TRADERS in Dunster who have been seriously hit by three months of disruption caused by the replacement of the Dunster Steep A39 traffic lights were ‘absolutely furious’ this week that Somerset Council is not offering any compensation for their losses.

Work on the £600,000 project officially ended on Thursday (April 2), but Dunster business owners fear the detrimental effect on trade and visitor numbers in the medieval village could last for several more months.

One shop owner said: “It seems that the council just does not care.

“They have not offered us anything, even though in similar circumstances elsewhere, businesses have been given compensation.

“Somerset Council is not obligated to compensate businesses for this sort of disruption and I wonder whether councillors really consider the effect their decisions have on local people’s incomes.”

Angry business owners in the village, who asked not to be individually named, told the Free Press that since the disruption started at the beginning of January, they had been struggling.

One said: “It can take up to 50 minutes of queuing to get past the Dunster traffic lights and, as a result, people have stopped coming to Dunster for day visits and coaches are driving away.

“This has caused a massive drop in revenue for independent businesses, some of which have been unable to open their doors or have had to reduce their opening hours because the footfall in the village has been at an all-time low.

“For instance, the revenue for two High Street shops between February and March 2026 was nearly 50 per cent lower compared to the same period in 2025 and 2024.

“Considering that many businesses have to pay rent, along with council tax and other bills, you can see that traders have started to worry about their future.”

Another shop owner said: “It has not been mentioned in the press that the company carrying out the works also took over the whole of the bottom car park on Dunster Steep, resulting in several complaints from visitors about the lack of parking.

“One day, we saw two coaches come into the car park but, as there was no space for them, they left, resulting in even less footfall in the village.”

The owner of a long-established business said he would not want to go through the last three months again.

He said: “It has been terrible - our sales have dropped massively.

“The whole village has been affected.”

A tea room proprietor reported revenue for February and March was well down compared to last year’s figures.

They said: “There was just nobody about.

“We have phoned the council but they have not offered any compensation because the work is classed as general repairs.

“We are absolutely furious.”

A High Street shop proprietor said: “The constant gridlock on the A39 had a really serious impact on customers coming into Dunster from elsewhere.

“Could you blame them for going elsewhere rather than sitting in traffic for 40 minutes?”

Businesses were told by Somerset Council there is no mechanism for them to receive compensation.

The council said in a statement it had a statutory duty to maintain roads and carry out essential repairs and there was no obligation to compensate businesses.

However, there were schemes available to help businesses reduce their rates.

These include the Small Business Rates Relief scheme and Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Relief scheme.

A spokesperson said: “The advice to businesses who feel they have been affected by roadworks is to check their business rates bill to see if they are in receipt of these reliefs already.

“If not, businesses will need to visit the council’s website and check the list of criteria that needs to be met in order for either relief to be awarded.

“Businesses can make an online application if required.

“In addition, businesses can apply for a temporary reduction in rateable value via the Valuation Office Agency website.”

Dealing with complaints that part of the Dunster Steep car park had been taken over as a works site, the spokesperson said: “We understand this will have caused some inconvenience.

“Unfortunately, it was entirely necessary to have the site as close as possible to the works.

“The area was in an overflow part of the car park which would normally be very quiet at that time of year.

“We are incredibly grateful for the patience of road users, residents, and businesses while our team did this important work.”