TAUNTON town centre is set to become more people friendly with traffic banned from three streets later this year.

The 18-month trial to bar motorists from the key streets goes live in the autumn of this year and could become permanent by 2019.

The scheme will see.

*East Street closed to all traffic apart from buses and cyclists.

*Hammet Street closed to vehicles during the day, providing a zone for pedestrians and cyclists.

*St James Street between North Street and Lower Middle Street pedestrianised.

It is believed the knock-on effect will see rush hour traffic in town centre areas such as North Street, Fore Street and St James Street cut by up to 86 per cent.

But there is likely to be an increase in vehicles in areas such as Tangier Way, Upper High Street, Station Road and Priory Bridge Road.

The announcement follows the Government's decision to make Taunton one of three new garden towns.

Cllr Roger Habgood, Taunton Deane Borough Council's executive member for planning and transport, said: "Taunton becoming a garden town is a real opportunity for us to review our town centre and look at how we can create a better environment for residents, shoppers and visitors, which will help attract investment and businesses to thrive.

"We want to free up space for new and improved public areas. It would be more pleasant for everyone with fewer vehicles, less pollution and reduced noise."

He added: "Improving public space in our town could attract more visitors to Taunton and enhance the look and feel of the town, confirming it as a key destination for shopping, culture, recreation and eating out.

This is a great fit with our new garden town status that aims to marry the best of town and country living.

"This is all about making Taunton a place where people want to work, live and enjoy."

The council has hired transport and urban design specialists WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, who will talk to businesses in the relevant streets next week ahead of a public consultation between February 21 to March 8.

The company's Steve Bailey said: "The aim is to make the town more user-friendly, to make the area better for pedestrians and cyclists, to improve the general public realm."

He said it would fit in with plans to create a riverside walkway from Taunton Station through to Vivary Park and efforts to create public spaces such as Castle Green and High Street.

He added: "It will result in fewer vehicles, less pollution and reduced noise and create more spaces for pedestrians."

There were favourable reactions when East Street was closed for several weeks last summer during work to improve the crossing at the junction with East Reach, although it led to traffic congestion in St James Street.

The scheme would also need some tweaking to traffic light sequences to Taunton's edge-of-town junctions.

The team behind the development hopes the changes would encourage better use of the town's 3,000 car park spaces and the park and ride sites.