https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.com/he/a303-sparkford-to-ilchester/

The A303 is the most direct main route between the south east and the south west. Tens of thousands of people use the road every day, including tourists on their way to some of the nation’s favorite holiday destinations.

But for now the road is not great at getting people from A to B. It is regularly congested and is frustrating for motorists who try to avoid tailbacks by diverting onto unsuitable local roads. This makes life hard for local communities too.

The aim is for Highways England to transform the route into an expressway, a new type of strategic road which is as safe and reliable as a motorway and where ‘mile-a-minute’ journeys are the norm.

Although both proposed routes will have a detrimental impact on our farm; Option 2 stands head and shoulders above the other in terms of the devastation on the rare ecology, natural environment and landscape. We are proud of our British countryside and have invested decades of time and effort into protecting it by maintaining and developing habitats for native plants and animals, maintaining footpaths and bridleways, protecting our watercourses and helping our birds to survive the winter months by planting numerous acres of specific plants that keep them fed all winter such as sunflowers, quinoa and triticale

We have been the custodians of this countryside for over 50 years and have nurtured our habitats to allow species to thrive in changing weather conditions. Our conservation efforts have culminated in going further than we ever believed possible, and have resulted in such broad, diverse habitats that we are now home to numerous Local, National and Internationally protected "Red List Species", such as both White Letter and Brown Hairstreak Butterflies, Greater Butterfly and Green Winged Orchids, migratory Bittern which stop off at our Medieval Pond in our Scheduled Saxon Monument, to name but a few. All of this wonderful ecology will be permanently destroyed if the new, much-needed dual carriageway is sent through our farm.

Please support us in providing your feedback to Highways England via their survey here which is open until 28th March 2017. Option 1 is a shorter route, built upon widening the existing highway, and avoiding this indescribably important ecologically diverse farmland.

Help us to ensure we can continue to manage the environment to maintain the very things we cherish and provide as much feedback as you can in response to Questions 5 and 10 which will assist Highways England in determining the business case for the preferred route.