IT'S been more than a decade in the making, and now, work on enhancing the “spine” of Bridgwater town centre is finally starting to get underway.
Sedgemoor District Council has had long-standing ambitions to implement the ‘Celebration Mile’, which will run from Bridgwater railway station through the town centre to the Northgate Docks.
Following a successful bid to the government’s towns fund, securing £23.2m, numerous projects along the ‘Mile’ have received planning permission, meaning work can begin on the ground to generate much-needed improvements.
The Celebration Mile is intended to tie together numerous other regeneration efforts in the town, including the Northgate Yard leisure complex (which was funded outright by the council) and the redevelopment of the former community hospital through the levelling up fund.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service staged a live-streamed walk along the route on Wednesday afternoon (February 15) – and here’s a summary of how each section of the ‘Mile’ will change by 2026:
Bridgwater railway station
Bridgwater railway station lies on the Bristol to Exeter mainline and handles around 350,000 passengers a year, according to the Office for Rail and Road.
The station serves as the eastern terminus of the Celebration Mile, and has already seen some improvements from Great Western Railway (GWR) following £1.2m of investment back in mid-2019.
The improvements, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and contributions from the Hinkley Point C construction programme, saw the public realm around the station improved, with new paving on Wellington Road, a more logical car parking layout and moving the café inside the existing station buildings.
A few additional tweaks in the coming years will allow the station to act as a sustainable transport hub for commuters, businesses and private passengers.
Stuart Martin, the council’s regeneration project manager, said: “I’m hopeful that, as we progress the project, we can revisit the area and pick up any issues that need to be resolved.”
The A372 St. John’s Street
St. John’s Street – which connects the station to the town centre and runs out towards Langport and the wider Somerset Levels – is currently a busy and congested street, with numerous small businesses on either side.
This section is not being directly upgraded through the town deal, but the council hopes to secure further funding at a later date.
Mr Martin said: “This is an important section, and it has issues with traffic congestion.
“What I’m hoping is that the funds we’ve got in place at the moment will be able to let ook down St. John’s Street and develop and design a scheme, for which we can then secure capital funding.”
In the meantime, some improvements will be made near the junction with the A38 Broadway to make it more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists.
There are small, interrupted cycle lanes at the eastern end of the current street, and these could eventually be extended.
Councillor Gill Slocombe, portfolio holder for inward investment and growth, said: “I think the most frustrating thing for anyone with a cycle route is when you have a gap. Linking cycle routes is imperative for it to work right.”
To ameliorate the sitaution, the westbound lane between the A38 and Cranleigh Gardens will be reconfigured to provide a dedicated cycle lane, as part of Somerset County Council’s signals improvement plan.
The A38 Broadway junction
As part of the £11.6m upgrade of traffic signals across Somerset, the county council has been working since January 15 on the crucial junction between the A38 Broadway, St. John’s Street and Eastover.
Essentially, those using the Celebration Mile will need to cross one of the busiest roads in Bridgwater, and to enable that, new parallel crossings are being created to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
In addition to upgrading the existing traffic lights, which are nearing the end of their service life, a new puffin crossing will be created near Blake Place and a whole stretch of the A38 will be completely resurfaced.
The puffin crossing was due to delivered as part of a separate upgrade of the Cross Rifles roundabout (funded through the government’s levelling up fund), but this has been brought forward to reduce long-term disruption.
Work is set to conclude in the early-spring, allowing work on the Eastover stretch to get under way.
Mr Martin said: “This area [around the Mercure Hotel] will effectively become the gateway to Eastover. The current black Tarmac and concrete will be replaced by high-quality pennant stone from the Forest of Dean.
“The whole Eastover section will have this paving, so it will be a real visual uplift.”
Doug Bamsey, the council’s deputy chief executive, said: “It’s about encouraging and bringing confidence, knitting together all the opportunities that we have.”
Eastover, Salmon Parade, East Quay and West Quay
Eastover is currently a two-way street, with traffic running in both directions between the A38 and the Town Bridge leading over the River Parrett.
In the future, traffic will only be able to move eastbound (i.e. towards the A38) from the Church Street junction, with the westbound stretch to the bridge becoming a one-way street.
Similar changes being implemented on East Quay (where cars will be able to move northbound only, towards the A39 The Drove), Salmon Parade (southbound only, past the former community hospital – which will be brought back into use through the levelling up fund) and Town Bridge (westbound only, towards the town centre).
The additional space created will be used to create new cycle lines and widening the existing pavements, providing more of an incentive for people to walk and cycle safety into the town centre – though disabled spaces and loading bays will be retained.
