The £2 UK toll road built ‘without planning | Tech News

A businessman in Somerset built an unofficial toll road without planning permission after motorists were left with an hour-long delay to get to work. Back in 2014, Mike Watts spent £150,000 on building the Kelston toll route connecting Bristol and Bath after a landslip closed the popular A431

The damage had forced motorists to tackle a 14-mile diversion every day which journey times up from eight minutes to an hour. Months after the route closed, Mike struck up the idea while speaking to his wife and a landowner in the pub. Mike, who lives locally, then rented part of the field from farmer John Dinham and invested in Tarmac and loose gravel to build his 400m road.

The toll was even affordable with cars charged just £2 to use the shortcut while motorbikes got access for just £1.

Shortly after the new road opened, Mike told the BBC: “As we expected, people are just enjoying the fact they can go about their daily business without the 14-mile detour that they’ve been having to suffer.

“If you’ve got a 14-mile detour you’re going to spend far more than that in time and in fuel costs. It’s been very well received.”

The route welcomed its 100,000th vehicle in October 2014 but the road would close just weeks later.

When the route opened, Bath and North East Somerset Council confirmed a planning application had not been received.

The council bosses asked for “operating plans and health and safety conditions” with a proper plan sent in around September 2014, costing Mike around £25,000 in legal fees.

A decision was expected in October but councillors continue to object to the route with permission never granted.

The route was closed down in the November after the £2.6million repair work on the A431 had been completed earlier than expected.

Mike later admitted he had “lost” money on the project with an extra few days needed to properly break even.

He told the BBC: “We have lost out – a rough estimate is probably about £10,000 to £15,000 adrift. But I’m not complaining.

“It’s an absolute catch-22 situation for me because I live in Kelston, so I am pleased the A431 has reopened.

“However, because we were operating the toll road, we needed those extra few days to get our income in, so it’s a bit disappointing.”