Bridgwater MP calls for debate in parliament over town’s ‘gridlocked’ road network
The Cross Rifles roundabout is one of the busiest road junctions in Bridgwater
Bridgwater’s MP has called for a debate in parliament over the town’s “gridlocked” road network.
The Cross Rifles roundabout is one of the busiest road junctions in Bridgwater, linking the A38 Bristol Road (from junction 23 of the M5) to the A39 Bath Road towards the ‘gigafactory’ site, the A38 Broadway and The Clink, leading to the Bridgwater Retail Park.
The roundabout was originally earmarked for a major upgrade of Bridgwater’s ‘northern corridor’, with the then-Conservative government allocating more than £10m from its levelling up fund in 2021.
In August 2024, the Liberal Democrat-led Somerset Council took the decision to scrap the Cross Rifles upgrade in light of rising costs, redirecting all remaining funding to upgrading the Dunball roundabout near the motorway.
Sir Ashley Fox, the Conservative MP for Bridgwater, has now called on the government to make time in parliament for a debate on the “severe congestion” this decision had caused and how councils may be held accountable for these decisions.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday afternoon (November 13), Mr Fox said: “The decision by Liberal Democrats on Somerset Council to cancel the Cross Rifles roundabout upgrade in Bridgwater has left residents facing severe congestion.
“Combined with a new one-way system on Salmon Parade and East Quay, it has left Bridgwater gridlocked, and my constituents now face longer and more costly journeys.
“One resident, Sadie, told me that because of the one-way system, her weekly taxi fare to the supermarket has risen from £7 to £20.
“May we have a debate on how we can hold councils to account when they cancel government-funded infrastructure projects without offering an alternative for local people?”
The council has faced significant criticism in recent weeks over traffic levels in the town, prompting council leader Bill Revans to promise a review into the one-way systems put in place as part of recently completed work on the town’s Celebration Mile.
Leader of the House of Commons Alan Campbell MP responded: “Local infrastructure is so important, particularly to rural communities.
“I will draw this case to the attention of the Department for Transport.
“In the business of the House of Commons I have announced, and in proceedings on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, there might be an opportunity for the honourable gentleman to raise the issue of how local authorities can be held to account for the decisions they make.”
Following this response, Mr Fox said: “It is welcome that the minister has agreed to draw Bridgwater’s case to the attention of the department.
“By cancelling the Cross Rifles upgrade, the council has diverted more traffic through a junction that was never improved, and residents are paying the price in longer journeys, missed appointments and increased travel costs.”
Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, responded to this matter when it was raised by Conservative opposition leader Councillor Diogo Rodrigues at a executive meeting on November 5.
He said: “The government funds secured were for the whole A38 ‘northern corridor’ programme, which encountered inflationary cost increases and significant project risks around land acquisition and delivery for the Cross Rifles element.
“It was agreed within the fixed funding available that completing the Dunball improvement was more critical to the growth of the area.
“A transparent decision in August 2024 agreed to re-focus the Cross Rifles project away from a highway capacity scheme which required significant land-take, to instead work within existing highway boundaries to deliver safety improvements and active travel links which will facilitate walking and wheeling via safer and quieter streets, away from the junction itself.
“The £2m developer funding contributions have agreements explicitly referencing walking and cycling measures as an agreed use of the funding to help manage the impacts of those developments.”
Work on the £10.7m upgrade to the Dunball roundabout is expected to be completed on Friday (November 21).