PLANS for a cycle route along the A38 from Wellington to Taunton may have hit a roadblock.

District councillors were updated on Tuesday (July 5) about problems uncovered by feasibility work being carried out by the authority.

It follows an update for town councillors last month who were told estimated costs had risen to more than £10 million, or £2,000 per metre.

Executive district Cllr Mike Rigby said on Tuesday a dedicated committee had been working on a potential route since March of last year.

However, feasibility work to assess the south side of the A38 between the Comeytrowe and Chelston roundabouts showed ‘a significant lack of highway boundary available to accommodate the route’.

Cllr Rigby said: “Estimations show delivery of the central 4.5 km section is likely to require multi-millions for construction, land purchase, or lease agreements for multiple land parcels, in addition to funding for legal agreements.”

He said the authority’s officers would continue to explore the cycleway’s feasibility and to seek any funding opportunities that were available.

Cllr Rigby said the district was continuing to work towards feasibility studies on cycling infrastructure projects with local cyclist groups and other stakeholders.

Petition calls for more bike routes

Tuesday’s meeting saw a 1,800-signatory petition presented to the authority by Taunton Area Cycling Campaign (TACC) calling for the council to improve cycling routes across the district.

TACC wants the authority to deliver schemes by using land which was in public ownership and by securing funding from developers.

Monument ward Cllr Roger Habgood thanked TACC for its work and said: “Everybody in this room is behind what you do. It makes a big difference.”

Wiveliscombe councillor Dave Mansell said he supported the petition and agreed there was great potential to increase cycling.

Cllr Mansell said he particularly wanted to see cycling connections into Taunton improved and he looked forward to seeing progress with schemes which were long overdue.

Rockwell green Cllr Marcus Barr asked if TACC could also make a presentation to Wellington Town Council, which was supporting cycling initiatives.

Wellington councillor Janet Lloyd hoped TACC would widen its work to take in other parts of the district such as Wellington, Wiveliscombe, and Watchet, and not just be Taunton-centric.