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Six teams who took on the challenge created by the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce and backed by the Salisbury Journal made their presentations to a team of judges at the Stones Hotel on Saturday.

Their proposals (along with those of two schools who presented earlier in the week) were judged by some of the region’s biggest employers.

The three category winners were: Salisbury Sixth Form College (Key Stage 5); Bishop Wordsworth’s (KS 4); and South Wilts (KS 3).

The Sixth Form College proposed a bypass around the south of the city and the water meadows.

The judges, including MP John Glen, were told the £103 million option would “divert traffic out of the centre and minimise congestion”.

They also urged a faster pace in the replacement of conventional vehicles by those powered by electricity and pointed out that Salisbury has only three charging points.

Their call for improved cycle lanes was echoed by other teams. With a slide showing a picture of a faded cycle lane the team chided the city “for not taking cycle lanes seriously”. They compared Salisbury’s offering with the much smarter versions of cycle lanes in Amsterdam and Hiroshima, where physical and visual barriers were used to encourage cyclists.

They explained that among the UK locations to take cycle lanes seriously were Nottingham and Edinburgh, who were spending £720k and £12m respectively on cycle lane development.

Their suggestions also included improvements to the city’s station (a mural completed by school children) and flower boxes.

Teams from South Wilts Grammar School took a look at the city’s retail offer and tourism. One team had contacted some of the retail companies they believed would make Salisbury more appealing to young people.

A response from Lush said the business was “seriously considering” their proposal to move to the city; Primark said a store development in the centre would be considered and H&M recognised their proposal to split the age range of their offer to better suit young people in the 8 to 14 categories.

A review of the tourism offer came to the verdict that while the city was rich in heritage, it was poorly served for things that were available to young people.

The team from Bishops Wordsworth gave the future planners the option of a bypass or an improvement to the Southampton Road approach to the centre.

They said: “One of the biggest problems of Salisbury is its traffic and when you have to drive places in Salisbury it can take an extra long time and this can discourage shoppers coming into the city centre and make people re-think their destinations.”

Ollie, their spokesman, said the city centre was based on a Medieval grid system “designed to take a horse and cart so it’s no surprise Salisbury suffers from some transport issues.”

He said there were no efforts to reduce the problem until the ring road was built in 1969. “This so-called ring-road links the suburbs to the main city centre. It also makes up the A36 trunk road, which links Bath and South Wales to Southampton and the south coast.”

He produced examples of the traffic map to illustrate the congestion. “Not only does this cause people to be late and frustrated. It also discourages shoppers.”

As a result, there were parts of the city that “break the EU air quality safety rules” he said.

Their own survey found that 75 per cent they spoke to wanted traffic diverted via a bypass, but respondents could not agree a route because of the “very sensitive” landscape around the city. The most popular route was to the south, taking the road through the Ebble Valley, near Odstock and Netherhampton. They recognised it would require careful consultation.

“However, a staggering 85 per cent of the people named Southampton Road as the main cause of congestion in Salisbury and said if nothing else was done it should be turned into a dual-carriageway.”

They spoke about the appeal of the city to tourists with the cathedral at its heart. They quoted Bill Bryson in saying “Salisbury Cathedral is the single most beautiful structure in England and the Close around it the most beautiful space.”

They highlighted the other “fun activities”, including Wilton House gardens and adventure playground, sky-diving with the “highest tandem sky-diving jumps in the UK”, as well as the Escape Rooms, Salisbury Playhouse and Arts Centre.

They questioned whether coach parking provision for tourism was sufficient, particularly with the forthcoming Maltings development likely to take up the current spaces at the Millstream Coach Park.

They also wanted to see improved cycle lanes and highlighted the opportunity that London Road has for improvements.

Exeter House was also represented. Their questionnaire had shown that there should be further help for the homeless as well as the need for Lush and Primark stores in the city.

Godophin School and Leaden Hall had given presentations to the judges earlier in the week.