Bridgwater’s cycling campaign group is seeking new members as it drives forward further improvements in the town’s active travel network.

Bridgwater has seen numerous walking and cycling improvements implemented in recent years, funded through a mixture of central government grants, contributions from housing developers and mitigation from the Hinkley Point C construction programme.

The Bridgwater Area Cycling Campaign (BACC) has been closely involved with many of these improvements, providing both technical knowledge and first-hand experience of using the town’s existing network to ensure Somerset Council gets the best out of the available funding.

With further upgrades due to see the light of day in the coming months and years, the group is now looking to recruit new members to ensure that it will continue getting easier to get around Bridgwater without having to use a car.

“We’ve achieved a lot in the five or so years we’ve been running," said BACC communications manager Colin Gummer. “While we certainly can’t claim all the credit for the schemes that have come to fruition, we’ve at least had an influential voice on them all, if nothing else.”

Over the last few years, BACC has been involved in numerous high-profile schemes, including the delivery of a north-south cycle path from the Dunball roundabout to the Northgate Docks, via the Express Park and the A39 Western Way.

This path forms part of the purple route within the Bridgwater local cycling and walking infrastructure plan (LCWIP), and will eventually run all the way to the planned gigafactory in Puriton, using the existing footbridge over the M5.

The council is currently upgrading the cycle links around the Dunball roundabout as part of a £10.7m improvement scheme, providing better links to the nearby services, the Downend area of Puriton and the existing path along the A38 Bristol Road.

In addition to this scheme, the group had detailed input into the design of the Celebration Mile, which is currently being delivered using £9m from the government-funded Bridgwater town deal.

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“We’ve also been influential in decisions around how walking and cycling should be integrated into the big new developments around the town," Gummer said.

Such developments include the Strawberry Grange site on Bower Lane, the Folletts Farm site, Cokerhurst Farm (which is currently under construction), the Bridgwater Gateway site, and improvements in  Sydenham Manor.

Additional funding for walking and cycling improvements in Bridgwater has been provided by central government, in the form of grants from its towns fund and levelling up fund.

The following projects are expected to see the light of day in the coming years:

  • The regeneration of the docks, including a new shared used bridge to link up with the Celebration Mile
  • The reopening of the Albert Street cutting, a key section of the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal towpath
  • A new shared used bridge on the A39 Bath Road over the railway line, linking Bridgwater and Taunton College more easily to the town centre
  • Improved cycle paths in and around The Clink, tied into improvements to the Cross Rifles roundabout and linking up to the ‘purple route’

“As BACC enters a new era, we are actively looking for new faces to help out and continue the great work we’ve got going so far," Gummer said. “If you know of any parts of the Bridgwater active travel network that are lacking, maybe you could help influence the future direction.”

To find out more information about BACC’s work, or to become a member, visit www.thebacc.org.uk/contact.