THOUSANDS of pounds of public money have been set aside to settle a compensation claim relating to the delivery of a relief road in Taunton, writes Daniel Mumby.

The B3087 Trenchard Way – previously known as the Northern Inner Distributor Road – opened in 2017, allowing traffic to pass across a disused railway bridge without clogging up the town centre.

The project was subjected to numerous delays, with contractor Carillion delivering the road two years behind schedule and at least £10million over the original £21m budget.

Somerset County Council has now confirmed it has set thousands of pounds aside to settle a compensation claim that arose during the road’s construction, ensuring that the new unitary authority does not have to deal with this issue.

The road was named after Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, who helped to develop and establish the RAF in 1918.

As part of the construction process, the council used compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) to acquire land at the western end of the road.

CPOs are used, often as a last resort, to secure land for major infrastructure projects – such as motorways or other road-building – where the existing private landowners are unwilling to sell, with final approval being given by central government.

The council has set aside £1,724,000 from its annual grant from the Department for Transport to cover the cost of “residual land acquisition, land compensation and post-construction delivery costs in relation to highway improvement projects”.

Of this, “a portion” has been set aside to “settle a compensation claim for land which was included in the CPO” relating to two elements of Trenchard Way – the creation of a new junction with the western roundabout, and a new pedestrian and cycle bridge crossing both the new road and the railway line.

Officers have not confirmed how much will be spent on the compensation claim, citing commercial sensitivity, nor have they disclosed the identity of the claimant.

A spokesman said: “This decision aims to set aside funding so that land acquisition, land compensation and post-construction costs of past and future highway improvement projects do not fall to the new Somerset Council.

“Although we aim to acquire land needed for construction projects by agreement, we also use compulsory purchase powers in parallel to ensure the land is secured. These follow statutory processes which can take several years to complete.

“Details of compensation settlements are confidential, but a portion of this funding will be used to settle a land compensation claim linked to the NIDR (Trenchard Way) in Taunton.”