A new pedestrian crossing between a major housing development and Chard town centre is “not being considered” by Somerset Council.

Tilia Homes is currently in the late stages of delivering 200 new homes on the Snowdon Grange development, which lies on the B3162 Forton Road at the town’s southern edge.

The development includes a pedestrian access onto the busy A358 Tatworth Road, which is expected to become even busier in the coming years as further homes are approved within the Chard eastern development area (CEDA).

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But Somerset Council has said it currently has no plans to provide a new pedestrian crossing over the A358 to provide the new residents with a safe route to access their local doctors’ surgery or the Snowdon Park green space.

The main pedestrian route through the Snowdon Grange site runs from its entrance on Forton Road and crosses over Lombardy Avenue (near the multi-use games area) before emerging onto Tatworth Road.

From there, pedestrians must negotiate a narrow and somewhat overgrown pavement as far as King Ina Close, where the pavement moves away from the road and the route skirts close to National Cycle Network route 33 (also known as the Stop Line Way).

There is currently no dedicated crossing point for those wishing to use the bus shelter outside Halcombe or move further west to access the doctors’ surgery on St. Mary’s Crescent or Snowdon Park, which lies at the town’s western edge of Mintons Orchard.

Under the agreed plans (which were approved by South Somerset District Council’s area west committee in early-2019), Kier Living South West pledged to make a number of improvements along the A358 as part of the development – a pledge it took forward when it became Tilia Homes.

These improvements include new bus shelters on both sides of the main road, which would be served by the 30 service which links the town to Tatworth and Axminster to the south and to Ilminster and Taunton in the north.

They also include “new and enhanced pavement provision” as far as these bus stops to provide pedestrians with a safer link from the new homes.

Crucially, no pedestrian crossing was included within these commitments or the resulting legal agreements.

Somerset Council said the developer would deliver the agreed improvements along Tatworth Road but a new pedestrian crossing was not on the cards.

A spokesman said: “Footway works, dropped crossings and tactile paving have been agreed, alongside bus stop improvements around the Snowdon Grange development.

“All these works will be subject to road safety audits and technical approval before they are delivered.

“A pedestrian crossing over the A358 is not being considered at the moment, but we are always happy to work with local members, the town council and the community to potentially look at this in the future should it be considered a priority.”

In the absence of any developer commitment, any new crossing would need to be delivered through a small improvement scheme, which can be secured by lobbying from the local division members (in this case, Chard South councillors Jason Baker and Connor Payne).

Previous small improvement schemes approved in Chard have seen speed bumps installed along Glynswood and a zebra crossing installed on the A358 Furnham Road near the junctions with Beeching Close and Mount Hindrance Lane.