Changes are being made to one of Taunton’s park and ride sites to make it harder for travellers to gain access and camp there.

The Gateway site near Junction 25 of the M5 has become home to travellers on a number of occasions in the last 12 months, with Somerset County Council having to pay thousands of pounds in legal costs to remove them and to clear up mess and damage left behind.

The council has put new measures in place to make it harder for unauthorised vehicles and personnel to access the site as work to upgrade the motorway junction continues.

It is also investigating at whether a more permanent solution is needed in the months and years ahead.

The Gateway site, like its Silk Mills counterpart, is run by the county council and operated by FirstBus – but is currently being funded on a short-term basis by Somerset West and Taunton Council while a more viable and permanent funding arrangement can be put in place.

The district council agreed in late-July to allocate £115,000 towards keeping the service running until March 2020, along with £20,000 to explore how the service can be commercially sustainable in the long run.

Councillor Mike Rigby, portfolio holder for planning and transportation, told the executive on July 23 that work was being done at the Gateway site “as part of the Junction 25 work” to stop caravans from accessing the area.

Junction 25 is currently being upgraded over a period of two years to increase capacity in Taunton’s road and open up the Nexus 25 employment site near the A358.

A county council spokesman said: “We have put in place some temporary measures to make it harder for travellers to access the Gateway park and ride site, and are looking at a permanent solution.”

The council subsequently elaborated the measures were “physical features to block access”, but would not divulge the specific nature of these features.

An update on the future funding of the park and ride is expected to come before the district council’s executive before the end of the year.