A358 Taunton to Southfields supplementary consultation: May-June 2022

Overview

Thank you for taking an interest in this supplementary consultation on the A358 Taunton to Southfields Dualling Scheme.

We’re looking to improve approximately 8.5 miles (13.6 km) of road to high quality and high-performing dual carriageway. This would make journeys safer, quicker and more reliable for the wide variety of people who use the road. 

We’ve made some changes to the preliminary design since our public consultation in autumn 2021. We want to know your thoughts on these changes before we submit our planning application to the Planning Inspectorate.

Click here to see a video from our Senior Project Manager, Katherine Liddington, explaining what we're doing and why: 

The supplementary consultation runs from Tuesday 24 May to Sunday 26 June 2022. It’s important that you respond by 11.59pm on Sunday 26 June 2022 as responses received after the consultation closes may not be considered.

Note, this is a supplementary consultation. This means that any responses made now will be added to those received during the autumn 2021 consultation.  If you submitted a response to that consultation and your views have not changed, then you don’t need to do anything.  Your previous feedback will still be considered.

You only need to take part in this consultation if you have something new to add, in light of the new information that’s being shared.

Why your views matter

We want to hear your thoughts on the suggested changes we’ve made since our last public consultation.

Your feedback to this supplementary consultation will help us to continue to develop the preliminary design.

The changes we’ve made relate to the following broad categories:

• Transport, traffic flows and access
• Walking, cycling, horse-riding and disabled user access
• Environmental mitigation
• Location of main construction compound

We’ve also made some smaller changes along the route. All design changes we’ve made since the 2021 public consultation are set out in our Summary of changes booklet. These smaller changes are not the focus of the consultation, but you can comment on them if you wish to.

To help you provide your feedback, we're making information available in lots of different ways:

You can read the consultation documents – they are available to view or download from the bottom of this page.  The documents include:

• Consultation booklet
• Feedback questionnaire
• Responding to feedback from 2021 public consultation
• Summary of changes booklet
• Technical traffic note
• Environmental note
• Plans and drawings

You can watch this fly-through video - it summarises our current proposals:

You can visit our virtual exhibition room 

The virtual exhibition has been developed to help bring the consultation materials to life.  It will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the duration of the consultation

You can view the consultation plans and materials in the virtual room.   The same documents can also be found at the bottom of this page. 

You can join us at one of our webinars, where members of the project team will present proposals and answer your questions.  The times and dates of these webinars can be found below.  

• Webinar 1 – Wednesday 25 May 2022 – 12:30pm
• Webinar 2 – Tuesday 7 June 2022 – 12:30pm
• Webinar 3 – Thursday 9 June 2022 – 7:00pm
• Webinar 4 – Tuesday 14 June 2022 – 7:00pm

The webinars are being repeated over various days and times for convenience, but they'll each cover the same topics.  If you'd like to attend one, please email us at  A358TauntontoSouthfields@nationalhighways.co.uk.  You will then be sent an invitation to join the event.

You can attend an in-person public consultation event where you can speak to the project team and find out more about our plans in person.  These events will take place at the times, dates and locations shown in the table below:

Information about the consultation can also be found at the deposit locations and public information points. A list of these locations can be found at the bottom of this page.

Telephone surgery 

If you'd like to talk to a member of the project team and can't attend the face-to-face events, you can request a call back from a member of the project team instead. Call backs will be made between 12 noon and 7pm, Mondays to Fridays, during the consultation period, subject to availability. 

You can request a call back by emailing   A358TauntontoSouthfields@nationalhighways.co.uk or calling 0300 123 5000.  We'll offer slots on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Access to hard copies of the consultation materials / home delivery

If you don't have access to the internet or you experience problems downloading the consultation materials, we can send you free of charge one copy of the Consultation booklet, Feedback questionnaire and Responding to feedback from 2021 public consultation in the post. 

If you'd like to request hard copy materials, please either email or call us using the following details:  Email  A358TauntontoSouthfields@nationalhighways.co.uk or telephone 0300 123 5000.  Alternatively you can also get these materials at the in-person consultation events or from the deposit points.

Completed feedback questionnaires can be sent to us at: 

FREEPOST A358 TAUNTON TO SOUTHFIELDS

Note the address must be written in capital letters and you do not need a stamp.  

Interactive tools to help you understand the scheme’s impact on traffic

To help you understand the predicted impact that the scheme has on traffic we have we have also prepared two interactive traffic tools.  These tools are in addition to the information that can be found in the Consultation booklet and the Technical traffic note. 

The first tool is a traffic flow webmap. This provides information about how the A358 Taunton to Southfields Dualling Scheme would affect traffic flows in the year 2028 (the expected opening year of the scheme). To access this tool, click on the image below.

The second tool is a trip route and journey time webmap.  This provides information about how the A358 Taunton to Southfields Dualling Scheme would affect the typical route and the journey time of a selection of trips in the area around the scheme in the year 2028 (the expected opening year of the scheme). To access this tool, click on the image below.

What happens next? 

This scheme is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) under the Planning Act 2008.

Because of its national significance, the scheme needs a Development Consent Order (DCO).

Following this consultation, we will carefully consider all comments received before submitting our DCO application. If the application is accepted by the Planning Inspectorate, there will then be an examination of the application in which the public can participate. This examination will take a maximum of six months. The Planning Inspectorate then has three months to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, who then has a further three months to make a final decision.

More information about the DCO process can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website: http://infrastructure.planningportal.gov.uk. The process is also explained by this short animation. 

If you'd like to complete the online feedback form, click on the link below.