Public artwork for new active travel route in Shepton Mallet

The beginning of the new Strawberry Line Section is on the B3136 West Shepton in Shepton Mallet

Artists are being asked to create a piece of artwork to line a new active travel route.

The route is one of 14 "missing links" being reinstated and upgraded in Somerset to encourage people to walk or cycle to work, or school.

A sum of £1,000 will be offered for the winning artist's installation costs and £300 will also be paid to each of three short-listed artists.

The art will showcase residents' views on active travel during the lockdowns.

Mendip District Council has been working since June 2022 on proposals to promote walking and cycling across the Mendips to help reduce congestion and pollution.

The Strawberry Line will link with the Somerset Circle to form a route around the county

Half of the overall £10,000 budget for the artwork will be sourced from the council's Creative Mendip fund, with the other half coming from an anonymous donation from a local charitable foundation, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council has not confirmed the precise location of the particular route for the art yet.

A consultation was held in October 2021 about the possible pedestrianisation of Shepton Mallet town centre, along with improvements to existing facilities within Collett Park and the East Mendip Way.

Mendip District Council is awaiting the outcome of a £19.3m bid to the government's levelling up fund to improve Shepton Mallet High Street.

The council's planning board granted permission in December 2021 for a new stretch of the Strawberry Line through the car park of its Shepton Mallet headquarters - but progress on delivering this has been held up by delays in obtaining licences.

The board is expected to make a decision before the end of the year on plans for a new "missing link" route between the A37 Kilver Street Hill, over the B3136 Bath Road using the existing viaduct, and through a 120-metre tunnel before finishing near the Ham Wood Viaduct.

The council is currently awaiting the outcome of a £19.3m bid to the government's levelling up fund, which includes a commitment to delivering a further section of the Strawberry Line between Kent Lane and Ridge Road, leading towards Wells.

The cabinet voted in August to allocate £200,000 to delivering this new section - along with a separate stretch in Westbury-sub-Mendip - before Christmas.