No funding to reopen key Yeovil rat run five years after closure
Council says no budget to reopen Chinnock Hollow, despite local calls and upcoming A30 closures
Somerset Council has no money in its annual budget to reopen a Yeovil rat run which has been closed for almost five years.
Chinnock Hollow, which runs from the A30 High Street in East Chinnock through the neighbouring village of Odcombe, has been closed since February 21, 2021 following “significant landslide” involving 20 tonnes of rock and sand, along with a large tree.
Somerset Council made an order in May 2025 to permanently close the road on safety grounds, similar to what was implemented on the B3191 Cleeve Hill between Watchet and Blue Anchor (though pedestrians and cyclists can still access the latter).
Councillor Oliver Patrick, whose Coker division includes Chinnock Hollow, has pushed the council to reconsider this decision as it moves to set its annual budget, especially in light of upcoming roadworks on the A30.
But the council has held firm, stating it has to prioritise highway improvements which will benefit the largest number of motorists in light of its increasingly limited funding.
Mr Patrick raised the issue directly in an email to Councillor Richard Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services.
He said: “Chinnock Hollow has now been closed for five years.
“You might recall that reopening the road with all the recommended measures, including significant de-vegetation and the installation on pins and high tensile steel mesh netting, would cost £1.95m in 2023 prices.
“When we implemented the permanent traffic regulation order to close the road on safety grounds, the council made a public statement committing to reopening the road should funding allow.
“Might I ask if you would consider allocating funding for the reopening of Chinnock Hollow in the 2026/27 or 2027/28 budgets?
“I appreciate that the finances are extremely tight, with central government asking us to do more and more with less and less, and 60-70p in every £1 that we receive having to be spent on social care for vulnerable adults and children.
“However, if you could raise with your highways officers that the reopening of this road is still very much a priority for residents and is deserving of capital investment to make it safe for a full reopening in the near-future, I would be very much obliged.”
Mr Patrick’s comments come ahead of the A30 West Coker Road being subject to two weeks of overnight closures between West Coker and the Bunford Hollow roundabout.
During this time, East Chinnock residents wishing to reach Yeovil will be deliverted west along the A30 to Crewkerne, follow the A356 north via Merriott and then join the A303 towards Yeovil.
Posting on his official Facebook page, he added: “I know that many will be really pleased to see this badly potholed road finally fixed.
“However the ongoing closure of Chinnock Hollow removes a vital safety valve on our local road network for situations like these, and without it residents have to take incredibly long and perilous diversions to get to work and school – down back roads that are single track with no passing places.”
Mr Wilkins (who represents the Curry Rivel and Langport division) responded that the council recognised the importance of Chinnock Hollow to local motorists, but said there was no funding available to reopen the road at this time.
He said: “I fully recognise how important this route is to some members of the community, and I appreciate the frustration caused by the length of time the road has remained closed.
“Since the original cost assessment (2023 prices), the condition of the carriageway and the adjacent slopes is likely to have deteriorated further and there has been significant inflation in construction projects.
“This means that the cost of the extensive engineering required to make the route safe for reopening would now be considerably higher than the previous estimate.
“At the same time, Somerset faces substantial and increasing pressures on its capital programme.
“We must prioritise investment where it delivers the greatest benefit to public safety across the county – such as addressing deteriorating road surfaces, ensuring the resilience of major A‑roads, and tackling high‑risk drainage and embankment issues.
“While I fully understand that Chinnock Hollow remains a priority for some residents, we must balance this against many other needs that affect far larger numbers of people and present more immediate safety risks.
“Unfortunately, this means that allocating funding for the reopening of the road in the 2026/27 or 2027/28 budgets is not something we are able to commit to.
“Nevertheless, I want to assure you that we will continue to monitor the situation and keep the long‑term position under review should circumstances change.”
Mr Wilkins added that installing slope monitoring equipment (to notify the council of further landslides) could not be done at Chinnock Hollow, describing it as “materially different” to the similar monitoring carried out at Cleeve Hill before its closure.
He reasoned: “The monitoring used at Cleeve Hill was designed for larger cliff systems, where sensors can help track the behaviour of a broader geological mass.
“This type of monitoring is not well suited to the steep, narrow earth embankments at Chinnock Hollow, where any failure is more likely to be sudden and highly localised.
“For this reason, the installation of such equipment would not provide a reliable or safe basis for managing the risk to road users.”
Mr Patrick said he and his follow Coker division member Mark Hewitson would continue to make the case for reopening Chinnock Hollow in the coming months.
He said: “While I understand and appreciate the financial and engineering pressures you describe, I would like to challenge the underlying assumption that the slopes at Chinnock Hollow are persistently unsafe and that this therefore justifies an indefinite closure of the road.
“Prior to the 2021 land slip, the road operated for many decades without comparable failures, and there has been no further collapse or measurable movement during the prolonged period since the closure was introduced.
“If the council accepts that delay drives up costs, then there is a strong case for acting sooner, while options remain available, rather than allowing the situation to worsen and remediation costs to spiral ever higher.
“Leaving Chinnock Hollow closed indefinitely and with no plan for future reopening is not acceptable to me or my constituents.”