Western Daily Press (Saturday)
‘Our long Village is getting a bypass at last – it only took 100 years!’
PEOPLE in a village ‘dying’ due to traffic gridlock said they are stunned a bypass is finally going ahead – after a 100-year wait.
Banwell has suffered from severe congestion making the centre of the village a no-go zone for decades for its 3,200 residents.
The once-thriving North Somerset community has lost dozens of shops with health studies also showing higher rates of breathing-related issues among its school pupils.
But planning permission and funding has now been secured for the long-awaited bypass – with hopes that it will be fully open to traffic by March 2026.
Lifelong residents in Banwell said it was a day they never thought they’d see – with some saying their relatives were involved in initial proposals as far back as 1927.
Local historian Roy Rice, 79, who has lived his whole life in the village, said: “My uncle, Wally Richards, when he was 11, helped the survey and put the pegs in of the original bypass plan.
“It was a different variation in 1927. It will be 99 years since then when it finally opens. He is no longer with us but I am sure he would be very surprised we are still talking about it nearly 100 years later.
“It will make a huge difference to the village and we will certainly have a big party when the bypass opens. We are fully aware it is not being built for us but it cannot be a bad thing for Banwell.”
The village lies at the crossroads between two busy A-roads, which at points is only wide enough to allow one vehicle to pass.
The final approval for the two-mile bypass came when North Somerset Council voted unanimously in favour of the £56.5m contract at a meeting last week.
A total of £89.2m funding has been approved for the scheme and includes costs such as consultants, utilities and contingency money.
It has been approved on the basis of nearly 3,000 new homes being built nearby with Homes England providing £77.3m and North Somerset Council contributing £11.9m.
And studies showed the proposed bypass could reduce traffic through the village by up to 78 per cent.
Mr Rice added: “There has been three or four different routes proposed over the years. The original route was a lot closer to the village.
“What we have going ahead is the lesser of two evils.
“Banwell has lost a lot of shops as you cannot stop there – maybe around 30-40 shops in the centre.
“There was a lot of industry and a lot of businesses, a brewery, mill, blacksmith. It was once a thriving area. As they shut – no one wants to take them on.
“Hopefully the bypass will bring life back to the centre of the village. We are not under the illusion that it will fix everything but it will make it a much better place to live, work and walk in.”
Paul Harding, 58, who is vice-chairman of Banwell Parish Council, said there have been a number of barriers to the scheme in the last century but these had now been overcome.
Reasons for such a long wait ranged from a lack of political will, funding issues and initial opposition that a lot of farmers didn’t want it across their land.
Mr Harding added: “The process started in 1927. Why it has taken so long is a very good question.
“The authorities initially did not want a bypass. In the 1960s they knocked houses down and pushed the railway bridge down, opening it up for lorries. Traffic has got so much worse. For some time they did not want it as they did not want the houses that go with it.” Mr Harding said in a parish council meeting two years ago they were told they can have the bypass and the houses, or just the houses.
He added: “We’ve always had that in mind. We don’t want the houses but we desperately need the bypass. You can see how bad it is and the state of the place. They are queuing a long way back.”
Banwell was picked as a strategic site for housing development which enabled the funding to be found.
Compulsory purchase orders now need to be approved by the secretary of state before work can begin.
Mr Harding added: “The surrounding villages are not so keen. A few people in Banwell aren’t but most people, the vast majority, recognise the need for a bypass and are in favour.”
The bypass comes with a further 2,800 homes being built – doubling the size of Banwell. It will be its “own village with its own facilities” but the bypass is being built first.
Wally Rice, 85, who was also a former councillor and has lived in Banwell his entire life, said: “I am sur
Hopefully the bypass will bring life back to the centre of the village. We are not under the illusion that it will fix everything, but it will make it a much better place to live, work and walk in ROY RICE
prised that this has happened in my lifetime.
“I remember first starting discussing it when I was a schoolboy, about 17. I was also a councillor and it was touched on regularly. People talked about it but those running the council did not really want it at the time.
“There has been 30/40 years of meetings about it and it never seemed like a viable option.
“A lot of people did not want the houses that would go with a bypass. I hope it will make the difference.
“It is not a perfect solution but is a damn sight better than what we have at the moment.”
Clerk of the parish council Liz
Shayler, below inset, said the hope was biodiversity work would start in Feburary next year, with “spade in the ground” next spring. It is hoped it would then be open to traffic by March 2026.
She added: “It is a phenomenal village if there is a problem. It always has been like that. But generally people only seem to get actively involved if they are impacted on something. “But traffic affects everyone.
“With Covid lockdown you could get out and about walking in the centre of the village with no traffic. You just don’t walk down there otherwise as the road is not wide enough. It was amazing how
many more people you would see and hopefully this will make the difference we all want to see.
“When it opens, the village will definitely throw a huge party. It will probably be the biggest party in the village since the jubilee. With the bypass we might be able to close off the road and get a big marquee up. That would be amazing.”
Ann Lee, 76, of Banwell, right inset, added: “We’ve been talking about it since we moved here 20 years ago.
“We were completely new to the area then and it seemed liked a good plan. But we were just told everyone has been talking about it for 70 years and it was not going to happen. It’s great news it’s going ahead. It will certainly make going out into the village a lot easier.”
Despite the majority being in favour of the scheme, some residents expressed doubts it would make a big difference.
Eric Small, 82, of Banwell, added: “I have the minority view in the village and doubt it will do very much. A bigger issue for me is that weight and size restrictions are not enforced.
“All heavy traffic comes through on the road to Banwell. If they are not driving through small villages, they are going to cut straight through small farms. It is going to destroy and split farms and make them unviable. Just more and more houses are not going to lead to less traffic. In reality I don’t think it is fit for purpose. Declassification and width and weight restrictions being properly enforced should be done first.”