Cleeve Hill B3191 shut as erosion repair plan agreed

A coast road will remain shut until a project to prevent it from falling into the sea can be agreed.

Somerset County Council closed the B3191 Cleeve Hill in Watchet on 12 January after heavy rainfall accelerated ongoing erosion.

This decision came a week after councillors refused plans for 136 homes which would have seen the road moved.

A stretch of the England Coast Path was diverted inland in August 2022 over fears of cliff collapses.

Somerset West and Taunton Council has now reiterated its desire to secure the road's long-term future but says it will remain closed until a project with the Environment Agency (EA) has been agreed, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The B3191 connects Watchet to Blue Anchor and provides a diversionary route from the A39, a key route for holidaymakers travelling from the M5 to the Exmoor National Park and the Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead.

The road will be closed until at least 31 May, according to the county council's Travel Somerset roadworks portal but this could be extended depending upon how long it takes for a repair scheme to be agreed and funded.

District councillor Andrew Sully, portfolio holder for environmental services, provided an update when the full council met in Taunton on 7 February.

He said in a report: "There continues to be movement of the cliffs to the west of Watchet.

"The allotment site belonging to Watchet Town Council has been closed due to land slippage and this area continues to erode through wave action and through the inherent instability of the ground which is worsened through heavy rainfall.

"Ultimately we will work with the new council and the EA to consider a project to realign the B3191 in the area and, at the same time, to protect the cliffs."

The district council has been working to protect the other end of the B3191, at Blue Anchor, following emergency repairs to the existing sea walls which were carried out in late 2020.

Following delays caused by a lack of available ships, Mr Sully confirmed that rock armour to protect the cliffs and the nearby road would begin arriving in the spring, allowing the £3.8m project to get under way and be finished by the summer.

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