BRIDGWATER’S MP has entered into a war of words with Somerset Council over ongoing roadworks in and around the town centre.
Bridgwater is currently subject to several concurrent roadworks schemes which are disrupting businesses and increasing journey times.
The delivery of the Celebration Mile at three town centre locations, the upgrade of the Dunball roundabout near junction 23 of the M5, and the ongoing work on the A39 Bath Road to unlock the new £4bn ‘gigafactory’ at the nearby Gravity site are all underway.
Local MP Sir Ashley Fox has made his distaste at the roadworks known in a strongly-worded letter to the council, arguing the council was “failing in its duty” to local residents and criticising the “significant inconvenience” the work was causing.
Somerset Council said that slowing down or stopping the roadworks would “endanger” the town’s future by deterring investment, and said it was happy to meet with Mr Fox to discuss these issues further.
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In a letter to Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, Mr Fox said the delays on and around Eastover were “crippling local businesses” and the Dunball work was “causing lengthy delays to both car and bus users.”
He elaborated: “It is the duty of the council to control and manage our public highways and to ensure the smooth flow of traffic in and around our town. You are failing in this duty.
“You and your officers have clearly failed to asses the cumulative impact of these extensive roadworks and the significant inconvenience they are now causing to residents and businesses.
“While each of the projects should, in due course, benefit the local economy, it is unacceptable that your department has scheduled them all at the same time.”
Mr Fox added that he had received numerous angry missives from his constituents about the roadworks, and called for the council’s highways team to give “a little more thought” to any future roadworks on this scale in Bridgwater.
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In an online survey of his constituents via his official website, Mr Fox says that more than 77 per cent of respondents opposed or strongly opposed the Eastover scheme, compared to just under 15 per cent who supported or strongly supported it.
Similarly, nearly 66 per cent of respondents felt that they had not been adequately consulted before work began, and more than 82 per cent had either visited Eastover less frequently or stopped visiting entirely since the roadworks started.
In his response, Mr Wilkins said the roadworks needed to “dovetail” due to “tight constraints and fiscal rules” surrounding the government grants that were paying for the projects.
The Celebration Mile is funded through the Bridgwater town deal, with £9m being allocated out of the overall government grant of £23.2m, and all the money having to be spent by the end of March 2026.
Likewise, the bulk of funding for the Dunball roundabout upgrade comes from the government’s levelling up fund, which has similar constraints on where, how and when the money must be utilised.
Mr Wilkins (who represents the Curry Rivel and Langport division) said: “For too long Bridgwater has been ignored, allowing its infrastructure to degrade while failing to get much-needed investment.
“For this reason, I cannot agree with your recommendation that we stop or pause this work, rising the investment and losing the progress we have made to date.
“Doing this would endanger not only the direct infrastructure projects, but potentially the future investment – including the Agratas facility in Puriton, whose delivery is reliant on some of the more difficult roadworks.”
Mr Wilkins said the Dunball roundabout was “about building critical capacity to deliver future growth” and was necessary to unlock new housing and employment across Bridgwater.
Regarding the Celebration Mile, he said that the town centre “will continue to decline” without these time-sensitive improvements.
Brian Smedley, the Labour leader of Bridgwater Town Council, gave his thoughts on the matter during a breakfast drop-in event held for local residents and businesses at the Mercure Hotel on Eastover on Monday (February 24).
Mr Smedley (who also represents the Bridgwater South division on Somerset Council) said: “The problem here is that we ask for more money to be spent in Bridgwater, and when we get it different people think it should be spent differently.
“Some even think we should give it back. We can’t give it back, we’d lose the money.
“We can’t change it to another project – Sedgemoor District Council got the money for this specific project and we can’t scrap it, as there would be fines and compensations from contractors.
“We just need to make sure the work is done properly, quickly, efficiently and the key thing is getting the communications right.”
Both Mr Smedley and Conservative councillor Diogo Rodrigues (Bridgwater East and Bawdrip) have made separate calls for business rate relief to be given to those businesses who have been most directly impacted by the Celebration Mile roadworks.
Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for economic development, planning and assets, stated after the drop-in event that the fine details of this relief were still being worked out and businesses would be informed in the near-future about this.
He added: “We do understand people’s frustrations, when you are delivering a project of this size there will be disruption. This is about increasing footfall in the town by improving the shopping experience and making these areas more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly.
“The aim is to help businesses thrive and we want to give them the best sort of vibrant environment to do that by cutting down on traffic and encouraging more people to enjoy strolling around these streets or sitting outside and having something to eat or drink.
“The team is focused on finishing the Eastover phase by June so that businesses can start to feel the benefits, and we are currently on time and on budget for an October completion for the whole project.
“For food and drink businesses we are looking at providing what practical help we can by waiving the licence fee for outside tables and chairs this year, and we have been working traders and our contractor on information and signage to drive home the message that Eastover is open for business.
“Going forward we will be working with the town council and other partners to maximise opportunities in the future such as events to show case the Celebration Mile and Bridgwater as a whole.”