Minehead’s MP has praised the town’s traders for pulling out all the stops to attract visitors back after a pandemic-hit season last year.

Ian Liddell-Grainger says that, thanks to the leadership of the BID team, local shopkeepers are on course to make up a good deal of the ground lost during the summer of 2020.

And, he says, he was highly impressed with the holiday atmosphere generated when last weekend’s Lifeboat Day events coincided with powerboat racing in the bay.

“I was in Minehead on Saturday and the place was really buzzing – and what pleased me more than anything else was to hear so many traders saying how well the season was going,” he said.

Mr Liddell-Grainger, MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset, said he had been impressed by the sheer numbers of visitors and the volume of trade a lot of businesses were doing.

“But this sort of thing doesn’t happen by accident – a huge amount of effort has gone in to making the town centre and the seafront look attractive and welcoming, and the BID team deserves a huge vote of thanks for all its efforts in that direction,” he said.

“At the same time, it was impossible not to reflect on how much busier Minehead would undoubtedly have been had we had trains running into the station.

“I know a lot of traders are frustrated and upset that replacing the Seaward Way crossing has been delayed – apparently because of some trivial arguments over signalling – and that a second summer is going to pass with no trains running into the town.

“Minehead is not exactly over-endowed with wet weather attractions and the railway does have a vital role to play in providing visitors with an alternative to a day on the beach.

“I note that the railway company is assuring everyone that the crossing will be installed by the end of October and I can only urge it and the county council to ensure that this target is indeed achieved.”