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Don't let your business get stuck in Bridgwater's traffic

Work on Hinkley Point C continues apace despite the boom it has bought to trade in Somerset along with the increased traffic jams. Congestion is one of the reasons why many firms are looking to move away from Bridgwater to escape a level of traffic seen only in London and other major cities.

The reason are the hundreds of daily lorry movements in the town as construction continues on the nuclear power station on the coast a few miles away.

Ian Carrotte of Wembdon has seen a massive increase in traffic which is a hindrance to residents and businesses just trying to get around. “We get some Hinkley traffic taking a short cut through the village which is bad but the main problem is when there are road works on the A38 Bristol Road. Then there are long tailbacks and nothing moves.”

One of the problems is the town doesn’t have a bypass and despite calls for a link road to connect the Dumball roundabout on the M5 with the road out to Hinkley by locals but French company building the power station decided it wasn’t needed.

“it’s one of the reasons that many firms are looking to move out of the town,” said Tom Dalley of the Stables Business Park north of the town. “If there’s a hold up on the M5 (something that happens frequently) then all the roads around Bridgwater come to a standstill. All the firms on this estate say it’s the fact they are near Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and Bridgwater that they find attractive. Being on the A38 and close to the M5 means they can access the transport network without having to queue for hours to get through Bridgwater.”

Firms on the estate at Rooksbridge back up this up citing the closeness to the airport and trains at Worle are another factor.

Meanwhile in Bridgwater there seems little likelihood of the chaos ending soon on the £22bn project. Hinkley C has seen a catalogue of delays including concerns over the reactor itself which means a completion date is still at least three years away.