COMMUNITIES on the edge of Taunton are set to be left out in the cold if council plans to cut back on the gritting network get the thumbs up next week.

Villages on the outskirts of the town have branded the planned cutbacks ‘disastrous’ and ‘disgusting’.

Somerset County Council is proposing to cut precautionary gritting routes – where roads are gritted in advance of wintry weather – from 23 to 16 as it strives to save £15million by 2020.

If the changes are approved by the council’s cabinet on September 12, many roads across Somerset will be deleted from the programme.

The council admits young people getting to school, pregnant women and the elderly are all likely to be particularly affected by the changes.

Among the villages set to be cut off are North Curry, Ruishton, Creech St Michael and Trull.

Tina Stodgell, chairman of North Curry Parish Council, said: “This would impact us hugely. It is not just us, it is Stoke St Gergory as well, because all their cars have to come through North Curry.

“It will be horrendous. We won’t be able to get out of the village at all.

“My reaction is one of horror, of shock. I am pretty much disgusted.

“They will probably come along and say if we pay for it ourselves then we can have it, but then we are being double taxed. We pay already, the same as everyone else.

“We can’t afford to pay for it, it is ridiculous. We are taking on a lot of things already.

“I don’t understand them. They keep putting more houses in villages like North Curry, which means more drivers, and then they aren’t going to provide a safe route for them.

“It is horrendous, and they forced these houses on us. There has been a lot in a very short amount of time.”

Another village which will left isolated if it snows is Stoke St Gregory.

Nick Sloan, chairman of the parish council, said: “I think it would be fairly disastrous.

“I don’t know if it is one of those services that county is looking to give back to the parish councils, but it would be very difficult for us to take it on.

“It would be a terrible thing for us to lose.

“We are responsible for salting some hotspots like hills, but we couldn’t take on the full gritting.

“Getting on the main road back towards Taunton is vital for our village.”

The council has said that it will continue to grit key strategic and county routes – such as the A30, A38, A39 and A358 – as well as key freight routes and links to emergency stations.

However, it is proposing to no longer grit roads to settlements which are 500 feet or more above sea level, roads which lead into adjoining counties, and school links between urban and rural areas.

Anthony Kent, chairman of Trull Parish Council added: “If they do decide to do this, then it is of great concern to us.

“We sometimes have very heavy traffic here with being on the route to Queen’s College.

“There are also concerns with Compass Hill which is a tricky road when it is cold and icy already.”

Around £1.4million in savings is set to come from the council’s highways budgets.

This includes reducing the road safety budget, funding for maintenance of drains and gullies, and terminating the council’s planned hedge cutting in favour of a reactive approach.