A303 Sparkford to Ilchester
We’re upgrading a three-mile section of the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester, to make the road safer and more reliable. The delivery of this scheme is part of a long term aim to create a high-quality dual carriage way link between London and the South East and the South West.
Project information
Visit our A303 Sparkford to Ilchester feedback tool to have your say. The tool includes an interactive map. You can click on a location to make a specific comment, or give us your general feedback.
ECHO is a one-way feedback tool, so if you’d like a response to your feedback you can email the project team at: A303SparkfordtoIlchesterDualling@highwaysengland.co.uk
You can also find out more about the project and upcoming our closures by visiting our virtual exhibition.
The A303/A358 corridor is a vital connection between the South West and London and the South East.
While much of the corridor is a dual carriageway, there are still over 35 miles of single carriageway. These sections act as congestion bottlenecks, particularly in the summer months and at weekends, causing delays to road users, and they add to an increased risk of accidents.
We're proposing to dual a three-mile single carriageway section between Sparkford and Ilchester. On an average day the road carries 23,500 vehicles, but numbers increase significantly in the summer, particularly at weekends making journeys unreliable and unpredictable. This scheme will reduce congestion, improve journey times and make our network safer for customers.
The new dualled section will start east of Podimore Roundabout and will follow the alignment of the existing A303 to Downhead. Travelling eastwards, it then moves north of the existing A303 single carriageway, allowing the existing road to be kept for use as a local road in this section.
The route then rises up West Camel Hill before crossing over the existing A303 at the junction with Steart Hill/Howell Hill. It then takes a southerly alignment before meeting up with the existing road again to pass between Vale Farm and the MOD signal station at Eyewell/Traits Land.
Finally, the route bypasses the existing Hazlegrove Roundabout to the north through the Registered Park and Garden associated with Hazlegrove House, before tying into the existing A303 Sparkford Bypass.
In delivering the scheme, we’re aiming to:
- improve the capacity of the road to reduce delays and queues that occur during peak hours and at key times of the year i.e. the height of summer.
- support economic growth, facilitating growth in jobs and housing by providing a free-flowing and reliable connection between the South East and the South West
- make the road safer, by providing additional capacity and reducing driver stress. We’ll make routes safer for pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders in the area.
- protect the environment and look for opportunities to improve it, minimising any unnecessary impact of the scheme on the surrounding natural and historic environment and landscape.
- work with local communities to reduce the impact of the road on a sense of community severance, and look for ways to improve local peoples’ quality of life
- make journey times more reliable and resilient, by providing more capacity it will become easier to manage traffic when incidents occur.
Documents
A303 Sparkford September 2022 newsletter
A303 Sparkford May 2021 newsletter
A303 Sparkford June 2020 newsletter
A303 Sparkford autumn 2019 newsletter
Regional Designated Funds newsletter - autumn 2019
A303 Sparkford summer 2019 newsletter
A303 Sparkford summer 2018 newsletter
A303 Sparkford spring 2018 newsletter
A303/A358 autumn 2016 newsletter
Survey Fact Sheets - Introduction
Survey Fact Sheets - Noise
Survey Fact Sheets - Agriculture, Soils and Land
Survey Fact Sheets - Ecology
Survey Fact Sheets - Air Quality
Survey Fact Sheets - Archaeology
Survey Fact Sheets - Water Ecology
Survey Fact Sheets - Ground conditions (Geotechnical)
Environmental Statement - Non-Technical Summary
Environmental Statement - Addendum
Environmental Statement - Addendum Appendix A Section 1
Environmental Statement - Addendum Appendix A Section 2
Environmental Statement - Addendum Appendix B Section 1
Environmental Statement - Addendum Appendix B Section 2
Environmental Statement - Addendum Appendix B Section 3
Environmental Statement - Addendum Appendix B Section 4
The Development Consent Order (DCO) process was established by the Planning Act 2008 and is used for certain large and complex schemes (including highway improvements) that have been designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) by the Government.
The Secretary of State for Transport granted the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the A303 Sparkford to Ilchester dualling scheme on 29 January 2021. Links to key DCO documentation can be found below:
- Examining Authority’s report and recommendations to the Secretary of State for Transport
- Secretary of State for Transport’s decision letter and statement of reasons
- Development Consent Order as made by the Secretary of State for Transport
You can view our full Development Consent Order application on the Planning Inspectorate website.
This includes documents identified under Article 43 and Schedule 9 of our Development Consent Order, which have been certified as true copies by the Secretary of State.
Development Consent Order – Requirements Register
Requirements are conditions that have been included in the DCO, which control how the project must be implemented (constructed and maintained). Implementing the DCO in accordance with these conditions involves completing consultation and approval processes that have been defined in the DCO. These processes are referred to here and in the DCO as “discharging” the requirements.
This Requirements Register is a live document and will be updated as the process to discharge the requirements progresses.
The latest version will always be published below:
View the Requirements Register.
This register will be maintained for three years following completion of the project. The register sets out:
- each requirement
- whether the requirement needs approval by the Secretary of State (or other duty holder)
- whether any approval has been applied for or given
General Vesting Declaration documents
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.1 Plan (unsigned)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.1 Plan (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.1 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.1 (unsigned)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.2 Plan (unsigned)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.2 Plan (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.2 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.2 (unsigned)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.3 Plan (unsigned)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.3 Plan (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.3 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.3 (unsigned)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.4 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.4
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.5 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.5
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.6 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.6
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.7 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.7
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.8 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.8
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.9 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.9
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.10 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.10
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.11 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.11
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.12 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.12
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration No.13 (signed)
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester General Vesting Declaration Plan No.13
Related Road projects

Traffic information
Information about scheduled roadworks and events on our motorways and major roads.X
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