Road closures have been announced ahead of a major music festival set to take place in Wiltshire this July. Following a break in 2025, Womad has moved from Charlton Park near Malmesbury to a new location at Neston Park Estate, near Corsham.
The World of Music, Arts and Dance festival will run from July 23 to 26, with headliners including London-based soul artist Greentea Peng, Malian singer Oumou Sangaré, Jamaican reggae icon Barrington Levy and Swedish indie-folk musician José González. Around 40,000 festivalgoers are expected to attend.
Wiltshire Council has now outlined its approach to managing traffic in the vicinity of the festival site. In contrast to Charlton Park, the festival's location between 2007 and 2024, Neston Park's road network is more limited.
Highways specialists have published their traffic management plan, which will operate between Monday, July 20 and Monday, July 27. To handle the surge in traffic, they have devised a three-point strategy:
- The speed limit on the A365 between Five Ways and Atworth Lane will be lowered to 30mph.
- Wadswick Lane will be shut from the A365 to the junction with Lower Wadswick.
- A phased one-way system will be implemented on Ashworth Lane from the A365 to Chapel Lane.
The number of vehicles expected at Neston Park throughout the festival period remains unclear. Festival organisers are urging music enthusiasts to take a train to Bath, and are developing a shuttle bus service between the station and the venue.
