Motorway service station road plan dropped

Dunball Service station opened in 2023 by the M5

A plan to build a new access point to a motorway service station has been dropped due to land ownership issues.

It means drivers will only be able to access Dunball services, near junction 23 of the M5 in Somerset, off the A38 roundabout.

A representative for Monte Blackburn Ltd, which delivers services at the station, had said a new access point would "not have an unacceptable impact on road safety".

However, local residents say the A38 could not handle a rise in traffic on the roundabout, due to Hinkley Point C workers using the nearby park and ride.

The original plans envisioned a second access and exit onto the A39, towards the M5 and Glastonbury, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

The developer ran into land ownership issues with delivering the exit, claiming the issue dated back to the construction of the M5 in 1975.

Jake McLeod, principal consultant at Walsingham Planning representing the developer, said the reason the access issue could not be resolved was because it was "outside the applicant's control".

“The applicant has endeavoured to deliver the access, but due to land ownership issues, it is not able to and these issues may never be resolved," he said.

“This will not have an unacceptable impact on highway safety.

"The residual cumulative impacts of the proposal on the road network will be nowhere near severe, and safe and suitable access to the development will be achievable for all users.”

Puriton Parish Council did not formally object to the planned change but asked new landscaping be carried out within the site, describing the existing arrangement as “unsightly”.

'Considerable disruption expected'

However, several local residents objected to the proposals, arguing the A38 could not sustain any further traffic, given local housing growth and the ongoing impact of the Hinkley Point C construction programme.

Mr Blake, from Downend Crescent, said: “The site was originally granted permission with the understanding it would have a second exit onto the A39, as the A38 was too busy to take all the development’s traffic.

“With the continued growth of Hinkley Point C workers using the Junction 23 park and ride, it is becoming apparent that the A38 cannot deal with the amount of traffic using the Dunball roundabout.”

Miss Brookes, also of Downend Crescent, said: “The applicant should have been researching thoroughly and been aware of any potential issues long before they even started putting together any plans for the site.

“The reality is there are queues on the A38 everyday, and while I know the Dunball roundabout is due for improvement, we still wait for this – and anticipate the considerable disruption this will cause.”

Somerset Council is expected to begin its long-awaited £5.3m upgrade of the Dunball roundabout in the summer or early-autumn, once the ongoing tendering process has been completed.