Celebration Mile: Bridgwater faces a year of roadworks

The Celebration Mile will eventually run from Bridgwater railway station to the Northgate Docks, providing an attractive and safe walking and cycling route for both current residents and visitors to the town.

A total of £9m was allocated within the Bridgwater town deal to deliver three key sections of the route, each of which secured planning permission from Sedgemoor District Council in mid-2022.

The executive committee of Somerset Council voted in November 2023 to proceed with the project, tentatively appointing Taylor Woodrow SWH Contracting (which is based in Watford) to undertake the work.

The route of the Celebration Mile scheme. (Image: Macgregor Smith Landscape Architects)

Following the legally required ‘standstill period’ on the contract – and a number of other delays – the council has finally confirmed the appointment of its contractor, meaning work can start later in the summer.

Stuart Martin, the council’s regeneration manager, stated that the project would “substantially improve the pedestrian and cycle accessibility into and
through the three areas, and improve the conditions for businesses and traders to be successful”.

He said: “Works will include widened pavements, re-ordered traffic movement and landscaping.”

Due to inflationary pressures within the construction industry, some elements of the original schemes have been scaled back to cut costs, with cheaper materials being used.

Specifically, a plan to “create new façades in the colonnade area of Angel Crescent” has been scrapped.

An artist's impression of the Eastover section of the Celebration Mile. (Image: Macgregor Smith Landscape Architects)

Mr Martin said: “It is an imperative for the council to proceed with the project as recommended due to the requirement of disbursing the towns fund grant in a timely manner.

“Failure to do so may result in the grant being returned to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.”

Because the funding for the Celebration Mile is ring-fenced within the Bridgwater town deal, it cannot be spent on any other capital project or be redirected to pay for the day-to-day running of front-line services.

The council’s official roadworks portal indicates that Eastover and the neighbouring streets – including East Quay, Salmon Parade and West Quay – will be subject to “temporary traffic restrictions to undertake improvement works” between August 19, 2024 and August 31, 2025.

The council has not confirmed when or whether similar restrictions will be in place on Clare Street during the same time period, or any closures which will be needed in and around Angel Crescent.

Any restrictions are likely to be somewhat eased in November to allow for the annual Bridgwater Carnival to run successfully.

Mr Martin stated in November 2023 that the Salmon Parade section may be delivered late in the programme to allow the work to “run in parallel” with the creation of the new health and social care academy on the former community hospital site (which is being delivered by the levelling up fund).

He told the council’s executive committee at the time: “The hospital project is running slightly behind, so we’ll put that to one side and bring it back in at the appropriate time.”

Further details surrounding the precise nature of the roadworks and the time-scale for the work is expected to be published in the coming weeks.