Wiltshire Council is planning to introduce a School Streets pilot at three locations across the county, following a public consultation and engagement with residents, schools, businesses and the wider community.

School Streets temporarily restrict through traffic on roads outside schools at the start and end of the school day, helping to reduce congestion, improve safety and encourage walking, wheeling and cycling.

The council originally consulted on five potential pilot locations, put forward by the schools themselves. Based on the consultation feedback, the council intends to progress School Streets at Aloeric Primary School in Melksham, Fynamore Primary School in Calne, and Minster Primary School in Warminster, where there was clear overall support and recognition of the potential benefits for safety and traffic reduction.

Following the consultation, two proposed locations will not be taken forward at this stage.

At Queen’s Crescent Primary School in Chippenham, residents raised concerns about displaced traffic and parking outside the proposed area, and so further time is being given to allow the school to develop alternative proposals to lessen the impact on the local community.

At Staverton Primary School and Emmaus School, concerns were raised about access for carers and deliveries, and a revised local proposal was considered to not meet the core aim of significantly reducing traffic on surrounding roads. Instead, the council will explore other highway and safety improvements, with the option to revisit the site in future.

The School Streets at Melksham, Calne and Warminster would be introduced under Experimental Traffic Regulation Orders (ETROs), allowing the council to trial the measures, gather further feedback and decide whether they should be made permanent.

The restrictions would only apply for short periods at the start and end of the school day during term time and would be enforced using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, with exemptions for emergency services, for people living within the restrictions and people with defined needs.

Cllr Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “School Streets are about creating safer, calmer environments for children and families at the busiest times of the school day.

“We had nearly 600 responses to our consultation, and we have listened carefully to the feedback, which has been invaluable in shaping where and how we move forward.

“As a result, we are planning to take three schools forward as part of our pilot, with two sites – and three schools – not going ahead at this time. This pilot approach allows us to test what works best while continuing to listen to local communities and make changes where appropriate.”

Further feedback will be invited as part of the statutory process, with a final decision to be made by the Cabinet Member for Highways. If approved, the council will begin work to install the School Streets ready for the new school year in September 2026.

to find out more, people should go to: Decision details – Democratic Services – Wiltshire Council