A town in Wiltshire is facing yet more delays on the roads after unplanned roadworks have hit just one week after the four-week closure of a different key road.

Coped Hall, a vital commuter road which connects Royal Wootton Bassett to Hook, Purton and Lydiard Millicent, closed for four weeks on Monday, November 18 in a decision which has caused upset in the town.

Residents called the 7.5 mile diversion route put in place "insane", and declared the full closure an "absolute nightmare" for traffic in the town.

Schools such as Lydiard Park Academy were even forced to put out a warning to parents after the closure caused several pupils and staff to be late.

But now traffic delays in the town have worsened as more temporary traffic lights have been set up.

The four-way traffic lights on the Station Road/New Road junction appeared on Wednesday, November 27, and according to Councillor Allison Bucknell for Lyneham, were not supposed to be there.

"It has been brought to my attention that four-way traffic lights have been installed at this location by Openreach to fix a customer's problem," said Councillor Bucknell.

"These were not planned works so Wiltshire Council was not consulted.

"Wiltshire Council officers have jumped straight onto it and they have instructed Openreach to remove them and undertake the work out of hours.

"I appreciate that this is not helpful to the customers who are currently without service, however with the other roadworks currently in the town this is not acceptable."

Roadworks at Coped HallRoadworks at Coped Hall (Image: Dave Cox) Criticism of the ongoing Coped Hall road closure was so strong that Wales and West Utilities have already agreed to bring in additional resources at the expense of other works so that the road can open sooner.

So for residents in Royal Wootton Bassett, the sudden appearance of yet more roadworks has been a kick in the teeth.

"I’ve had a total of five and a half hours added to my usual commute this week and it’s only Wednesday," said resident Jon Dixon, while Dawn Hicks pointed out a five-minute commute from New Road to Sally Pussey Inn now takes her 25 minutes.

But Outreach say the roadworks aren't unauthorised.

"We've checked our paperwork and believe we have the correct permission to work," said a spokesperson for Outreach.

"We liaise closely with local authorities all across the UK to make sure our roadworks cause the least possible disruption.

"Sometimes there's a fine balance between managing daytime traffic for road users and making sure residents are able to get a good night's sleep. We're happy to discuss these works further with the council."

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