WORK started this week on the long-awaited £6 million redevelopment of Minehead's market site alongside the West Somerset Railway, which should bring new jobs and new investment to the town. A 110 space car park, modern business units and a railway turntable are all included in the scheme, which was drawn up after extensive consultation with the public. Space has also been set aside for the Minehead Eye youth project, for events such as farmers' markets and trade fairs, while there will also be a public viewing area for people to watch the famous steam trains and a cafe and retail outlets. Cllr Alvin Horsfall, portfolio holder for economic development at project leader Somerset County Council, said he hoped the first phase of the scheme would be completed by July 2008. He said: "Somerset County Council has been delighted with the level of public interest and participation in the project and the council has put a great deal of effort into ensuring that the design will provide what the local community wants. "It is satisfying to reach this important milestone and I look forward to it opening in July next year." But the launch has been hit by claims that the scheme is not environmentally-friendly. The county council has been forced to refute accusations that it has breached its own green policies by not using recycled stone in the development and for planning to transport the stone to the site in lorries. Charles Graham of the Sedgemoor and West Somerset Green Party said the council was "irresponsible" for not making use of the West Somerset Railway (WSR) to carry the stone. He said: "Once again, we have those in authority casting value for money aside, deferring the real cost for future generations to pay for and laundering their actions in 'green wash'. "The decision by Somerset County Council and its partners to reject the use of recycled stone and the use of an ideally positioned railway in the construction of the market site development is irresponsible." The project is being jointly funded by the county council, the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA), the European Regional Development Fund and the WSR. A spokesman for the county council said both it and the RDA had asked the contractor to consider using both the railway and recycled aggregate. He said the option had been thoroughly investigated but had, ultimately, not been viable as regular deliveries could not be guaranteed. The spokesman said: "An inability to guarantee supply could prejudice our agreement with the contractor and any resulting delays would jeopardise crucial, strictly time-limited European funding in the region of £2 million. "There are also operational problems that would arise from large amounts of aggregate being delivered to the site in this way. "Somerset County Council and its contractors have worked closely with the Environment Agency in the use of materials and design of this project, allowing it to gain a 'very good' rating under the BREEAM scheme - Building Research Establishment Environment Assessment Method." He said the development would strengthen the local economy and reduce the need for local people to travel for employment. But Minehead resident John Dixon said he believed the decision to use lorries to transport stone to the site could result in "several thousand lorry movements" on the A39, or one every five minutes in a working day. He said: "This flies in the face of declared county council policy - unnecessary squandering of our limited stone reserved, unnecessary use of diesel fuel in transporting the stuff, untold misery for those who live along the route and incalculable damage to our roads and environment by a council that boasts of its green credentials. What a joke." The project has been funded by a £2.8 million investment from the county council, £2 million from the European Regional Development Fund, £1.3 million from the South West of England RDA and £358,550 from the WSR. Paul Conibeare, WSR general manager, said the scheme was a turning point for Minehead and the railway. "It will attract excursion trains from all over the UK and is also a tribute to the dreams of the pioneers who, 30 years ago, brought back the turntable from north Wales. "We are pleased to be working with our partners to turn their dreams into reality." Pictured, from left, are: (back) Andrew Forster and Paul Conibeare of WSR, Carl Budden of the South West RDA, Mark Bradley of contractors SWH Ltd, Paul Hickson of Somerset County Council, David Rees of the South West RDA, Liz Byrne of EMB Consulting Ltd; (front) Paul Bedford of SWH Ltd, Alan Gloak chairman of Somerset County Council, Minehead county Cllr Ian Galloway and Bob Pym of Somerset County Council. Photo: Steve Guscott