Newbury Bypass - Proposals

Proposals

The first Newbury bypass was built in 1963; however by the 1980s this proved insufficient to cope with the huge volume of traffic travelling through the Newbury area. In 1981 a new road to be built to the west of Newbury, mainly following the path of the disused Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway railway line, was proposed to bypass the town centre. This route was very controversial because it ran through three Sites of Special Scientific Interest — Snelsmore Common plus the Rivers Lambourn and Kennet; Penn Wood which was part of the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty); the English Heritage registered battlefield site of the first Battle of Newbury during the English Civil War in 1643; and The Chase, a National Trust nature reserve. It was also found that areas of the proposed bypass route were home to a rare snail, known as the Desmoulin's whorl snail.

A public inquiry into the plans was held in 1988, which found in favour of the road. Opponents argued that the decision was flawed and possibly illegal as there was no Environmental Impact Assessment — a legal requirement incorporated into British law two weeks after the start of the 1988 public enquiry. However, the inquiry decision was made in accordance with legislation at the time. The plans were passed in a closed session of Parliament, after a pro forma hearing, a procedure which many considered to be undemocratic.

The road was originally approved for construction to begin in 1994. However, the then Secretary of State for Transport, Brian Mawhinney, announced that it would be delayed pending a further review. On 5 July 1995 the Brian Mawhinney announced that the building of the road was to proceed and then resigned half an hour later.