Town bypass plans are turned-down

Plans for a £33m bypass in Wiltshire have been turned down following a public inquiry.

The road was designed to divert traffic away from Westbury town centre as well as provide a link to the west Wiltshire trading estate.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council said it was "disappointed" at the secretary of state's decision.

"We did everything in our power to get this off the ground. The decision will disappoint residents and businesses."

"We will now examine the reasons behind the decision and decide the way forward," he added.

The road scheme, which would have been mostly funded by government, would also have included a £1.3m raft of improvements for Westbury town centre.

People in Westbury, who began campaigning for a bypass 30 years ago, have complained about the number of lorries travelling through the Wiltshire town.

Environmentalists claimed the bypass was unnecessary because traffic was not increasing.