New contractors set to be appointed for bypass

The Banwell bypass will cost £56.5m

New contractors are set to be appointed to build a bypass around a congested village.

Work was due to start on the Banwell bypass in Somerset in May, but contractors pulled out from the deal two months prior.

North Somerset Council said it remains committed to the £56.5m project and hopes it will be completed by 2026.

Speaking at a full council meeting on Tuesday, council leader Mike Bell said the expectation is a new contractor will be in place "quickly".

The village has been plagued by high levels of traffic, with local residents saying it can sometimes be a "living hell", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Two A-roads funnel traffic into the village and at one point, the road reduces to a single track lane between houses and a bakery.

Villagers say the traffic can be a "living hell"

The £56.5m plans were approved in January 2023 - despite first being proposed in 1927.

Mr Bell said: "The programme will remain on track and we will be able to commence construction, spades in the ground, properly in the autumn."

He said he had intended for the award of the new contract to be signed off at the meeting but said “we haven’t been able to land that in time".

The award of the contract will now be signed off later by the council’s director of place.

The design element of the contract will be signed off immediately, and the award of the contract will be signed off at a later date by the council's director of place.

Mr Bell paid tribute to the project team for working through "so many challenges" throughout the process.

"I am really confident that we are now going to get a new contractor in place who will help us to deliver the project as planned and we will get the bypass open as intended," he added.