PROPOSALS for a fourth Wellington business park off Chelston roundabout have hit a roadblock.

Chelston Heath LLP wants to invest an estimated £35 million into the project and create more than 200 full-time jobs on a wedge of green fields between the M5 link road and the A38 to Taunton.

But National Highways has told the district council it must not approve the plans before at least the end of July.

The agency expressed concern that the only exit from the Chelston Heath site would be on to the link road between motorway Junction 26 and Chelston.

Planning manager Sally Parish said it meant many motorists were likely to have to use the motorway roundabout to make a U-turn if they wanted to travel in the direction of Wellington.

However, Chelston Heath LLP had not provided enough information to show the roundabout could safely accommodate the likely volume of traffic which would use it.

The concern was that increased U-turning activity could impact the northbound and southbound motorway off-slip roads at Junction 26 and cause queueing traffic.

Ms Parish said: "Should the development proposals result in an unacceptable impact at M5 Junction 26 then it may be necessary to consider an alternative access strategy."

She said National Highways was currently being consulted by the proposed House of Somerset developers on converting the motorway link road access junction to Foxmoor Business Park into to an all-movement roundabout.

Such a roundabout would also allow Chelston Heath drivers to make a U-turn without using the motorway junction.

However, the House of Somerset planning application was still to be determined by the council and therefore Chelston Heath LLP could not rely on it to happen.

Ms Parish said the company’s agent had been given six months to enhance its transport assessment with data to satisfy National Highways.

The council was therefore not able to make a decision of approval of the planning application before July 26 despite an early April target date for determining it.