£1.5m upgrade to A39 Somerset cycle route scrapped
Funding redirected to other Somerset schemes after council abandons difficult-to-deliver project
A planned £1.5m upgrade of a key cycle route in west Somerset has been scrapped due to “logistical challenges”.
Active Travel England (which forms part of the Department for Transport) provided Somerset Council with £1.5m of grant funding in May 2023 to upgrade the existing, narrow cycle path along the A39 between Dunster and Carhampton.
The council will begin work in the new year on a major upgrade to the junction of the A39 Minehead Road and the A396 Dunster Steep, replacing obsolete traffic signals and improving the existing pedestrian crossings between the two sides of the village.
But the council has revealed that the Dunster to Carhampton project will not be taken forward since it is too difficult to implement – with the funding being re-allocated to other active travel projects across Somerset.
The A39 between Williton and Minehead currently has limited cycle facilities, with riders having to either brave existing narrow paths, take their chances on the main road, or take a long diversion using the Steam Coast Trail.
The existing cycle path along the A39 runs from Winsors Lane at the western edge of Carhampton to the crossroads with the A396 in Dunster, near the Loxhole Mill garden centre.
The existing route is very narrow in places, with cyclists having to share limited space with pedestrians and deal with overgrown vegetation.
The A39 in a main route for HGVs, creating additional hazards, and sees significant holiday traffic in the summer as tourists travel between the M5 and the Exmoor National Park.
The improved path was intended to link up with two previously completed section – the stretch between the Seaward Way roundabout in Minehead and Marsh Lane in Dunster (completed in June 2023 at a cost of £1m) and a short section between Marsh Lane and Dunster Steep (completed over a six-week period in May and June 2025).
The council confirmed on Friday (December 12) that the traffic light scheme would include “some widening and improvements of the existing paths and crossing in Dunster” – but that the wider scheme to Carhampton would not be implemented at this time.
A spokesperson said: “The £1.5m funding allocation, with the agreement of Active Travel England, was reallocated to a number of other schemes due to the logistical challenges of the original proposal and the need to utilise funding funding within the time-frame.
“A number of other schemes have benefited in the county, including Lyde Road in Yeovil, the Marsh Lane to Dunster Steep scheme and various active travel improvements in Taunton – as well as a route alongside the A39 Westway as part of the Street signals recovery programme.
“The team is continuing to look at provision between Dunster and Carhampton and how this can be improved.”
The improvements to the A39 Westway near Clarks Village (including the new walking and cycling provision from the reallocated government grant) are scheduled to get under way on January 5, 2026.