Anger at changes to Strawberry Grange Bridgwater plans

The access road will have footpaths and cycle-paths leading off towards the new homes and Bower Lane

Plans to change an access road to a major housing development near the M5 have been met with dismay by locals.

Countryside Partnerships is building 260 homes on the Strawberry Grange site in Bridgwater, Somerset.

However, they have now submitted plans to change the access road, after delays to a roundabout promised near the A372 over unregistered land.

Local resident Mrs K. Macklen, told the developer: "You really didn't think this through, did you?"

Work to deliver the new roundabout, which would replace the existing crossroads where Bower Lane and Dunwear Lane meet the A372 Westonzoyland Road, has been held up for months due to legal issues surrounding the ownership of the land.

The new plans, which will avoid land not currently in the developers ownership, will see the spine road leading north from the roundabout towards the A39 bend further to the east.

Plans for 750 homes on the remaining land between the A39 and the Strawberry Grange site will be decided later this year

The site forms part of the wider East Bridgwater allocation within the Sedgemoor Local Plan, which stretches from the A39 Bath Road to the bottom of Dunwear Lane, crossing the A372.

Bower Lane will be connected to the new spine road via a T-junction - implying that the road will be maintained as a local road rather than being turned into a 'quietway' for cyclists.

A spokesman for PCL Planning (representing the developer) said: "As part of the planning process, the council has requested that a sliver of unregistered land be omitted, and the access arrangements amended accordingly to circumnavigate the land in question."

Mrs Macklen, who lives on Apple Tree Close near the site, commented on the plans: "It's obvious you have no clue what this lane looks like. It's also obvious you don't know how it's used."

'Dumping area'

She said Bower Lane was "a dumping area for car and van trash", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"It's a place to park and fill out delivery forms, to relieve yourself or use your phone.

"The police and ambulances rush through here most days; they're really going to enjoy fighting to get past all the extra parked cars."

She said the original road plan kept the danger to pedestrians and cyclists "to a minimum".

Mr G. Baker, who lives on Juniper Close, also commented: "Bower Lane was supposed to be made into a walking and cycling route.

"All that will happen is our overloaded road network, which is struggling now, will become gridlocked with the extra traffic, generating noise and pollution."

The East Bridgwater allocation was expected to deliver around 1,200 new homes by the time the current Local Plan ends in 2032.

However, the three major developments planned for the site will instead deliver a combined total of 1,540 homes - more than 28% higher than was anticipated.