Bath and North East Somerset Council has, this week, welcomed the West of England Combined Authority’s (WECA) proposals to kick-start a major transport improvement scheme in the Bath and Somer Valley Enterprise Zone.

The Combined Authority will meet on Monday, 30th October at the Guildhall in Bath to decide whether to fund the development of a business case to look at the scheme in more detail. WECA will consider allocating £280k to develop a business case for improving the route from the Old Mills employment site on the A362 to the A37, which would include removing traffic pinch-points along the road, as well as pedestrian and cycling improvements.

The site has the potential to create 1,700 to 2,000 new jobs, but the current route from the A37 to the site requires upgrading to accommodate the increase in travel demand.

Cllr Tim Warren (Conservative, Mendip), Leader of B&NES Council, said: “This funding, if agreed, would represent a major vote of confidence in the Somer Valley, providing a real boost to the local economy and demonstrating our commitment to investing in the local community. Producing a business case is the first crucial step towards securing the funding needed to upgrade the route between Old Mills and the A37.

“Not only would this improve journey times and transport links to the Somer Valley, but it will also help unlock plans for new jobs at the Old Mills site.

“Over the past twenty years, there has been significant housing growth in the Somer Valley, but this hasn’t always been accompanied by the new jobs and transport links needed. As well as improving journeys from the Somer Valley to the A37, creating new employment at the Enterprise Zone on the Old Mills site will reduce the need for residents to travel to Bath and Bristol for work. This is really positive news for the Somer Valley.”

Transport schemes in B&NES have already benefitted from significant investment awarded by the West of England Combined Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership including £1.8m to relocate a coach park from Bath Quays North to Odd Down Park and Ride, £400,000 towards improvements to the A39/B3116 Junction, at the ‘two headed man’, to aid traffic flow, a £40,000 Cycle Investment Package to help fund improvements to the cycle network in Midsomer Norton and the Bath City Riverside Enterprise Area and provide grants for employers to encourage cycling and walking to work and £75,000 to progress the design and delivery of Safer Routes to Schools Schemes.

News of the investment will surely please local motorists, however, B&NES has long held an ambition to transform employment sites in the area, such as the Midsomer Norton Business Centre, which, under the previous Lib-Dem administration, was promised £1.3 million of the Council’s budget to much fanfare back in February 2014; with the idea being to double its size and address issues of parking, with nothing done since. There is concern that an opportunity to redevelop the empty Welton Bag site for employment has also been lost, with developers able to make more money on housing rather than office space.