CHANGES have been made to the assembly point and route of this year’s Taunton Carnival .

The procession, which takes place on October 20, is one of the town’s biggest public events attracting around 30,000 people, and will move its assembly point in the Priory area across to Tangier.

It will form up along Tangier Way between the Lidl and Tesco stores and the spectacle will now start out from the new river bridge and turn right into Bridge Street.

It will then follow the traditional route through the town centre and down over East Reach where it will finish at the junction with Chritchard Way and Wordsworth Drive .

The new route is shorter than the present one and organisers say this allows the procession to assemble and disperse in areas with minimum disruption to traffic and residents.

Carnival Committee Chairman Mar-ilyn House said: “We’ve known for several years that our time in Priory Bridge Road car park and the Market site was coming to an end.

“We wanted to change things on this scale only once, so we’ve tried to anticipate the effects of other developments around the town such as the Northern Inner Distributor Road.

“We want as many people as possible to see and enjoy the carnival every year and we believe this change will help deliver that aim.”

Preparations for the carnival are already in full swing and the committee is looking for new helpers – please contact John Lewis on 01823-283892 or Marilyn House on 01823-289395.