THE delivery of a traffic-free route across rural Somerset will continue despite financial pressures, a councillor says.

The newest section of the Strawberry Line from Yatton to Shepton Mallet recently opened in Westbury-sub-Mendip, between Station Road and Erlon Lane, writes Daniel Mumby.

Council leader Cllr Ros Wyke is promising promised work on the remaining sections will continue once the new unitary Somerset Council takes control in April.

Much of the Strawberry Line route follows the original railway track bed, with the Westbury-sub-Mendip stretch running near a disused rail bridges.

Cllr Wyke said: “We’re looking at small sections which can actually deliver local benefits, as well as contributing to the overall Somerset Circle.

“I’m absolutely over the moon. The community has been campaigned for over 20 years to have this.

“The A371 is a very narrow, dangerous road. It’s between two stone walls, so if you’re walking, cycling or horse-riding, there’s no hedge to dive into.”

The Strawberry Line forms part of the Somerset Circle which, when completed, will form a 76-mile traffic-free circuit linking the north Somerset coast Bristol, Bath, the Mendip Hills and Cheddar.

Mick Fletcher, chairman of the Strawberry Line Society, said: “We’re in the shadow of the Mendip Hills. If you wanted to cycle out of Westbury, you’d have to face either going up steep hills or along the main road.

“When we can run the Strawberry Line through to the adjacent villages, there'll be a huge public benefit.”

The longest uninterrupted section of the Strawberry Line currently runs from Yatton Station to the A371 Station Road in Cheddar.

A further extension, as far as Old Bridge Lane, was identified as part of a £19.3million bid to the government’s levelling up fund, which could fund regeneration projects in Cheddar, Highbridge and Shepton Mallet.

Volunteers have planted 2,500 hedging whips, which will grow into hedgerow.

Cllr Wyke said: “More than anything, it’s about having local volunteers together with willing and able landowners, who are willing to have a permissive path across their land.

“We help the farmers and landowners with appropriate fencing and drainage, but it has to be a two-way deal.”

She added: “Inevitably, we will be running up against the challenges of finance, but we can find ways and means of overcoming those.

“I’m extremely optimistic – we have momentum now. The new administration at County Hall will continue the work."