OUTRAGED councillors are threatening to boycott Waitrose in Malmesbury unless a key pedestrian access route is fixed immediately after a six-year closure.
The timber walkway was installed to link Waitrose with the High Street when the store opened to mitigate against local trade being lost.
However, the wooden frame quickly deteriorated and the route has been closed since 2017.
Town mayor Gavin Grant is now leading calls for the supermarket to fix the problem or face a boycott.
A spokesperson for Malmesbury Town Council said: “The town council is threatening to organise a boycott of the town’s Waitrose store if supermarket bosses don’t make good on their promise to replace a dangerous flight of steps installed to encourage shoppers to visit the High Street.
“We have been contacted by many residents concerned about the state of the steps and the ongoing closure.”
When the store opened in 2014 just off the A429 in Avon Mills, local businesses were concerned it would take trade away from the town centre.
To mitigate against this fear, Waitrose built the timber walkway next to St John's Bridge from the Waitrose car park down to the High Street.
Planning permission to replace the stairs with a stronger metal structure was approved by Wiltshire Council in November last year but Waitrose has still not started work on this.
Despite the closure, councillors say some shoppers simply ignore the closure signs and barriers and wade past unsafe broken wooden slacks and gaping holes.
Malmesbury Town Council members clashed heads with Waitrose representatives at a recent meeting in the town hall over the issue.
A video was posted on the Malmesbury Town Council's YouTube channel in reaction to this in which mayor Gavin Grant condemned the steps as 'disgraceful' and 'dangerous'.
In the video Cllr Grant - dressed in his mayoral robes and hat - sternly urges Waitrose to act swiftly and says: "Waitrose have consistently promised that they would replace these steps.
"Now they are telling us that they are under no obligation to do so.
"That is simply not good enough.
"These steps need to be replaced and they need to be reopened, and we want that done now.
"Here's our message, fix those steps and do it now.
"Keep your promise to the people of Malmesbury and don't let us down."
In a statement to the Standard, he added: "As a town council we've done all we can, to date, to support Waitrose in getting planning permission to install appropriate and safe steps and now they have reneged on that commitment.
"We will continue to press Waitrose to replace the steps while maintaining our excellent relationship with the local Waitrose's helpful and friendly staff who have supported many local charities and community groups.
"The town council believes the replacement costs are reasonable and given the company's commitment in previous years, there is an expectation that funds to replace the steps would have been allocated."
A spokesperson for Waitrose said that while it is their intention to replace the steps, budget constraints have meant this hasn't materialised yet.
They added: "While we remain in conversation with the council about these steps, our branch is easily accessible using a large entrance, just up the road.
"No decisions have been reached on the steps yet.
"In the meantime, we continue to invest in areas like lowering hundreds of prices for customers, supporting local charities and backing British farmers."
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