Somerset County Council has been accused of washing its hands as the row over proposed road improvements along the A358 Taunton-Ilminster road rumbles on.
The criticism was levelled at County Hall after it declined to support calls for a public consultation on dualling the road, along with a bypass around Henlade and a new Junction 25A at Killams.
Taunton Deane Borough Council has already called for the consultation to be re-run as Highways England (HE) only put one of the four main options in the document for consideration.
But Cllr David Hall, deputy leader of the county, said: “Somerset County Council (SCC) will not be delivering the A303 upgrading, but expects HE to start work prior to April 2021, which is their current target.
“SCC will not be responsible for deciding upon the exact route of the upgraded road in Somerset and will not be writing or entering into contracts to get the work done.
“HE will appoint the contractors to build their scheme.
“SCC will not be responsible if the work is delayed or delivered late as it is HE who will be responsible for the timely delivery of their scheme.”
Keith Read and Michael Baddeley, chairmen of West Hatch and Stoke St Mary parish councils respectively, have called on SCC to “stand up against HE for the communities affected by their badly designed A358 dualling scheme”.
They accused Mr Hall of a “vague and indeterminate” comment that could be construed as “dismissive of the anxieties and concerns of the relevant communities”.
And they claim HE’s preferred option does little to alleviate traffic through Henlade; is not integrated with the proposed M5 improvements (see page 4); delivers “the most damaging environmental and community impact”; fails to provide Taunton with a junction capable of supporting local access; has the least benefit-to-cost ratio; and opens up a swathe of land south of the M5 for development and urban sprawl.
They said: “We urgently need SCC, who represent local businesses and communities affected by the A358 dualling proposal, to respond intelligently and responsibly and to demand of HE a complete re-think and new consultation process to discuss alternative options, particularly with respect to M5 junctions and Taunton access routes.”
Campaigner David Orr believes the favoured option would “bring huge dis-benefits to Taunton and Somerset”, with traffic from London and the South East simply diverted to Devon and Cornwall.
He said: “If through lobbying with assertive and muscular feedback by our elected councils, HE does amend this flawed one preferred option scheme, then will the county council support another round of public engagement and consultation, as this flawed one route proposal will have been changed?
“Taunton as the county town of Somerset deserves better than this.”
Mike Farrell, of Stoke St Mary Parish Council.said: “How can the biggest building project Taunton has seen since the building of the M5 over 40 years ago attract such little input from those elected to represent the people of Somerset?”
Article originally published by Somerset County Gazette
