Clevedon seafront wiggly line scheme £1.1m over budget

The Clevedon seafront saga began with a new road layout which featured a cycle path with wavy lines

A controversial seafront scheme, which included wiggly line road markings, went over budget by more than £1m.

The original budget for the Clevedon Seafront scheme was initially £201,000, North Somerset Council has confirmed.

The scheme, which launched in January and included new walkways and cycle paths, received criticism from local residents and councillors.

The council say unforeseen costs, inflation and changes to the scheme led to current cost of £1.357m.

An independent review into the scheme is running until 24 September.

The BBC understands that North Somerset Council was awarded £437,750 from the Department for Transport (Dft) in 2020 for "active initiatives", including the seafront scheme.

North Somerset Council allocated £201k towards improvements on Hill Road and The Beach. This included widened walkways for pedestrians, new cycleways and cycle-parking, and improved road surfacing for all users.

A 20mph one-way system and a 400m segregated cycle lane were introduced along Clevedon's The Beach last autumn

The council said extra costs have been incurred for a number of reasons - including inflation, as well as significant changes to the scheme itself and how it was delivered following feedback from the community.

Councillor Hannah Young, executive member for highways and transport, said the scheme significantly increased in its scope from the one the council secured funding for from the DfT in 2020.

"Costs also rose due to structural damage found under the promenade, splitting the work into two stages, and other unavoidable factors like global inflation.

Ms Young added that extra costs were because of requests from local people and residents, where work that was originally planned for last summer was instead carried out during autumn 2022 and early this year to minimise disruption to holiday trade.

Bike racks were installed and later removed from a cycle lane

"Unfortunately, delaying the work at a time when the rate of inflation was accelerating between autumn last year and spring this year added an estimated £253,000 increase in scheme costs," Ms Young continued.

Councillor Mike Bell, leader of the council, added: "While there are legitimate reasons for all additional expenditure on the scheme, the final costs remain significantly higher than the original budgeted costs.

"The council has already conducted an internal audit of the scheme to ensure that lessons are learned going forwards. These lessons will ensure more effective consultation, better budget management, and stronger governance of large projects."