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Parklands Village

North South Link Road

The North South Link Road is a two-kilometre road in Weston-super-Mare which will run from the A371 in Locking to the A370 at West Wick roundabout near Morrisons.

The road - known officially as Apprentice Way - will provide the main bus, cycle and pedestrian route through the Village and is intended to become the “high street” for the new community. The layout of the development has been designed so that the majority of community facilities, employment and shops will be located along this road.

We are responsible for constructing the southern part of the road across land owned by us and Homes England.

This part of the road will open up land allocated for up to 1,800 homes and 2,700 jobs, as well as providing access to the secondary school, health centre and first two primary schools. It is due to be completed in spring 2021.

The first bit of the southern part of the road from the A371 to the junction with Russell Road is now open providing access to the Flowerdown estate and Parklands Educate Together Primary School.

The northern part of the road linking to the West Wick roundabout is required to be built by Mead Developments, but is not expected to be completed before 2023/24.

The North South Link Road is funded through:

  • the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership Local Growth Fund (LGF) and City Deal Economic Development Fund (EDF)
  • the Homes England Local Authority Accelerated Construction Fund (LA-AC)
  • Section 106 contributions from developers
  • North Somerset Council.

Work taking place

Work started at the end of 2018 for construction access off the A371 Locking Moor Road. Construction operations on-site are continuing but at a reduced rate due to the current Covid-19 situation. The Government’s latest guidance and advice (including the latest Site Operating Procedures issued by the Construction Leadership Council) to the construction industry is being adhered to in relation to Covid-19.

Current work includes:

  • installing street lights on the south side of the A371
  • installing and testing permanent traffic signals at the new A371 junction
  • installing road signs and road markings
  • construction of paved footways and verges
  • installing strategic utilities.

Environmental impact

Measures being taken to reduce the environmental impact of the construction work include:

  • using around 155,900 tonnes of imported (mainly recycled) material to construct surcharge embankments for the new road
  • reusing around 22,000 tonnes of material excavated on-site
  • reusing or recycling 99.9% of site waste material
  • on-site mixing of 4,000 tonnes of topsoil to re-use for tree planting and landscaping
  • use of low temperature road base and binder course asphalt materials.

By reusing and recycling materials carbon emissions have been cut from reducing waste materials going to landfill and the amount of new material being transported to site.

We’ll also be planting 90 trees alongside the new road and a further 200 replacement trees around Parklands Village.

Social value

The North South Link Road scheme is delivering added social value and community benefits as well as making a positive contribution to the local economy. Up to October the scheme has provided:

  • seven graduate/internship/apprenticeship placements
  • 91 days of work experience
  • ten new jobs
  • working with local colleges to provide practical input into the curriculum for more than 1,500 students
  • three-and-a-half person days of volunteer work in the local community
  • 93% of sub-contractors are based within 40 miles of the site
  • 88% of sub-contractors are small to medium enterprises (SMEs)
  • 80% of those working on-site are local labour
  • 93% of site employees live less than 40 miles from the site.

Traffic management on the A371

For safety reasons, traffic management measures are in place on the A371. This includes temporary 40 and 30mph speed limits enforced by the police and temporary traffic signals that include two crossing points to direct pedestrians and cyclists around the works.

These will be replaced by a fully signalised crossing at a new junction with the A371 once work on the southern section of the link road is complete. 

We are looking at putting in place permanent speed limits by the end of January 2021.

We’re working closely with Balfour Beatty to ensure any disruption is kept to an absolute minimum.

Contractors

We’ve awarded the £13million contract to deliver our part of the North South Link Road to Balfour Beatty.

Balfour Beatty statement:

Balfour Beatty is delighted to be working together with North Somerset Council and their designers Jacobs on the new North South Link Road at Parklands Village, Weston-super-Mare.

The new carriageway scheme will help to meet the increased demand on Weston-super-Mare’s transport network following the improvements at J21 of the M5 and other developments in the surrounding area. Alongside the carriageway, works will include a new footpath and cycleway to improve the local sustainable transport network.

Procured through the Scape National Civil Engineering and Infrastructure framework, this scheme will deliver added social value and community benefits in the region by creating work placements and increasing spend with the local supply chain, in particular with Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Balfour Beatty Senior Project Manager, Gary McHugh, said:

“The development of the Parklands area forms part of an integrated plan for Weston-super-Mare to provide more than 3,000 new homes, a primary school, open space and community facilities as well as local employment opportunities. The Scape framework has ensured we’ve been fully engaged in the project from the pre-construction phase. We will continue to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure we make a positive contribution to the local economy.”

The northern part of the road will be built by Mead Realisations, the developer of that area.

Parklands Village enquiries
parklandsvillage@n-somerset.gov.uk