Councillors have this week approved a £1.6 million ‘Plan B’ scheme to ensure Burnham-On-Sea’s M5 junction can be upgraded and nearby new commercial developments delivered.
Somerset County Council and North Somerset Council are working together to deliver nine different schemes to improve traffic flow on the A38 between Junction 22 of the M5 at Bunham-On-Sea and the outskirts of Bristol.
The two councils are awaiting the outcome of a funding bid to the Department for Transport (DfT), which included turning the Edithmead roundabout at Junction 22 into a “throughabout”, which aims to allow traffic to reach both Highbridge and the motorway more quickly.
In one of its last actions before being abolished, Sedgemoor District Council’s executive committee has this week agreed to fund a back-up plan to upgrade the roundabout in case the DfT bid fails.
Details of the ‘Plan B’ scheme were discussed by the executive when it met on Wednesday morning (February 8th).
The Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge area is identified within the council’s Local Plan as delivering 15 per cent of new homes in the district by 2032, along with an extension of the Isleport Business Park.
Numerous developments in the two towns, both residential and commercial, are being held up as a result of “recognised safety concerns” surrounding traffic queueing back onto the M5.
National Highways, which manages the motorway, has placed a “holding position” of numerous applications – meaning there are limits on how many new homes or business units can be built until a scheme to upgrade the Edithmead roundabout is agreed.
The biggest residential development affected is at the Isleport Grove site in Highbridge, where Countryside Partnerships recently began building 248 new homes between Isleport Lane and the motorway, pictured below.
While planning permission was granted last year, the developer can only deliver up to 100 houses before the roundabout is upgraded.
The other commercial developments being held up include a new McDonald’s drive-thru and Greggs drive-thru at Highbridge’s Oaktree Business Park off the A38 Bristol Road, the wider Oaktree business park, and new distribution hubs and warehouses on both Pillmore Lane and the Pople’s Bow site, near the Bristol Road roundabout.
Stuart Houlet, the council’s assistant director of inward investment and growth, said in his written report: “This is resulting in significant delay in delivery and in the case of the commercial development, potentially the loss of both significant inward investment and retention/expansion of an existing employer.”
To address the planning delays, the council has put forward an alternative scheme which would see the “partial signalisation” of the roundabout, at a cost of £1.6m.
Around £600,000 of the funding for “Plan B” would come from local housing developments, with the remainder being split evenly between the county council and the district council’s retained portion of the community interest levy (CIL).
Mr Houlet said: “This suggested approach is like that used in relation to improvements at the Dunball roundabout at Junction 23, which enables development to come forward in advance of the works. As with the Dunball scheme, it should be noted that the use of CIL funding is very much a fallback position should the DfT bid not be successful.”
While either the DfT scheme or the council’s Plan B may not be completely implemented until 2025, the approval of either scheme would allow National Highways to remove their holding position and allow development to proceed, with the road infrastructure catching up to new demand.
Councillor Mike Caswell, portfolio holder for infrastructure and transport, said the scheme was vital to ensure the road was fit for purpose.
He said: “This is vital – we’ve got to do this and get it under way. It’s holding up a lot of industrial and domestic development – this is right on the ball.”
Councillor Andrew Gilling, portfolio holder for housing, said upgrading the junction was essential to prevent gridlock as a result of Bristol Airport being given permission to expand.
Mr Glling – whose Knoll ward includes the roundabout – said: “The elephant in the room is the recently granted consent for the expansion of Bristol Airport, with something like 12 million new passengers a year.
“This expansion will suck more commercial and holiday interest away from this ward – but my major concern is the traffic the airport will generate.”
Councillor Bob Filmer – who represents the same ward – added: “It’s a critical part of development for our ward. This is one of the few junctions on the M5 that hasn’t been upgraded in recent years. It desperately needs it.”
“In the Local Plan, we’ve got the development of the Isleport Business Park and we’ve got to move forward with that. There are people’s jobs on the line.”
The committee voted unanimously to approve the scheme. The DfT’s ruling on the Junction 22 upgrade is expected to be made this spring, says the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
