A Somerset resident has lambasted the government's proposals for dualling one of the county's most critical trunk roads.

Highways England published proposals last month to dual the A358 between Taunton and Ilminster, which include the creation of a new junction on the M5.

Taunton resident Graham Long has roundly criticised the plans, arguing that creating a new junction would be "overkill" and could result in a large amount of unwanted development south of the motorway.

He said: "Rather than including a bypass around Henlade, which many had expected, Highways England have opted for a completely new M5 junction west of Taunton Racecourse, which is overkill."

Mr Long claims that the new layout would create a "road-locked triangle" which would subsequently be filled with employment space.

He said: "The area between the proposed new road, the existing road and the M5 is a road-locked triangle, and it will only be a matter of time before the whole of that areas gets filled with warehouses, factories and offices.

"Exactly the same happened near Reading after the A329(M) was built, creating the 'Winnersh Triangle', between the M4, A329 and A329(M). The whole of that road locked area which was fields, is now filled with warehouses.

"Similarly, building a new junction to the west of Taunton Racecourse without any access north into Taunton is an invitation to developers to build a huge number of houses on the land north of the M5 right up to Trull - the developer paying the cost of providing a road from the new junction north to serve the new housing and connecting with the A38 west of Taunton."

Mr Long believes that a shorter bypass around Henlade and Thornfalcon would be better than a new junction

Rather than building a new junction, Mr Long believes that there is scope to enlarge the existing Junction 25 and simply build a bypass around Henlade and Thornfalcon.

He said: "All that is needed is to convert one single carriageway access to the roundabout to a two-carriageway access, and possibly another single carriageway access for a road for local traffic on the south side of the motorway.

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"This will still be a small junction when you compare it to, for instance, Junction 24 on the M1, which has the A6, A453 and A50 all joining the M1 at the same junction.

"Highways England very successfully upgraded that junction a few years ago by only adding new northbound access to the M1 for the A50, north of the existing junction (J24A).

The public consultation on the proposed route runs until May 20
The public consultation on the proposed route runs until May 20

"It is nonsense to suggest that the current M5 Junction 25 cannot be enlarged."

Mr Long added that it would be better to relocate the existing park and ride services and build the dualled road through there, rather than building on farmland to protect the existing facilities.

He said: "It would be much better to run any new dual carriageway through a concrete car park rather than through productive farmland - or is UK highways strategy now determined by the location of municipal car parks?

"Whoever builds a new dual carriageway to the existing Junction 25 will need an area to store their material and equipment. This could then be converted into a new park and ride car park after the new dual carriageway is built."

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Would a new M5 junction be "overkill"?

The public consultation on the Highways England proposals runs until May 20.

The final public information event on the plans will be held at the Holiday Inn in Taunton on May 8 from 10am to 5pm.