The final phase of a £850,000 improvement to water supply on the edge of Exmoor will get under way in January after project chiefs and the local community worked together to agree a plan to minimise its impact.
Wessex Water will complete their hefty investment to replace mains in and around Timberscombe from the start of 2025, having wrapped up the opening eight-month section of the work within the village earlier this year.
Teams will begin replacing pipes on the Clouds Steep and A396 Dunster to Timberscombe road to the north from Monday 6 January 2025, in work that is expected to last for up to 16 weeks.
However, following consultation with the local parish council and listening to customers’ ideas at a community session back in September, the company will carry the work out at night, allowing one what is of the main A road routes through Exmoor to reopen to traffic during the day.
The road will be closed to through traffic just north of Timberscombe between 7pm and 5am from Sundays and Thursdays until the end of April, with a signposted diversion in place, but it will be reopened under multi-way traffic lights during the day.
Wessex Water design engineer Egidijus Mockevicius said: “Thanks to the patience of the local community and the hard work of our team, the opening phase of this project was completed earlier this autumn but, before starting the final part of it, it was important for us to speak again to local people about the best way to approach it.
“We’re grateful to the community, Timberscombe Parish Council and Somerset Council for playing a full part in these discussions and supporting our measures to try and keep disruption to a minimum wherever possible.
“Their guidance has been crucial to the planning of the project and we believe that carrying the work out at night allows us the best opportunity to finish it as promptly as possible.
“We’ll also be restricting the noisiest activity, such as road cutting or breaking to between 7-11pm, as well as using silent generators for lighting, while acoustic barriers will be placed around areas where pipe bursting and winching operations are taking place.’’
Wessex Water has already written to local customers to confirm the details of the second phase of the project.
The utility company has also unveiled ambitious proposals in relation to the supply of water to ensure the system can cope with the growing demands from population growth and challenges of climate change, as part of £3.5 billion of new investment – within its 2025-2030 Business Plan, which is being finalised with industry regulators.
