cycling – devizine.com

We are saddened to hear Westbury Town Council had to make the difficult decision to postpone the Westbury White Horse Soap Box Derby this week. Planned for May, the decision follows careful and detailed consideration of public safety, regulatory obligations, and the long-term sustainability of this much-valued community event….

Since the first Soap Box Derby in 2022, visitor numbers have increased year on year by approximately 1,000 to 2,000 people. While this growth reflects the event’s popularity and success, the scale now projected for 2026 has outpaced the capacity of its current location and supporting infrastructure. The existing site, while offering an exceptional setting for the racing itself, presents significant challenges in safely managing pedestrian and visitor access, alongside transport and traffic flow. Protecting the safety of pedestrians, visitors, participants, volunteers, and residents remains paramount for the Council.

Following discussions with the Highways Authority and Wiltshire Police, the Town Council has been advised that a licence for the 2026 event cannot be issued without fundamental changes to address these safety concerns.

Based on this advice, the Council accepts that the Soap Box Derby cannot be delivered safely or lawfully in its current format in 2026. Attempting to proceed under the existing arrangements would create unacceptable levels of risk for the Town Council, volunteers and the wider community.

The Council has therefore designated 2026 as a fallow year. This will provide officers with the necessary time to undertake a full and careful review of alternative options, including potential new locations and revised event management arrangements, to support the planned relaunch of the Soap Box Derby in 2027 in a way that is safe, sustainable, and fit for the future. We hope this is successful and we will see the return of this popular event.

Westbury Town Council remains committed to the Soap Box Derby and the value it brings to the town. Working with partners, stakeholders and the community, the Council will focus over the coming year on ensuring the event is well placed to return in a safe and sustainable manner.

As part of the global Kidical Mass movement, this event combined a family-friendly cycle ride with a protest, calling for safe streets for everyone. The ride started at the Market Place and finished at Hillworth Park. Cheered on by shoppers and pedestrians, we saw children and parents loving the unusual freedom of cycling in town without fear. This all brightened up an otherwise dull day.….

This ride was organised to coincide with the launch of ‘Street Tag,’ a Wiltshire council initiative to encourage everyone to lead healthier lives by promoting active travel. This is a shared vision of Cycle Friendly Devizes to highlight the urgent need for safer cycling routes in Devizes so that everyone has the opportunity to choose active travel.

Catherine Read, who is the organiser, is also an environmental campaigner with Cycle Friendly Devizes. She said, “Parents are telling me that they want their children to cycle around town and to school, but they worry about the safety of their children with the amount of traffic and close passing. Parents want their children to walk and cycle safely outside and to school, but with the dramatic increase in vehicles and no safe segregated cycle lanes, that’s not currently an option in Devizes.”

“We can improve the situation. Devizes has a local cycling and walking plan, and there are identified routes within the plan that, if actioned, would provide safer cycling for children that parents are calling out for.”

Susan Hayward, who was leading the ride, said, “Every child has a right to feel safe in the town where they live. They should be able to play and ride in their streets, just like we all did when we were young, many years ago. Our Kidical Mass ride today demonstrates that people want to choose the healthy option of cycling in Devizes. It also gives a voice to children and families calling for Devizes to prioritize people over motor vehicles.”

Kidical Mass Devizes calls on our town and county councillors to show bold leadership by supporting safer cycling and making it a priority to protect children. Please turn this vision of streets for people into a reality.

You can find Cycle Friendly Devizes on Facebook and Twitter.