A WATCHET couple have asked prime minster Rishi Sunak to help raise funds to reopen the B3191 coastal road at Cleeve Hill, closed since January over fears that the road will collapse.

As a result of his intervention, Mrs Judie Bell and her husband Maurice have been told by the Government’s Department of Transport that there might be funds available in the autumn to re-route the road under a Levelling Up scheme if Somerset Council chose to apply.

“The suggestion was that we encourage Somerset Council to fill in an application form,” Mr Bell said.

“Since then, we have written three times to the council and have got absolutely no response.

"They seem to have decided that the road is not going to be reopened and seem more interested in putting up signs saying Watchet is a dead end.

“We have been ignored and are completely disheartened by the lack of motivation.

"There doesn’t seem any interest in doing anything despite the fact that so many people’s lives are being affected.”

This week, the Free Press invited Somerset Council to confirm whether an autumn Levelling Up grant had been applied for, and to explain why it had failed to respond to Mr and Mrs Bell’s letters.

A council spokesman said: "“Our members and officers try to deal with queries from the public as quickly as possible and we will ensure that Mr and Mrs Bell receive a reply to the points raised.

“The team has been in regular contact with Government regarding the B3191 since the beginning of the year.

"We were initially told there were no appropriate funding streams, that does not mean that we are not going to investigate every avenue, but we simply do not understand the requirements for such a bid at this point.

"We are also aware the local MP plans to lobby Government to identify funding.

“We fully understand people’s concerns about the loss of this route, which is why we are working closely with the Watchet Task Force, involving members of the town council and Watchet Chamber of Trade, as well as with other local partner agencies, to support the town and surrounding communities in the here and now to deal with any impact caused by the loss of this route.”

Mr and Mrs Bell, who are retired, have lived in Watchet since 2007.

Mr Bell, a former civil servant, told the Free Press: “If everyone is going to roll over and accept that the road is shut for good then obviously nothing will happen.

“Someone has got to do something, and my wife decided that it would be her. I am giving her my full support, but at the moment we seem to be hitting a brick wall.”

Recently, Somerset Council announced that the road, which links Watchet with Blue Anchor, would be closed 'for years rather than months', and estimates for re-routing it ranged from £30 million to £60 million.

In her letter to Mr Sunak, Mrs Bell said: “I fully understand that you have so much to deal with but could I please mention a problem local to me?

"I realise that I am being a tad naïve, but is there any way that Government funding could come to the rescue of our small community?

“I would appreciate it if whoever reads this on your behalf will realise the seriousness of the situation.”

Mr Sunak passed the letter to Gordon Rolfe, of the Department for Transport’s Highways Active Travel and Strategy Division, who told Mrs Bell that Somerset Council had a duty under the Highways Act to maintain the highways network in their area.

Mr Rolfe said that while the Transport Department was not in a position to offer financial support to the project earlier in the year there would soon be another round of the Levelling Up Fund 'and it would be for Somerset Council to decide whether to submit a bid for a scheme such as the road from Blue Anchor to Watchet'.

In June, Mrs Bell wrote to Jon Fellingham, of Somerset Council’s highways department, saying 'the road closure is having a dramatic effect on the businesses in Watchet' and asking whether an application for money from the autumn Levelling Up Fund could be made a priority, but received no reply.

In July, Mrs Bell wrote to Cllr Mike Rigby, Somerset Council’s lead member for transport and digital, pointing out that Mr Rolfe had suggested that a bid for the next round of the Levelling Up Fund could be a way forward and asking Cllr Rigby to confirm that such a bid would be submitted.

After no answer was forthcoming, Mrs Bell wrote again to Cllr Rigby in August asking for 'the courtesy of a reply' but said she was yet to receive one, even though all her letters to the council were sent by recorded delivery.

Mr Bell said: “Cllr Rigby recently wrote ‘We have to be clear - the road cannot reopen and there is no alternative route planned for the foreseeable future. This is about pulling together to mitigate the impacts of the loss of the road'.

Mr Bell added: “We simply can’t understand this negative attitude. Putting in for a grant for a new road is a bit like doing the lottery.

"If you don’t buy a ticket you’re not going to win but it would seem that Somerset Council don’t want to buy a ticket. Or if they do, they are not sharing the information with the likes of us.”