A PARISH council has called on the county authority to speedy "implement a permanent solution" to a main road that has been closed "indefinitely".

Old Cleeve Parish Council said the closure of the B3191 at Cleeve Hill is causing concern to local people.

The road has been closed for safety reasons as there are fears it could drop into the sea.

A statement from the parish council issued today (Monday, March 20) says: "The B3191 passes through Old Cleeve Parish and is a vital road for residents to access local services.

"It is also one of the two classified roads that provide access to and from West Somerset for the many tourists and visitors to the area each year.

"Although the point of closure is not in Old Cleeve Parish it is already causing a great deal of concern to residents who now have to deal with the extra traffic that would usually have used the B3191.

"This also includes Washford and Bilbrook, on the signed diversion route.

"As it appears that Somerset County Council (SCC) has neither prepared a long term solution or planned for the road closure, the parish council requests that SCC and/or the soon to be established unitary authority take urgent action to:

  • Develop an immediate Traffic Management Plan to deal with this current situation caused wholly by the lack of forward planning by the county council. Putting up road closure signs and hoping for the best is not sustainable. The plan needs to implement agreed measures to address the speed, size, weight and volume of vehicles and provide better protection for vulnerable road users. The costs of any measures need to be met by the highway authority and be seen as a consequence of the decision to close the road indefinitely.
  • Identify and implement a permanent solution to allow a B3191 route to be re-opened at the earliest opportunity. We realise this is a complex issue, but merely acknowledging this will not resolve the issue. An agreed solution must be identified very quickly if there is any hope of securing funding for it. We do not believe there will be any chance of funding whilst there is no solution.

"We remain ready to work with Carhampton Parish Council and Somerset County Council or the unitary authority to discuss the issues and agree solutions and look forward to further discussions taking place in the very near future."