Controversial changes to Clevedon seafront set to be reversed
The painting of wiggly lines on The Beach two years ago sparked uproar from residents
A decision is expected later on whether to reverse hugely unpopular changes to a road in North Somerset.
Two years ago strange wiggly lines were painted on The Beach in Clevedon which were so unusual they drew national attention and saw the street labelled a "yellow brick road".
As well as the strange lines being added, parking spaces were also removed and a cycle lane created, all of which many residents complained wasn't necessary.
The initial changes cost North Somerset Council £1.36 million, with the plans to reverse many of them set to cost a further £425,000.
The road will not be completely restored, as per the recommendations of a recent review into the scheme by consultants, but much of the sea-facing parking will be restored, the wavy lines and two-way cycle path will be removed, and a roundabout at one end which currently consists simply of a white circle painted on the road, will become a standard mini-roundabout.
The one-way system will be retained and there will be a single contraflow cycle lane.
Hannah Young, the council’s executive member for highways and transport, said: “These changes support the findings of the independent review which was commissioned following concerns from residents and businesses in the town.
“We have listened to the community and the consultants and we plan to reinstate the sea facing parking, remove the two-way cycle path and move and enlarge the roundabout.”
North Somerset Council could take £153,000 out of its capital and revenue reserves to help meet the £425,000 price tag of undoing the most unpopular aspects of the scheme.
£50,000 which was to be spent on repairing the slipway in Clevedon — a project the council say is not at the implementation stage — could also be redirected to fund the changes to the road.
Other sources of funding for the works will include another unallocated £21k from the Great Lakes project, along with section 106 money from developers and local transport plan funding.
The original works to The Beach had been funded by Active Travel England, prompting fears that undoing the work could require the cost of installing it to be paid back.
However, a report going before the executive confirmed that the organisation would not be seeking to claw back the costs from the council.
Nevertheless, Ms Young warned: “Funding these changes is going to be a huge challenge in our current financial climate but we are committed to completing the work as soon as possible with minimal impact on the businesses in the area.
“The council tries hard to respond to community concerns and balances the different priorities it faces across towns and parishes.
"Clevedon seafront has been a key priority for the Clevedon community.
"The changes proposed are a priority because they focus on safety or addressing disability access issues."
Speaking when the proposed changes were announced by consultants in November — which were then estimated to cost £375k — council leader Mike Bell had warned: “We haven’t got half a million pounds, or the best part of, sat around waiting to be spent on this.”
The council's executive will meet at 2:30pm this afternoon in Weston-super-Mare Town Hall.