Dear Sir / Madam,
Project: Celebration Mile, Bridgwater
RE: Planned Traffic Management – Eastover 2025
As you will be aware, the Celebration Mile improvement works along Eastover are ongoing. The team has tried throughout to keep disruption to a minimum, but we appreciate this has been difficult at times. This is a multi-million-pound investment that aims to make Eastover and the town centre a more attractive destination for visitors and shoppers and increase footfall across the town centre.
Our intention had been to carry out the remaining works on Eastover under the current one-way system. However, during the work the team has found a range of unmapped utilities and redundant infrastructure which has made progression more complicated. It is now clear that drainage manholes in Eastover cannot be accessed safely within a one-way traffic arrangement. At the same time, some of our workers have already experienced near misses with traffic failing to comply with the current one-way system.
Therefore, in order to complete these works as safely and as quickly as possible, we will be introducing a full road closure for up to six months from 2nd January 2025, though the team will be doing its utmost to complete the works sooner. Without a full road closure, the remaining work on Eastover is likely to take up to nine months as originally planned. Completing the works sooner should reduce some of the inconvenience to businesses and the full closure will allow the team to complete works all in one go, rather than returning to the same stretch of road multiple times, creating uncertainty for traders and residents. It will also give the team more flexibility to respond to unforeseen circumstances, such as further unmapped or damaged utilities.
Taylor Woodrow and Somerset Council have not taken this decision lightly and understand the impact this may have on traders and residents in the area. However, in the interests of safety and completing the scheme as soon as possible, we believe this is the best way forward.
- Additional signage will make it clear that Eastover is open for business and the area will remain open to pedestrians at all times.
- East Eastover and Church Street will remain open with traffic flowing in both directions as before (see map overleaf).
- Access into London Court will remain accessible for vehicles and pedestrians via Eastover from the East.
- Deliveries for traders will be accommodated via temporary loading bays, located at East Quay taxi rank, Salmon Parade, Church Street, New Road and Watsons Lane. If you have any individual questions or concerns about how these will operate for your business, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
- We will update stakeholders throughout with our progress and when known, the exact date of the road being reopened.
As always, our Community Engagement Officer is readily available to handle any queries regarding this closure and will be calling into commercial and residential properties frequently. Somerset Council representatives will also be actively engaging with stakeholders in the area to take questions. Both sets of contact information can be found below. Thank you for your continued patience.
Yours sincerely,
Faye Cross
Community Engagement Officer
Taylor Woodrow Contact Email – CelebrationMile.Bridgwater@taylorwoodrow.com
Somerset Council Contact Email – BridgwaterTownDeal@groups.somerset.gov.uk
