Published: February 26, 2009
Work to complete Burnham's Frank Foley Parkway will start next week

The long-awaited construction of the final part of the partially complete Frank Foley Parkway in Burnham-On-Sea will begin next week, Somerset County Council announced on Thursday (February 26th).

This final section of the road, which is also known as the Burnham Eastern Distributor Road, will complete the link between Love Lane in Burnham and Pepperall Road in Highbridge.

The work is expected to take approximately eight weeks to complete, so should be finished before the summer tourist season gets underway.

Burnham-On-Sea.com broke the news in April 2008 that Somerset County Council had taken the decision to build the final section of the road, when it confirmed that sufficient funds were available from local developers for the construction.

Cllr Alan Ham, Somerset County Councillor for Brent, pictured with MP David Heathcoat-Amory at the site, told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Thursday: "The completion of this route will bring big benefits to the local community and I’m delighted that we have been able to schedule the works for this early in the year."

Cllr Tony Shire, Somerset County Council's Portfolio-Holder for Highways, added: "Somerset County Council is committed to maintaining road safety and improving facilities for local people. The completion of this road is an important phase of the development and will help to improve residents’ access to local amenities."

Cllr Neville Jones added: "We are grateful to Sedgemoor putting pressure on the developers of the radio station site and getting £120,000 to fund this route. It concerns me, though, that Somerset County Council has no plans to introduce a roundabout at the sothern end of the link. The junction with Burnham Road will become a pinch point."

Burnham and Highbridge Mayor Peter Burridge-Clayton told Burnham-On-Sea.com on Thursday afternoon that the news was "excellent" for the two towns. He added: "This was a priority issue when I became mayor and I gave a pledge that work would at least start before my mayoral term ended. I am delighted for the people of Burnham and Highbridge who have waited a number of years for this missing link to be completed."

"I would like to thank my colleagues who have helped me put pressure on Somerset County Council over the past months and I am pleased for them also. This is not the end of the matter, however, for we must ensure appropriate highway works are done in other areas as well. A roundabout at the Burnham Road end has been mooted and also improvement works at the Tesco end also."

And district councillor Bob Filmer, who has long campaigned for the road's completion, said: "It’s great that this long awaited road is finally going to be completed, I am very pleased that Sedgemoor was able to make this scheme a reality by securing the final amount of funding from the developers of the old radio station site, not only benefitting those new residents, but also those who have waited for this for too long. There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes for many years and I would like to thank all those at Sedgemoor and Somerset County Council who have helped make this happen."

Cllr Rosemarie Parsons, Somerset County Councillor for Highbridge and Burnham South, added: "This is great news for local residents and follows many years of negotiations between Somerset County Council, Sedgemoor District Council and the developers to put in the necessary steps and funding to get this link road completed."