Parking on Bridgwater’s Celebration Mile to be restored “within eight weeks”

Parking spaces on part of the Celebration Mile in Bridgwater town centre will be restored “within eight weeks”, Somerset Council has confirmed.

Parking was removed from Salmon Parade, near the former Bridgwater community hospital, as part of the delivery of three sections of the Celebration Mile between the town’s railway station and historic docks, funded by £9m from central government.

These changes, coupled with the cancellation of upgrades to the Cross Rifles roundabout, have led to increased congestion on Bridgwater’s road network, generating considerable anger among local residents and businesses.

Following a petition which attracted more than 5,800 local signatures, the council committed in December 2025 to carrying out a full review of the scheme, with any significant changes being implemented in the summer of 2026.

The council has now confirmed that parking spaces will return to Salmon Parade within the next two months – with further details of any changes or necessary road closures being announced in due course.

Carole Edmunds, who sits in Bridgwater Town Council, raised the issue when Somerset Council’s executive committee convened in Taunton on Wednesday morning (April 1).

She said: “At the full council meeting on March 4, Councillor Richard Wilkins said that the on-street parking on Salmon Parade would be reinstated at the earliest opportunity.

“He said the council’s consultants were ‘designing parking spaces at pace’ and their draft proposal were being reviewed ahead of the legal process for implementation.

“He knows the wider issues of the Celebration Mile are of great concern to Bridgwater residents, prompting an outcry on social media, expressed in a petition with more than 5,800 signatures, and brought to the full council in December 2025. It is an urgent matter.

“Councillor Mike Rigby attended a meeting of our town development forum on January 19, at which he stated he did not know why the parking spaces had been removed and that they could be brought back at an early stage.”

Ms Edmunds (one of two Conservative councillors for the Fairfax ward) is described on the town council’s website as “a committed commuter cyclist and supporter of active travel”.

She added: “Bridgwater Town Council unanimously voted in December 2025 to request that Somerset Council restore the on-street parking on Salmon Parade as soon as possible.

“Can Councillor Wilkins confirm a timetable for the reinstatement of the parking?”

Mr Wilkins, portfolio holder for transport and waste services, said the council’s highway officers were working on this matter as an urgent priority, promising that the spaces would be back by the beginning of June.

Mr Wilkins (who represents the Curry Rivel and Langport division said: “My team is working hard to get the parking spaces implemented as soon as possible.

“We are finishing the details of the design and will issue a firm date shortly. We will aim to get this implemented within the next eight weeks.

“We have drawings that we can now share with local division members, and the work can be ordered on a 28-day turnaround.”