A NEW £15m bridge that will connect the New Eastern Villages with the rest of the town must not be open to motorists, Covingham councillors say.

Plans are currently in the pipeline for the erection of The Great Stall Bridge which will provide pedestrian, cycle and public transport access into Swindon from the New Eastern Villages over the A419.

It is thought that by closing it to traffic it will “reduce conflict” with the A420 and with traffic coming from the White Hart junction.

But a campaign by residents in Stratton has been launched to persuade the council to open the bridge to all motorists, not just pedestrians, cyclists and public transport.

Ron Fox, who leads the campaign group Stratton Against Road Changes, said: “This bridge will be vital for traffic coming into town from the New Eastern Villages. There is going to be a massive increase in traffic and we think it should be open to everyone.”

But, fearful of the adverse affects this could have on their parishes, councillors in Covingham and Dorcan have launched their own bid to ensure the bridge is not open to all traffic.

Addressing their Covingham and Dorcan constituents, Councillors Kevin Parry, Barbara Parry and Dale Heenan said: “As your councillors, we cannot stand by and do nothing. If we do then there is a good chance the bridge will be altered to allow use by all traffic because all the consultation comments will tell the council that it should be.

“This must not happen. It will cause tailbacks along Covingham Drive, Merlin Way and Kingfisher Drive, gridlock at Piccadilly roundabout and forever be a nightmare for local residents.”

The dispute revolves around the plans for the road changes needed to accommodate an inevitable increase in traffic with the development of the New Eastern Villages. The plans are still in their infancy but are concrete enough to give a good impression of how the area around Greenbridge and White Hart might look post-development.

Laying out his vision for the area, Coun Heenan said: “The responsible course of action for the council is to focus on the White Hart roundabout and make sure that the improvements are 100 per cent certain to handle the traffic expected from the Eastern Villages.

“This means scrapping the proposed £15m Bridge over the A419, coming up with a better plan for the White Hart, because now is not the time to skimp and cut corners, widen the Southern Connector road so vehicles don’t go near Oxford Road or Covingham and review the Greenbridge traffic lights.”

As well as the fear that opening the bridge to all traffic will cause huge tailbacks along Covingham Drive and Merlin Way, the councillors are worried that it may open the floodgates to further road changes, such as turning Covingham Drive and Dorcan Way into dual carriageways, though this is not part of the council’s immediate plans.

They said: “Pragmatic, workable solutions are what everyone should be focused on.”

Residents are urged to speak out and to contact their councillors at dale@eastswindon.com, cllrkevin.parry@ntlworld.com and barbara.parry5@gmail.com.