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The road will be closed from Monday 22 April until Friday 26 April, between the hours of 9.30am and 3.30pm. The closure is in place between the Weston General Hospital roundabout and the Uphill Road South / Bleadon Hill junctions. The road will be fully marshalled to allow ambulances to travel safely to and from the hospital.
This closure applies to all motorised and non-motorised traffic - including cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians - apart from emergency vehicles.
The council needs to close the road because a number of trees lining this stretch of the A370 are infested with ash dieback. As the trees are so close to the road, it would be too dangerous to fell them while the road was open to the public.
Ash dieback is a fungal disease which can be fatal to ash trees. North Somerset Council carries out surveys to assess and monitor the health of infected trees. Unfortunately, in many circumstances we may eventually have to remove trees for safety reasons. More information about ash dieback can be found at www.n-somerset.gov.uk/ashdieback.
The council’s wildlife and woodland expansion officers are looking at opportunities to plant replacement trees wherever possible, particularly when a concentrated number of ash trees have been lost.
For more information on the road closure, visit: https://one.network/?GB138180486.
Councillor Mike Solomon, North Somerset Council’s executive member for arts and leisure, said: “The council manages between 75,000 and 80,000 ash trees, and we have a duty of care to remove those infected with ash dieback so that we can protect the rest.
“We recognise that this work will impact travel for residents, and we apologise for any unavoidable inconvenience caused. We’ve made sure that those requiring urgent care will still be able to travel safely to and from Weston General Hospital in ambulances.
“Felling diseased trees in a safe and controlled way helps us protect our beautiful green spaces in North Somerset.”
For more information on road closures, visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/roadworks.
You can also receive updates on social media from Facebook (NStravelandroads).