Summary of responses to the West Somerset Lagoon Consultation

Background

The public consultation opened on 16 January 2026 and closed on 2 April 2026. It was widely publicised locally both online and physically and was available on the West Somerset Lagoon website. In all, 625 responses were received with respondents from a broad section geographically as shown in the graph below:

The survey asked respondents to give their comments on the following questions:

1. Were you familiar with the West Somerset Lagoon Project before reading this consultation material?

2. What is your initial reaction to the proposals overall?

3. Which potential community benefits do you feel are most important? (Select all that apply)

4. Which proposed facilities would you be most likely to support?

5. Given that all the large components of the Lagoon will be delivered by sea direct to the o shore site, do you have concerns about tra ic on land during the construction phase?

6. What particular improvements to local roads or transport links would you like considered?

7. To what extent do you support the project moving to the next stage of development?

It also asked for any other comments.

Overall awareness and support

The respondents had a reasonable level of familiarity with the project in general as shown in the table below:

Understandably the levels of support from the initial reaction to supporting the project moving to the next stage of development were similar (note:5=Extremely Supportive; 1=Not supportive):

This shows that the majority supported the project moving forward (63.1% 4 or 5) versus a strong minority against (29.6% 1 or 2) with a small percentage neutral.

Of the strong minority against, the predominant concern was relating to tra ic with 112 (88% of respondents) placing a “1” against both the above questions and a “5” against their level of concern about tra ic during the construction phase. Of this category, 83 (55%) came from Minehead (out of 235 responses, so 35% of the Minehead responses) with reasons cited as concerns over infrastructure (especially roads), siltation and the e ect the project will have on the locality in terms of views, existing amenities and peacefulness. A further 25 (17%) come from Watchet (out of 103 responses, so 24% of Watchet responses) with principal concerns being around siltation and road infrastructure.

Community benefits

​When asked about the community benefits, 578 respondents cited some benefit with only 48 (8%) citing none.

Of the community benefits, the two highest were Clean Renewable Energy and Coastal Protection, closely followed by Job creation with Tourism and Leisure and Improved Transport links receiving good support.

In terms of the specific amenities, there was strong support for the ferry link to Wales, the promenade with its shops and restaurants and for the marine diversity islands. There was meaningful support for the other amenities which given that di erent respondents inevitably had di erent interests shows good general support for the scheme as a whole.

Traffic

As mentioned in the introduction, there is meaningful concern about tra ic disruption both during construction and afterwards. Some 44% of respondents were Very Concerned (5 below) or Concerned (4 below) about tra ic impacts during construction of the scheme.

In comments, this concern was extended to congestion afterwards given that the road network is already strained, particularly during Butlin’s changeover days and if there are accidents and most have experienced significant disruption during the recent roadworks to introduce tra ic lights at Dunster. In addition the B3191 between Watchet and Blue Anchor is also closed.

In terms of suggested improvements, those who indicated concern had fairly consistent suggestions for the necessary road improvements (which were also reflected in suggestions of those who has less levels of concern):

The most significant area of concern was around the A39 Bridgewater to Minehead road which has been highly congested and very slow for years followed by a desire to have a direct train link to Taunton from Minehead both to reduce stress on the local road network but also to keep transport solutions in keeping with the ecologically friendly nature of the Lagoon scheme. There was also strong support for the reopening of the road between Watchet and Blue Anchor and, for those local to it, appropriate consideration to the impact on Quay Street in Minehead.

Other Comments

There were a significant number of other comments, both positive and negative.

Positive responses generally focused on the opportunity to regenerate the area with the positive long term investment and economic benefits of that.

Negative responses tended to focus on transport, environmental impacts and the unsuitability of the local area for such a large infrastructure project, suggesting it should be considered elsewhere.

Questions were also raised about siltation, given the experience of Watchet Harbour.

West Somerset Lagoon Comment

The Board of West Somerset Lagoon wishes to thank all those who responded to the survey. The responses were thoughtful and raised a number of very valid concerns whilst recognising the potential of the scheme for the local area.

It is clear from the responses that there is broad support for the scheme albeit that there is significant concern particularly with respect to the impact on transport infrastructure.

In considering our detailed plans for the scheme the Board wishes to reassure all respondents that their feedback will be taken into account.

It should also be noted that this consultation is the start of a process which will provide many other opportunities for Community engagement as we progress the project.