LANGLEY Burrell homeowners are angry that plans are moving forward to allow a temporary ‘haul road’ for HGVs through the village.

Wiltshire Council will bring the proposal to a committee on Wednesday as they look to get a route approved that will see 100 HGVs travel on Maud Heath’s Causeway every day.

The haul road is needed to support the building of 650 new houses at Rawlings Green. A bridge is also planned to be built over the London to Bristol railway line to accommodate the construction traffic.

Saritha Pilbrow, 42, who lives on Peckingell, said: “The road is tiny, the village is tiny. There are accidents on there all the time because of the blind spots.

“It really shouldn’t be going to committee yet. I don’t feel like the village has had enough say in the situation.

“We’ve been chasing them for ages and they never seem to give us a straight answer.”

Mrs Pilbrow also said the proposal was uploaded onto the council’s website on October 28, despite being dated August 30.

Tina Milburn added: “We are terribly disappointed with the lack of public consultation on the modified proposal. If the proposal was dated 30th August why was it only published on the website on 28th October? This has given us so little time to send in our objections. We are a small village trying hard to retain our community. How will our village survive with hundreds of HGVs ploughing through it every week?”

Cllr Bridget Wayman, cabinet member for highways, said: “We’ve had lengthy public consultation on this work and we are grateful for all the feedback we’ve received, which has helped shape the proposals so we can minimise potential disruption to the local community.

“The current proposals were submitted early September and were only published online once we had met with locally interested parties, including the parish council, and officers had determined that the submissions were acceptable.

“Unfortunately some of the work on the road bridge can only be built on the eastern side of the rail line, hence the need for this temporary road and the routing of construction traffic. We are proposing a number of conditions, including a traffic management plan, and these will be fully discussed when this is put to the planning committee on November 13.”

William Drewett, of Maud Heath Trust, said: "We have concerns about the effect that the increased traffic, (primarily HGV’s) will have on the Grade II* Listed ancient monument together with the Causeway footpath between Kellaways and Langley Burrell. The Trust has only recently funded a considerable conservation repair scheme to the 64 arches, restoring them to their former glory. The Trust hasn’t been consulted by the Council regarding the proposed haul road and the effect that the traffic will have on the footpath nor the raised arches.

Consultation needs to take place with Maud Heath Trust (which has been active since 1474) to ensure an agreement can be made for the methods of protecting and monitoring the raised arches (if planning is approved) and how the passing places along the footpath will be provided, salvaging the ancient curb edging, and reinstating on completion."