Mr Martin said: “What we’ve got on Eastover is traders who work really hard to make a success of their business – and the environment isn’t conducive to pedestrian use. We want to turn that around to increase footfall.
“There’s a real barrier to movement – we’ve got a four-way junction at Town Bridge, and it’s difficult to get across there if you’re an able-bodied person, let alone if you have a wheelchair, a pushchair or a stick.”
Councillor Diogo Rodrigues, who chairs the Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce, said the short-term impact of these changes would be outweighed by the long-term benefits.
He said: “I think there’s always concerns about the short-term effects, but we’ve had continuous engagement with local businesses – we’ve always had our ear to the ground.
“There is a recognition that when this work is complete, it will make the area more attractive to businesses.”
After planning permission was granted for this stretch in September 2022, the district council hopes to have a contractor on site by June – meaning the improvements will be carried out during the summer holidays.
Cornhill
The Cornhill area – which runs from the Town Bridge towards the Guy Fawkes statue that commemorates Bridgwater Carnival – is already largely pedestrianised.
While it won’t see major investment through the towns fund, this section will be fine-tuned to ensure pedestrians and cyclists have a safe and smooth journey through the town centre.
Mr Martin said: “There are people around who can still remember this being a trafficked street. We’ve already done some improvements on Fore Street to make it better.
“It’s been proven worldwide that pedestrianisation is good for businesses, it’s good for people and it’s good for communities.”
Clare Street
Clare Street, along with its connections with Castle Moat, King Square and York Buildings – all a short distance from the council’s own offices – will soon become pedestrianised, with vehicles only being allowed in for access (including deliveries to the businesses in this area of Bridgwater).
New street lighting, trees and furniture (e.g. benches) will be put in place to make the area more appealing, with “pop-up power points” being installed to enable markets and other local events.
While some parking provision from the area will be removed, a number of new disabled spaces will be created on Castle Moat to ensure the area remains accessible for all residents and visitors.
Mr Martin said: “What we’ve got here, effectively, is a lot of antisocial parking – people diving into a shop or parking long-term.
“We’ll be squeezing the junction to make it less easy for motorists to jump in. There will still be deliveries, but the antisocial parking will be removed.”
Planning permission for this section was granted in July 2022, and work could start around the same time as the Eastover stretch.
Angel Crescent
The existing pedestrian walkway on Angel Crescent – round the back of the Angel Place shopping centre – will play more than one part in the Bridgwater town deal.
Under the Celebration Mile, this stretch will see its “degraded” and “dilapidated” brick surface completely replaced with a safer, more attractive surface, encouraging high footfall for local businesses.
Mr Martin said: “The surface, as it is, is basically unsalvageable – it’s so far gone that we need to get rid of it.
“We’ll also be creating small start-up units, creating an area for small businesses. We find this area has quite low footfall at the moment, but we can build on it and support businesses.”
Mr Bamsey added: “We will have an ‘easy come, easy go’ arrangement, whereby it’s easy to get a lease, but if it’s not successful or you want to move onto a bigger unit, you can come out of it.”
Planning permission for this section was granted in July 2022, and work could start around the same time as the other sections.
Northgate Yard and Brewery Field
Unlike the Celebration Mile, the Northgate Yard regeneration was entirely funded by the council, to the tune of £16m.
The site, which includes the relocated Scott Cinema, opened in late-October 2022, and has been gradually announcing more new arrivals since then – with a bowling alley and two new restaurants due to open very shortly.
The Celebration Mile wanders through the site to the Brewery Field green space, where upgraded play equipment and “urban wetlands” have been created to provide an oasis in the heart of the town centre.
Mr Martin said: “All of the surface water that goes into the wetlands is naturally treated through the filtration of the plants and then filters into the docks.”
Northgate Docks
The Northgate Docks forms the western terminus of the Celebration Mile, as well as the eastern terminus for the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal.
As part of the town deal, £5m will be spent here to regenerate the site, with the existing pontoons and other infrastructure being replaced to provide “a high-quality residential and leisure marina community and a new destination feature in the town centre”.
New pedestrian and cycle links will also be added, meaning you’ll be able to cycle from the docks to the station on an uninterrupted route.
Mr Martin said: “It’s a huge leisure opportunity, and we need to make the most of it.
“We need to get the facilities in place to make it a more liveable place for people living on the boats.”
Mr Bamsey added: “It’s something which at the moment is ‘just there’. People do enjoy it, but there’s so much more to be made of it.
“The docks is a pretty major project – it’s not been looked after the way in which it should have been looked after.”
The funding for the various town deal projects – including the Celebration Mile – will have to be spent in its entirety by March 2026.
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