WORK on the new Nexus 25 business site near Taunton is expected to start in 2020 alongside an upgrade of junction 25 of the M5.

Henry Boot Developments is bringing forward the employment site on the eastern side of the motorway, located near Taunton Gateway park and ride and the A358 leading to Ilminster.

The site could eventually include a school, a hotel and health centre, as well as providing office space and being home to an innovation hub for businesses.

The site will gradually be developed as more businesses express an interest in being based there.

As part of the Junction 25 upgrade – which was approved in December 2018 – Somerset County Council will construct a new roundabout near the park and ride site, which will link up with both the M5 and the A358.

Once this new roundabout has been put in place, Henry Boot’s contractors will construct a spur road leading off from it which will connect the site up to both routes.

Julian Painter, who heads up the company’s Bristol Office, confirmed that this work would be undertaken during the upgrade of Junction 25, which is set to take up to two years.

He said: “We are currently working on detailed designs, with the contract for the works to be awarded in January 2020.

“We have a great deal of experience delivering infrastructure works, with the utmost attention being paid to minimising disruption as much as possible.

“We will consider a variety of options for the completion of the work, which will ‘dovetail’ the junction upgrades.”

The A358 is set to be dualled between Taunton and Ilminster, with Highways England expected to announce the preferred route of the new road by the end of June.

Whichever route is selected, it will involve the creation of a new junction on the M5 – but the layout of the Nexus 25 site will not change.

Mr Painter confirmed: “We don’t expect the layout or access to the site to change.”

The Nexus 25 site is subject to a local development order (LDO), which allows a local authority – in this case Somerset West and Taunton Council – to speed up the planning process.

The LDO specifies what kind of development is permitted on a given site, and means construction of each new building or phase can begin more quickly, provided that all conditions surrounding the use of the land and access to it are met.

Mendip District Council placed a separate LDO on the Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet in April 2018 to allow the creation of an enterprise area for local firms.

Mr Painter said the Nexus 25 site was not designed to take businesses away from prominent locations in Taunton town centre.

He said: “Nexus 25 will provide offices, manufacturing space, an innovation hub and potentially a health centre, plus a school and a hotel, which are all distinct services separate from those offered in town centres.

“This is an important development for Taunton, given its capacity to

secure inward investment, raise the skill base in the area and create up to 3,000 new jobs.”