Strawberry Line route extended after supermarket plans approved

A new Lidl supermarket near the Strawberry Way Roundabout will include a cycle way to form part of the Strawberry Line

A Somerset active travel route will be extended in Wells after plans for a new supermarket were approved.

Lidl GB Ltd applied in March 2022 to build a new supermarket on the A39 Strawberry Way.

It will replace both its existing store and a former Travis Perkins outlet near the Strawberry Way roundabout.

Somerset Council has approved the plans, which includes a cycle way to the north to form part of the Strawberry Line.

Construction is under way of an extension to the Strawberry Line in Dulcote near Wells

The dedicated cycle path will eventually run uninterrupted from Yatton to Shepton Mallet.

The planning approval comes as work on a new extension of the Strawberry Line to the east of Wells nears its completion, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Construction is currently under way on a new stretch linking Westbury-sub-Mendip and Easton, building on a section which opened in December 2022 to take cyclists away from the narrow and dangerous A371 between Cheddar and Wells.

At the Shepton Mallet end of the route, two new sections were opened in March as part of an ongoing partnership between the local authority and Greenways & Cycle Routes, which was put in place in 2020.

The Strawberry Line Association said this is "another significant step towards reconnecting our communities"

Much of the Wells section of the Strawberry Line relies on pedestrians and cyclists using quieter roads through the city centre, before re-joining the off-road path out towards Dulcote Quarry which opened in March 2022.

As part of the Lidl plans, a new section of the Strawberry Line route will be provided along the northern edge, providing pedestrians and cyclists with a safer alternative to West Street and the prospect of a new crossing over Priory Road being delivered at a later date.

A further 600 metres of the Strawberry Line is currently being constructed, leading from the entrance to Charlie Bingham's Quarry Kitchen past the Dulcote household waste recycling centre - which could open in the late-summer.