A vital coastal road in Somerset that has been closed for three years due to safety concerns could potentially reopen to traffic if funding is secured. Somerset Council is bidding for government money to reinstate the B3191 Cleeve Hill, which connects Watchet to Blue Anchor.
The road was shut by the local authority in January 2023 following worries about coastal erosion. Its closure left only one route in and out of the town centre, which relies on a 150-year-old bridge over the West Somerset Railway heritage line.
While the B3191 was reopened to pedestrians and cyclists in 2024, it has remained closed to motor vehicles since then. Somerset Council has now submitted an initial bid to the government’s Structures Fund for a contribution towards a scheme estimated to cost between £30 million and £40 million. The project aims to reinstate the B3191 either by making the existing route safe for vehicles or by redirecting the road further inland.
Councillor Richard Wilkins, Somerset Council’s lead member for transport and waste services, commented: "There is of course no guarantee that we can get this agreed, and any scheme would need to be approved by council, but we have been directed to this fund by the Secretary of State who recognises the issues locally. This is the first real chance we have had to find a way to reinstate this vital route for the community since it closed in 2023."
He added: "We will be pushing hard for this funding, as we have been doing so from the outset. We fully understand the impact on the community of only having one road into Watchet, and the potential impact on West Somerset traffic that has to take long diversions if the A39 has to close due to an incident."
Wilkins emphasised: "We consulted our communities about the ongoing closure and they told us that it is having a major effect on the economy of Watchet, including the cost to the local economy and the inconvenience in terms of hours lost in delays, the logistics of coping with delivering goods to and from Minehead, as well as the negative effects on tourism."
