Two-way traffic to return to part of Bridgwater's Celebration Mile
A survey found fewer than 2% of people wanted to keep the current layout on East Quay and Salmon Parade
The leader of Somerset Council has confirmed that significant changes will be made to the Celebration Mile in Bridgwater town centre following public feedback.
Three sections of the Celebration Mile (which will eventually run from Bridgwater railway station to the Northgate Docks) have been implemented using £9m of central government funding, including one-way systems along Eastover, East Quay and Salmon Parade.
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 almost 6,000 local signatures, Somerset Council restored on-street parking on Salmon Parade in April, with a public consultation being held over the summer on several options for additional changes.
Council leader Bill Revans confirmed in a statement on Wednesday morning (October 7) that two-way traffic will be restored to East Quay and Salmon Parade some time early in the new year – at an anticipated cost of £560,000.
The public consultation – which attracted more than 1,300 responses – laid out several options for what changes could be made to East Quay, Eastover and Salmon Parade.
Nearly 72 per cent of respondents voted for two-way traffic on be restored on East Quay and Salmon Parade, with many stating it would “provide more direct routes, reduce pressure on the Cross Rifles roundabout, Broadway, Monmouth Street and other congested parts of the network, and help shorten journey times”.
The resulting report recommended that the council should “re-instate two-way traffic flow on Salmon Parade and East Quay, together with any associated mitigation measures required”.
A statement from Mr Revans was released during a meeting of the council’s executive committee in Taunton on Wednesday morning (October 7).
Mr Revans (who represents the North Petherton division) began by thanking the public for taking part in the consultation, along with the Bridgwater town deal board, Bridgwater Town Council and the numerous local councillors who had contributed their views.
He went on to say: “The Celebration Mile project is a long-standing element of the Bridgwater Vision, a core place-making and regeneration strategy for the town, inherited from and supported by the former Sedgemoor District Council.
“It was supported by Bridgwater Town Council, was funded and supported by the former MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, and was funded through the Bridgwater town deal.
“The project has been part of the formally adopted vision and plans for the town since 2009, and is a pedestrian priority route from the rail station to the docks, delivering high-quality public realm, seeking to integrate parts of the town with the town centre, promoting active travel and reducing traffic flow in the area to create a pleasant and attractive area which should benefit residents and businesses.”
Mr Revans confirmed that any changes will only concern East Quay and Salmon Parade – meaning that Eastover will remain a one-way street, and the changes put in place near Clare Street and Angel Crescent will stay in place.
He said: “It is notable that the businesses that responded were overwhelmingly in favour of the chosen option – 82 per cent, in fact.
“As the intention is to make the pedestrian experience much better to support the town centre commercial offering, I attach significant weight to this feedback.”
Officers have estimated that this will cost £560,000 to rectify – of which £400,000 will come from the Department for Transport (DfT) through its highways accessibility grant and £160,000 will come from remaining grants within the Bridgwater town deal.
The latter grants have to be committed to projects by March 31, 2027 and spent in their entirety by April 2028 – with Mr Revans indicating the changes will be made after Christmas but before the end of the financial year (and the local elections in May).
Officers’ technical analysis concluded that making these changes to East Quay and Salmon Parade would “increase vehicle dominance” in the area – with new safe pedestrian crossings being needed to offset the loss of the designated cycle lanes on both streets.
Mr Revans said that these new crossings should be delivered on East Quay to ensure pedestrians continued to have a safe route into the town centre via Town Bridge.
He added: “This would be in keeping with the Celebration Mile vision and the town deal aspirations of pedestrian priority.
“It may well be that in the future, when Bridgwater is not subject to the extra pressures of Hinkley Point C construction traffic, that the East Quay area from Carvers Lane to the Town Bridge could mirror the West Quay.
“This scheme should be informed by local consultation with stakeholders and businesses.
“I note that it is not uncommon for pedestrianisation prioritisation schemes to be iterative in their development – for example, in the case of Hammet Street, St James Street and East Street in Taunton, which have seen a variety of proposals over the last ten years, some of which have been trialled.
“I continue to express my disappointment that some who supported this scheme until its implementation then chose to attack it vociferously.”
Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, who leads the Conservative opposition group, has welcomed Mr Revans’ decision and thanked all those who signed the petition calling for the changes.
Mr Rodrigues (who represents the Bridgwater East and Bawdrip division) said: “From the moment the new layout was introduced, local people made it clear to me that it was not working.
“That is why I launched a public petition calling for the return of two-way traffic, which went on to receive almost 6,000 signatures and helped demonstrate the strength of feeling across Bridgwater.
“This was never about scoring political points. The original scheme had cross-party support at the former Sedgemoor District Council.
“What matters is that once it was implemented, it caused considerable disruption and frustration for residents, motorists and businesses, and people rightly expected their concerns to be listened to. I am pleased that they have been.
“I want to thank every single person who added their name, shared the campaign or contacted me about the issue. This shows what can happen when local people make their voices heard.”