VICTORY FOR THE A358 CAMPAIGN

The Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has today approved the scheme to upgrade A358.

John Underwood, Missing Link Group Campaign Coordinator, says: “This is excellent news. We are so pleased that our arguments prevailed. We congratulate Mr Darling on choosing the best scheme AND sparing the Blackdown Hills from ruin.

We would like to say a big thank you to all A358 supporters.

More details will appear here soon.

A cross-party group of MPs was set up at Westminster in May with the task of making sure that the Transport Secretary knows that dualling the A358 is the only road option that benefits the whole South West.

This website sums up the arguments and clearly shows why the A358 is the only possible choice.

The MISSING LINK is a regional, non-party campaign group set up to press for an early start to long-awaited improvements to the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton.

This 9.3-mile section of road is the busiest in Somerset after the M5 and one of the busiest in the South West. It links the A303 with the M5, and many drivers travelling between the west and east of the region use it in preference to the A303.

Even so, the A358 is still single carriageway for most of its length between the M5 and Ilminster and because the route is popular with heavy goods vehicles, drivers of smaller vehicles have no option but to sit in slow-moving convoys.

Improvements to the A358 are officially recommended in a two-year Government study called the South West Area Multi-Modal Study. Further technical work by the Highways Agency at the request of the Transport Secretary reinforces the wisdom of this conclusion.

The Missing Link Group believe these improvements would:

• reduce congestion and journey times
• give better access to the M5
• help attract inward investment across the South West
• improve road safety
• minimise environmental damage
• boost tourism

The Missing Link Group believes the alternative of improving the A303 between Ilminster and Exeter is not an option. It fails to address the pressing transport needs of the north and south of the region but – worse – it would ruin the Blackdown Hills, an officially designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

This website is designed to provide information about progress and to ensure that these vital improvements are carried out as soon as possible.

The time has come to start the work.