COUNCILLORS representing Wellington at the Somerset Council unitary authority have said they cannot do a lot when there are just a few of them speaking out.

Cllr Justin Cole told members of Wellington Town Council on Monday (June 2) at the authority’s monthly meeting that he was still “livid” about the planned three-month closure of the main Chelston link road and Junction 26 of the M5 motorway.

“News of this closure was just thrust on us with no consultation and we haven’t really done anything to stop Somerset Council from going ahead with this,” he said.

“There are some things that really do matter to local people and this is one of them and I do wonder what our Somerset councillors have been doing?

“Somerset Council seems to make the decisions and they don’t always make good ones. If we don’t do anything, it will keep on happening.

“I’m still livid about this that it was announced they were going to close the link road for three months and just gave people a month’s notice. What pressure is being put on?”

But Cllr Marcus Barr, one of Wellington’s unitary authority representatives at Somerset Council, said: “There is not a lot one or two unitary councillors can do when the council has 110 councillors.”

A Government- funded Somerset Council highways scheme will be getting underway this month to replace the deteriorating 51-year-old concrete road and motorway junction.

Somerset Council contractor Heidelberg Materials will be refurbishing Junction 26 of the M5 along with the Chelston link road which was built in 1974.

A spokesman said: “Doing nothing would mean ongoing piecemeal patching with frequent delays and higher costs in the long run.”

Signs have gone up to say that the road closures will take effect from June 15 and will last for three months.

Councillors agreed at the May town council meeting that they should ask Somerset Council for some answers to their concerns about the planned works.

Somerset Council held two drop-in sessions about the work on May 15 and May 21 at Wellington Football Club.

The town council’s chief executive, Dave Farrow, said: “I think it is fair to say that concerns remain in relation to the time allowed for consultation and the time that we are being told the work is going to take.”

It had already been confirmed that Falcon buses would be stopping the Wellington service for the duration of the works, but councillors were told that there are still hopes of Falcon running a shuttle service to enable local people to access services at Taunton or Cullompton.

Councillors were told by Cllr Steve Mercer that a replacement bus service was being “actively pursued” and that there were hopes that a “satisfactory arrangement” could be reached.

There has been uproar ever since the resurfacing plans for the Chelston link road and Junction 26 were first announced by Somerset Council with traders at the Foxmoor Business Park saying the closure will cause major problems to their businesses and commuters fearing long delays.