road is just as (or more) important. People who live there, people who work there, people who visit there. Lots of others. And they need to be respected and their activities observed as well. Marlborough has for years addressed this ‘shared space’ concept, successfully and without any complaint. Far from it. It happens every Saturday, in the morning, at the Town Hall end of the High Street – it’s called ‘the market’…….
The plan for this stretch would aim to make the Ridgeway crossing clear and safe. Likewise the stretch through West Kennett, where entrances are numerous, active and with very limited visibility. Possibly this end of The Avenue to Avebury – a notorious stretch of narrow road – will also be addressed, particularly to make that area where the junction with the A4 currently is, safer.
Locally it’s seen as an issue that demands resolution. Devizes constituency MP, Danny Kruger told Marlborough.news: “We need to improve safety on the A4, for local residents and drivers and also for the visitors to the ancient monuments. I hope we can help create a better experience for visitors as they move between Avebury, Silbury Hill and the Long Barrow, while ensuring that people using the road every day are kept safe.”
A spokesperson for Kennet Valley Parish Council told Marlborough.news: ‘Kennet Valley Parish Council is concerned about road safety on the busy A4 through our Parish and the World Heritage Site. Collaborating with neighbouring Parishes it continues to campaign as part of the ‘West of Marlborough Traffic Group’ for improvements to benefit all road users’.
West Kennett resident, Alice Macaire asks: “Why is West Kennett, the centre of a World Heritage Site, with all the pedestrians and traffic that brings, the only village on the A4 between Bath and London without a lowered speed limit?”
Overall, something needs to be done to alleviate the safety and usage issues along this nationally and internationally important section of the A4 which veers right through one of the World’s greatest historical areas. Something needs to be done to cut down the likelihood of more accidents, particularly any more fatalities that could happen. It’s a wide, clear stretch of road, it can still retain all of its glory and enjoyment, but also become an inspiration for other such roads elsewhere in the world.
Age UK Wiltshire’s new Marlborough shop / ‘Information & Advice Hub’ now open
