Visitors to a beauty spot near Bristol will soon find it harder to park as new safety measures are implemented. The B3135 Cliff Road runs through Cheddar Gorge, connecting the village to numerous settlements within the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Longleat Estates applied in March to build a new bund on its car park between High Rock and Arch Rock to protect drivers and walkers from rock falls. Somerset Council has now approved these safety measures, which will remove a number of parking spaces – making it harder for motorists to stop and explore the area.
The car park lies on the south side of Cliff Road before a tight hairpin bend by Arch Rock. There are currently 37 parking spaces available for motorists – but this will be cut by nine to make space for the bund, leaving 28 spaces for cars and vans.
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The bund will be constructed out of 300 tonnes of rock, which is already on site following rock safety work carried out in this section of the gorge. The rocks will be covered with inert soil transported into the site once construction is complete.
A spokesman for Benjamin & Beauchamp (representing the applicant) said: “The existing lay-by area and road is not fully protected from falling rocks at the foot of the cliff, and this has proven to be a major safety concern for the public and for road users. As the land naturally gullies down towards this lay-by, with it being the location of steep cliff faces, falling rocks from the cliffs navigate into the site.
“This therefore creates a hazardous and high-risk point along the gorge, requiring extra protection from these falling rocks to members of the public. It is proposed to build a bund forward of the existing bund at the base of the cliff, to give an extra layer of protection as well as giving protection to areas where the existing bund does now.
“There is currently many alternative parking available along the gorge and more parking is currently being allocated at the bottom of the gorge; therefore, this reduction is considered negligible.” A similar scheme around half a kilometre up the gorge was approved by Sedgemoor District Council back in September 2022.
Cheddar Parish Council supported the plans, describing it as “a necessary safety measure” to protect the Gorge, the road and the public. Somerset Council approved the plans through the delegated power of its planning officers, rather than a public decision by its planning committee north (which decides major planning applications for the former Sedgemoor area).
Jody Graham, the council’s senior planning liaison officer for highways development management, said: “We would usually request a turning so vehicles would access the highway in a forward gear, but given the lower speed environment of the gorge (due to tourists, tour buses, pedestrians and even sheep), it would not be necessary here. The majority of people take care through here and expect hazards.”
Other stretches of the B3135 in Cheddar were identified for potential upgrades as part of a £19.3m bid to the government’s levelling up fund – including enhancements to the Cheddar Gorge and Caves car park.
This bid (which also included projects in Highbridge and Shepton Mallet) was ultimately unsuccessful – but some or all of the proposals could be incorporated into a future levelling up bid later in the year. The Longleat Estate has not confirmed how soon construction of the new bund will begin.
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