The government has announced that a new infrastructure project will receive more than £87,000 of funding as part of a fast-track planning scheme.

The funding, granted under the Innovation and Capacity Fund, sees ten councils receiving a share of £750,000 to help councils get better outcomes for communities in Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs).

Somerset County Council has been offered £87,500 for its plans to convert the single lane A358 road from Taunton to Southfields Roundabout near Ilminster into a dual carriageway.

The funding will support a mediation and verification process which will allow local authorities to save time and resources while working on the project, as well as providing a Strategic Review Group to mediate between the councils and local authorities.

The project will now likely take less time to complete due to updates to the new fast-track planning route, which will allow shorter deadlines to be set for examinations of NSIPs.

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Greg Clark, commented: “Particularly in a time of high inflation, things need to be done more quickly or costs of major infrastructure projects will rise.

“These changes will help deliver new infrastructure more quickly, by speeding up the planning process which often moves too slowly.”

Speaking about the Taunton project earlier this year, senior project manager Katherine Liddington, said: “We plan to upgrade approximately 8.5 miles of the A358 to a new high-quality and high-performing dual carriageway, which will reduce congestion, enhance safety and improve connectivity for road users and local communities, while unlocking economic growth in Somerset and beyond.

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“Since our 2021 consultation we’ve made some changes to our preliminary design, which will improve safety and access to local roads and reduce the impact on communities, the environment and the local landscape.”