A big thanks to everyone who has signed the petition - we are closing in on 2,500 signatures. As some of you will be aware, I was appointed yesterday as the Cabinet Member for Transport at Wiltshire Council. This was quite a surprising development to say the least, considering when I set up the petition before Christmas, I wasn't even a Wiltshire councillor! I intend to make the very most of this opportunity to tackle congestion across Salisbury, as well as my wider responsibilities across the county.

I can assure you that I will be continuing to push for a bypass in my new role, and I know the new leader of Wiltshire Council, Richard Clewer, is supportive of our campaign too. The next step will be to raise the visibility of this issue with Highways England as well as looking at additional measures that can be taken in the short to medium term to improve the flow of traffic on Southampton Road and College Roundabout. This is an issue that will take many years to crack but we are making progress and we are already in a much stronger position on this than we were six months ago thanks to your support. Please keep sharing the petition on social media and encourage others to join the campaign.