Here is the phoney funding presentation which Wiltshire County Council made in January 2007.

It was queried if it was factual, but WCC officers subsequently repeated it before Westbury Town Council.

A senior WCC officer's report to County Councillors went on to claim: 'the DfT confirmed in December 2006 that following consideration of the 10 year Regional Funding Allocation programme submitted by the South West Regional Assembly that it anticipates funding the A350 Westbury Bypass in the next three years.'

Here is Wiltshire County Council's Planning Officer's 16 May 2007 Report [on PDF] - paragraph 15 refers.

However, full enquiries, inclusive of asking WCC, confirm that there is no such December 2006 DfT letter.

There is no letter of any time where the DfT actually says that it anticipates funding the Westbury Bypass.

WCC has responded to enquiries by attaching the letter from the DfT of July 2006 (NB: not December '06).

Here is the Department for Transport's July '06 Regional Funding Allocations letter [on PDF] - as referred to.

A350 Westbury Bypass is in Annex A 'Schemes for funding within the next three years (2006/07 – 2008/09)'. However, the WCC report failed to convey that this DfT letter also stated 'subject to the points noted', ie: A350 Westbury Bypass (Wilts) is actually listed under the heading 'Schemes which do not yet have approval (i.e. not accepted into the Programme)'.  The 6 July 2006 DfT letter is specific about this - and much more. There is an asterisk by Westbury Bypass, which the Annex tells us 'denotes scheme from region's table 2A'. In the body of the DfT letter it is made clear that 'schemes from table 2A have been identified as potential additions to the RFA, subject to environmental impact, affordability, deliverability and statutory procedures.' '... Note that schemes in table 1 have been firmly prioritised...'  Any 'DfT provision of funding will be subject to schemes demonstrating sufficient value for money and being supported by a suitable business case...' And the 6 July 2006 DfT letter further qualifies schemes expected to be funded during the next three years as those currently under construction and those expected to start construction; neither of these categories applying to Wiltshire County Council's Westbury Bypass scheme.

If this is the letter which WCC's officers are relying on to support their contention that the DfT has made some sort of commitment to funding a Westbury Bypass in the next three years, they are avoiding all the issues and conditions in this 6 July 2006 DfT letter.   By omitting reference to the qualifying parameters, they could be accused of misrepresenting the facts of the matter to the public and the councillors.

From what we have heard, WCC's Westbury Bypass scheme is only in the tables at all through persistent demanding by WCC, threatening non-cooperation with the Regional Assembly if WCC did not get its way. However, it can be seen that the scheme is actually far from any commitment of regional funding.

WCC's heading for its above funding presentation as the 'Current Position' was not factual at any time.

Other Wiltshire County Council presentation spin about the 'Single RFA Programme and Programme Entry May/June 2007' is also highly misleading.   WCC's Westbury Bypass scheme has not been approved.

WCC was hoping to manoeuvere its scheme up the tables, but was presenting this as a fait-accompli.

The result has been to create a false impression that WCC's eastern Westbury bypass is on its way.

'Full funding approval by Summer 2008' may have fooled the town council.  Who believes it now?