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Published:
March 11, 2008
Burnham
MP tells council: 'Stop making excuses over Coast Road'
 Burnham-On-Sea's
MP, David Heathcoat-Amory, has this week demanded that Somerset
County Council "stops making excuses for the failure to deliver
much- needed safety improvements to the Coast Road at Berrow."
Mr
Heathcoat-Amory wrote to the Minister for Transport after it was
reported that the badly needed improvement scheme to build a footpath/cycle
way along a dangerous stretch of the Berrow Coast Road had been
blocked.
The
project was agreed then cancelled supposedly because it does not
conform to Central Government criteria laid down in the Local
Transport Plan. These criteria are primarily for urban areas and
are not appropriate for more rural areas. David Heathcoat-Amory
does not accept this and has been in contact with Government Minister
Rosie Winterton.
In
July 2007 Mr Heathcoat-Amory met residents of Berrow and Brean,
as pictured here, who turned out in force to voice their concerns
about the failure to provide a pavement for the busy stretch of
Coast Road, between Berrow Church and Brean. The scheme has widespread
local support, including from Brean Parish Council and the police,
as well as safety campaigners.
 Mr
Heathcoat-Amory says: "I have been campaigning for almost
as long as I have been an MP for the completion of improvements
to the Berrow Coast Road. There is still a missing stretch of
footpath and cycle way. We are coming up to a holiday period and
the road becomes extremely busy, the lack of footpath is creating
a danger to all users. The road is vital for serving the holiday
and caravan park area from Berrow to Brean."
"I
am fed up with Somerset County Council making excuses for failing
to complete the badly needed stretch of road improvements. I do
not accept this and contacted Rosie Winterton who has confirmed
in her reply that the Department of Transport has not blocked
the scheme and Somerset County Council has the go ahead to complete.
The
county council must complete the scheme and stop making bogus
excuses."
In
a letter to Ms Sonia Davidson-Grant, Corporate Director of the
Environment at Somerset County Council, the MP writes: "As
you know I am most anxious to complete improvements to the Berrow
Coast Road. A stretch of this road is still without a cycleway
and footpath, which is dangerous, particularly during the summer
months when the road becomes extremely busy with holiday traffic.
It is quite unacceptable that this scheme, which was planned and
agreed, has been withdrawn by the County Council."
"In
discussions with your officers and in correspondence I have been
told that the fault lies with the government’s Local Transport
Plan procedure whereby projects have to fit a number of national
priorities. The most recent letter from your Head of Highways
states: ‘Current LTP guidance does not adequately devolve
policy priority to the local or regional level. If it did, schemes
such as the Berrow Coast Road might enjoy a higher priority."
"I
therefore wrote to the Minister for Transport. In her reply she
denies that her Department has responsibility for the failure
to proceed with the Coast Road scheme. She says that it is for
the authority to determine its own priorities; ‘Somerset
County Council is perfectly able to make such decisions and it
would need to be able to justify to the electorate the reasons
for giving such a scheme a higher priority than similar schemes
that provide higher cost-benefit ratios."
"I
believe that there are no similar schemes that provide a higher
benefit. As to the views of the local electorate, I know there
is strong and widespread support for the improvement of this road,
as evidenced by public meetings I have attended. The Parish Council
is also strongly in favour of the scheme. Indeed its continuing
delay is the cause of intense anger and frustration as well as
the continuing danger to road users."
"I
therefore look to you now to reinstate this road improvement scheme.
The Minister’s reply indicates that your hands are not tied
in the manner which has been described to me by your officers,
and I look forward to a positive response from you."
RELATED
LINKS:
MP
backs residents' campaign for safer road in Berrow
Online
video of statements given by Cllr Ham and Burnham's MP
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