A ROAD in Priorswood, Taunton, will be closed for just over two months as part of the North Taunton Woolaway Project.
The £45 million regeneration scheme started in September, with £8.7 million allocated to phase A of the project.
Phase A will see project contractor ENGIE work in partnership with Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) to build 47 new homes across five parcels of land.
The properties will include 24 houses, 19 apartments, and four bungalows.
A new community centre will also be built.
Rochester Road will be closed between Wednesday, March 23 and Friday, May 27 to facilitate drainage work.
The road will re-open for the Easter Bank Holiday weekend (Friday, April 15 until Monday, April 18).
A diversion will be in place that will send traffic around the closure via Dorchester Road and Warwick Road.
The road closure notice on Travel Somerset’s website says: “ENGIE to carry out works related to the Taunton Regeneration Scheme.
“Forming new manholes and drainage runs to divert existing storm and foul services as per agreed design with Wessex Water.
“We do our utmost to minimise disruption where possible.”
Work on the North Taunton Woolaway Project began in September.
Read more: Work starts on major £45m regeneration scheme in Taunton
When the work began, councillor Fran Smith, executive member for housing at SWT, said: “The works starting here form part of a wider scheme of development under this commitment, which, over the next few years, will see the delivery of 227 new build homes.
“As well as this, there will be a refurbishment of 27 existing council properties through a phased approach, resulting in a net increase of 65 new homes within the overall scheme.”
ENGIE was appointed as the scheme’s preferred contractor in March 2020.
Speaking about the scheme, ENGIE project manager Shawn Helley said: “We’re delighted to be starting works on the building of new, high-quality homes which will regenerate and transform the estate for local residents.
“The new homes will also be highly energy efficient, with a range of measures being installed to each property including PV panels, triple glazing and air source heat pumps to support both ENGIE and Somerset West and Taunton Council’s net zero submissions.”
'Defective' homes were in Cambridge Terrace and other phase A areas were demolished between August and October 2020.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here