Kelston toll road
| Kelston toll road | |
|---|---|
A map of the road on OpenStreetMap in November 2014 | |
The toll booth at the eastern end of the road | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 0.365 km (0.227 mi; 1,200 ft) |
| Existed | 1 August 2014–17 November 2014 |
| Major junctions | |
| East end | 51°23′45″N 2°25′03″W / 51.39583°N 2.41750°W |
| West end | 51°23′47″N 2°25′20″W / 51.39639°N 2.42222°W |
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Counties | Somerset |
| Road network | |
The Kelston toll road was an unofficial temporary toll road in the village of Kelston, Somerset, England. The road was 1,198 feet (365 m) in length; it ran across a field adjacent to a closed section of the A431 road, circumventing the council's suggested detour of 14 miles (23 km). The road was built as an unofficial toll road without planning permission, which the council later forced the operator to apply for retroactively.
The A431 was closed through Kelston due to fears of a landslip on 17 February 2014, and the council said it would not build a temporary road to replace it. Due to the impact of the closure on local businesses and journey times, local entrepreneur Mike Watts and his partner Wendy Race decided to construct the toll road at a price of £150,000, meaning that 1,000 cars would have to use the road daily for them to break even on their costs. The toll cost £2 for cars.
The toll road opened on 1 August 2014; despite the public largely being in support of the toll, the council forced Watts to apply for retroactive planning permission, which was delayed until after the road closed. After 14 weeks of operation, the toll road closed on 17 November in conjunction with the reopening of the affected section of the A431; this was four weeks earlier than the council had originally promised. Because of this, Watts estimates that he had an overall shortfall of £10,000 despite the road having over 163,000 journeys. The road was returned to fields in February 2015.