Somerset Water has confirmed that it will be attempting to achieve something that Sadgebore District Council and the All-New-Yet-Unimproved Somerset Cuonty Council have been trying to do for years – the closure of Dullbridge.
The closure, which begins today, will see Merchant Street closed to traffic as Somerset Water try to make life as difficult as possible for anyone wanting to visit the shops or train station.
A spokestap for the company said “We know the closure of Dullbridge was high on Sadgebore District Council’s list of Things To Do, and we know they put in a lot of work trying to destroy the community.
One of the proposals in the failed Re-Imagine Dullbridge bid (RIDBID) to Central Government was to narrow Merchant Street, taking out the parking spaces which gave instant access to the shops and planting trees.
We know how disappointed Sadgebore waa when the RIDBID was rejected so we’ve actually gone one step further and will be closing the access to Merchant Street and not planting any trees.
We are only shutting a small section of the road, but it’s the most important section. A 94 mile diversion will be put in place for smaller vehicles wanting to get to the shops and train station, and larger vehicles will be allowed access via the car park.
The All-New-Yet-Unimproved Somerset Cuonty Council has agreed that shoppers can use the car park for free during the road closure, but have asked us not to put out any signage or cover the please-pay-here points in the hope that some people will not realise and pay up anyway. The last thing ANYUSCC want to encourage is for people using the train station to park for free, rather than purchase an all-day parking ticket.”
Shops and businesses along Market Street have expressed concern that shoppers will be put off visiting and will bypass the area to use Asdals instead.
Mark Spencer of Bev’s Local said “A lot of our trade comes from people who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in Dullbridge and are looking for the way out.
If all the signs go up pointing people in the right direction no one will get lost and this could have a devastating impact on shops in the area.”
Somerset Water has confirmed that the work to upgrade the sewage system is essential due to to the millions of new houses being built in Dullbridge.
However, Arthur Arkwright of Dullbridge DIY said “We understand that the work is necessary, but the housing developers are sat back rubbing their hands with glee at the improvements being made to a tiny part of the necessary infrastructure and planning their next massive housing development to make themselves more money.
Meanwhile we small businesses are left scratching our heads and wondering where all our customers have gone.”
The Spokestap said “The closure signs have been in place for two weeks now, announcing that there will be no access to Merchant Street. We do plan to add further signs advising that the shops and businesses are still open, but we aren’t going to put those up until the Dullbridge has been closed for a couple of days and motorists have already given up on the idea of visiting the shops and have gone elsewhere.”