BUSINESSES in Williton could be under serious threat of survival if a proposed two-month closure of the A39 goes ahead, parish council chairman Cllr Peter Payne warned this week.

A half-mile stretch of the A39 in Long Street, from Station Road to the junction with Fore Street, is scheduled for a 24/7 closure from November 9 to January 20.

It is part of a £1.2 million gas mains upgrade by Wales and West Utilities.

Cllr Payne said: “The village is in uproar over this.

“Shutting off Long Street for so long will have a dire effect on businesses and residents.

“I feel for them and I fear for them.”

Cllr Payne said a public meeting on the issue was being organised in Williton Pavilion for 7 pm on October 6.

He said Somerset Council had not yet approved the road closures and diversions, so he was hoping enough pressure could be applied for the authority to refuse the traffic plan and come up with a better one to ‘stop the village descending into chaos’.

Cllr Payne said: “The work has to be done, but there must be a better way of doing it without shutting off half the village, using traffic lights, for instance.

“The proposed diversions are impracticable and are going to create rat runs and all sorts of problems.

“Large, articulated vehicles heading for Bridgwater will be diverted via Sticklepath, Raleghs Cross, Wiveliscombe, and Taunton.

“Nothing has been properly thought through, including how fire and emergency services, buses, and domestic waste collections will operate.”

This week, protestors created an online pressure group to oppose the road closure and to look into possible compensation for the damage it might have on local businesses.

Cllr Payne said: “Obviously, we want to protect Williton, but it is also going to affect villages all the way to Minehead.”