At long last, Somerset Council have sold their land, so at last the wall can be repaired by a more responsible landowner.

The field was meant to be used by the Ston Easton Bypass. Those plans were abandoned long ago, and for many years Somerset Council refused to repair the damage caused by multiple car collisions. It's good to see it being properly repaired at last!

Update on the pothole (from Facebook).

Now repaired in a professional manner that will last for years and years, NOT.
Glad to see our money is being used wisely.

New Years Eve. Car left the road, bounced off the house, and into a passing van.

Car hit the corner of the house and span round 180°

After two visits in recent months, the broken up section of main road by the church doesn't seem to be much better. It's a mystery why this section still hasn't been resurfaced.

The road drains don't appear to work on one side. The water drains across the main road and flows into a gulley on the opposite side, right on the approach to a sharp bend.

Car hit the walls on both sides of the road, and came to rest by the 40/30 speed limit change, opposite the War Memorial.

The air ambulance was called and landed in the adjacent field, but the injured passenger was eventually transferred into a normal ambulance instead.

Yet another last night, between the church and the war memorial. A bit before midnight.
The car ended up on the other side of the road so must have hit the wall at some speed!

Two more cars bit the dust in Ston Easton last night. Road closed from about 5am for 3 hours to clear up.

Yet another crash in the village, outside Clare Hall.

Traffic Management and Road Safety in Ston Easton.

Some of you will know that the issues of vehicle speed and possible safety measures were discussed with the Parish Council at its last meeting on 27 May. I attended as a concerned resident, we live at the south end of the village. At that meeting it became clear that the County Council is the agency that has to be engaged as it is the statutory highways authority and the A37 is a major transit route between the south coast and the M4/M5.

The County Council has some awareness of the problems we face but I suspect that it will be reluctant to act as it will cost time and money and will probably be viewed as disruptive.

At the Parish Council meeting it was confirmed that the PC had previously written to the County Council to no avail and it was suggested that residents start to write to the County Council. It would appear that approaches by the PC and Mendip Councillor Tom Killen are not being accepted and our village is overlooked whilst improvements are made elsewhere. If you look over the border into Bath & North East Somerset you can see recent safety improvements made on the A37 in Pensford and Temple Cloud and on the A39 in Marksbury and Corston which show that traffic calming and safety measures can be implemented on busy ‘A’ roads.

I wrote to County Councillor Mike Pullin who is our local Councillor for Somerset CC and also the Junior Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport. I have since spoken with Mike Pullin and he agrees that the road needs attention to reduce speed and generally make it safer for residents and drivers, he also confirmed that it would be helpful if residents in Ston Easton also wrote to him with copies to key County Council Officers with their views.

I have drafted the attached which is based on my own letter to Mike Pullin. It would be genuinely immensely helpful if you were able to write to Mike and copy in those listed below. I am not suggesting that you use the attachment as a template, please do reflect your views and experiences, however, it is there to provide some pointers. Both letters will be on the village website stoneaston.org.uk but if you want it sent to your email let me know. It would be great to copy me in so that I can begin to coordinate a concerted push to get some improvements. Could you also email me if you notice accidents because the police and council do not log accidents where there are no reported injuries so the majority of collisions are not recorded.

I understand that each County Councillor has a small budget to sponsor two schemes in their ward during their 4 year tenure. Mike should be able to sponsor one or two schemes starting this autumn. His last scheme was implementation of the 30mph zone in the Horringtons, if we start to put pressure on the County Council Ston Easton could be the next local scheme although I also think it will need a bigger project funded by the County Council, nevertheless making a start would be good.

I have also attempted to make contact with the Neighbourhood Policing Team with a view to gaining access to the Mobile Speed Camera Unit, I will continue to pursue this.

I will be asking for a meeting with key Councillors and Officers and Police to walk through the village so they can experience what we do, it would be helpful to have a few volunteers to join me and Paul Clayton, I would be looking for a date in late July.

Emails or letters need to be sent to:

Copies to:

Thank you.

Ashley Ayre.

An open letter from Ele Nash

Dear Villagers,

I hope everybody is keeping safe and well in these crazy times.

Back in October last year, myself and my two children had a near miss crossing the A37 from the bus stop. A van came around the corner too fast and I had to run with the buggy and my four-year-old to get across the road. The buggy caught the edge of the very small dropped curb and it tipped fully over. Luckily, my baby was strapped in and none of us were hurt, though we all fell and were quite shaken up. Since then, I have been engaging with the council on what might be done to make things safer in Ston Easton.

At present, there is no safe crossing point in the middle of Ston Easton, despite the fact that the bus stop is used by multiple children and is adjacent to a care home. There is not even a dropped curb on each side to allow a buggy or wheelchair across more easily. In addition, anybody who has attempted to walk around the bend to the northern section of the village, particularly with buggies, kids or dogs will know how risky this is. Indeed, a quick search on www.crashmap.co.uk shows there have been over 20 (reported) road traffic incidents over the last 21 years, including fatalities. The peppered wall throughout, police tape and lorry tracks across the pavement serve as a constant reminder of how many drivers lose control. Even during lockdown, a cement mixer overturned and caused chaos. I used to do the school run through the hotel to make it safer, but this is sadly no longer an option.

I have raised these concerns with Tom Killen at a local level who has kindly passed it on to Mike Pullin at the County Council. They are raising it with the Highways Health and Safety team. I am not a highways expert so I do not want to give a specific request on how to calm the traffic or provide a safe crossing point but I do want them to do a proper assessment, engage with the community and find a solution that works for all.

I have only lived in Ston Easton for six years and I know from Tom Killen and from my neighbours that this issue has been raised before, so I wanted to let the village know what I am doing and give people a chance to add in their voice. Concerns can be directed to Mike Pullin ; 07885372447 or, if you prefer, you can email me and I will collate them all and send them on . I personally intend to film my journey home from the bus stop for him so he can see the problem.

My aim is that the only loss we suffer in the village due to vehicles is the post box.

Yours faithfully,

Ele Nash