Fundamentally we disagree with this road in principal. You are imposing a major highway through a rural area which will have a hugely damaging effect both physically and mentally upon the local population. The benefit of the road will be negligible as delays will exist at either end particularly during the peak summer months and will only give a potential 7 minute time gain. The benefit to Henlade comes at too high a price for the shattered communities it is leaving in its wake. The current financial situation of the UK should mean that all expenditure be looked at to ensure value for money, on that criteria this project does not fare well. Announcements from the Government have just reduced the road maintenance fund by £480 million which will compound the detrimental effect on our rural lanes as the increased maintenance requirement will not be fulfilled.

You have so far done little to mitigate the failings of the scheme. Since 2017 communities situated between Thornfalcon and Ashill have pressed to have a junction between Ashill and Hatch Beauchamp. The fundamental benefit of such a junction is that local traffic would not have to travel through either Hatch Beauchamp or Ashill and neighbouring lanes to access the dualled A358. The A358 SAR recorded that a junction south of Hatch Beauchamp could mitigate the adverse impact of the dualling scheme. However, it was omitted from the Preferred Route following a high-level cost cutting exercise.

As the latest design limits Bickenhall Bridge to WCH and farm vehicles there is a strong case for extending the service road to Bickenhall Lane. The only alternative route is via Staple Fitzpaine Road, which would require considerable improvement along the section adjacent to the bridge over the Fivehead River; this concern was noted in the A358 SAR. Routing via Staple Fitzpaine Road would, however, have an adverse impact on WCH users that regularly use this road. The suggestion that traffic would use an alternative route via Cold Road and West Hatch Lane is nonsensical. Diverting traffic to narrow, hilly lanes, which are popular WCH routes is creating a safety hazard. A further effect of closing Bickenhall Bridge to vehicle traffic is that Griffin Lane is forecasted to become busier by some 250 vehicles a day. Griffin Lane is totally unsuitable for vehicle traffic as it is narrow, windy, hilly and in parts with a deep gully running alongside. Furthermore, Griffin Lane is well used by walkers and horse riders.

This proposal limits access to the A358 by the Neroche district to solely Staple Fitzpaine Road via the service road or West Hatch Lane via MTG junction, routes that are difficult for normal traffic and unsuitable for HGVs and large farm vehicles. To mitigate this loss of access NH must provide access to the dualled A358 via Bickenhall Lane.

The A358 Scheme provides one great improvement – the Henlade bypass that will improve the quality of life for communities in that immediate area. Beyond that area fourteen Parish Councils and Ilminster Town Council are very concerned that the Scheme has serious failings. We understand from the Consultation provided by NH that local communities do not agree with the fundamentals of the preliminary design.

The current scheme design will increase traffic, increase the mixture of vehicles and increase the time traffic will spend in the rural network and our villages. All these changes increase the likelihood of accidents. The loss of historic accessibility to the A358 will necessitate long diversions along unclassified and C class rural lanes and roads. Experience to date is that these roads are poorly maintained by SCC, evidenced by pot holes, uncleared gullies, limited cutting of road hedges and verges. In autumn and winter the rural network is very dark, often muddy and slippery and in many places flooded or obstructed by pools of water. These issues already make the rural network precarious. The increased traffic volume, incompatibility of traffic types (cars, vans, lorries and agricultural vehicles) with each other and WCH uses will increase mental and physical stress on local communities. School runs will become more stressful. Businesses will be handicapped. Community severance will increase. Combined with the environmental issues of noise and light pollution and disrupted habitats, the scheme does not consider in any depth these effects nor offers any mitigation of substance.