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Search forHILLSIDE ROUTE FOR NEW TOWN LINK ROAD
Tuesday, December 02, 2008, 08:59
Councillors agreed to work up a planning application for the hillside route — rather than a £10m valley alternative — following widespread support for the cheaper option at a public consultation exercise in Crediton in September.
An air quality action plan has identified the need for a new link road to cut pollution and relieve traffic congestion in the Exeter Road area of the town.
After detailed criticism of its plans by Crediton Traffic Action Group (CTAG), supermarket giant Tesco pledged to contribute £2m towards the cost of the road as part of the deal to allow it to build a superstore at Wellparks, where work is due to start in January.
The former chair of CTAG, Judi Binks, welcomed the county council's decision, but warned it would be a hollow victory if air quality levels were to worsen and traffic congestion increase as a result.
Out of more than 500 consultation responses from residents and businesses in Crediton, 60 per cent supported the hillside route and only 36 per cent favoured the valley option.
The town council, the Environment Agency, English Heritage and landowners Downes House also all expressed their preference for the hillside route.
The new link road would leave the A377 between Station Cross and Downes Lodge and join Commonmarsh Lane opposite its junction with Marsh Lane.
This route could join the new roundabout to be built on the A377 as part of the Tesco development.
The hillside route was found to provide greater benefits on removing traffic, and in particular diverting lorries away from Exeter Road, than the valley route.
This would not only reduce air and noise pollution for residents, but also cut journey times for hauliers heading from the east of Crediton.
The executive also agreed to consider a variation of the hillside option proposed by the Downes Estate, and to carry out a further study into the traffic impact on surrounding roads.
Cllr Margaret Rogers, the county council's executive member for environment, said: "I think we have to pay tribute to the patient and determined persuasion of (Crediton Rural county councillor) Nick Way. I believe that the proposed scheme would meet many of the concerns of the people of Crediton."
Cllr Way said: "On behalf of people in Crediton, I would like to say how pleased we all are that Crediton has a traffic-relief scheme that is reaching the planning stage. Although some people would prefer a bypass, that has proven to be very difficult to deliver for the area. Residents in the area around Exeter Road and East Street in particular have suffered quite a lot over the years from high traffic volumes and the link road will help to reduce these levels."
Mrs Binks hoped the new link road would more than compensate for the extra traffic generated by the Tesco development.
She said: "It was scientific evidence produced by Dr John Boyle, Dr Alistair Manning and other expert members of CTAG that challenged effectively Tesco's initial claims that the impact of the store development would be minimal and would not require a contribution towards a link road.
"It was shortly after this that Tesco came up with the £2m towards a link road.
"At the very least, one can exclaim that at last something is to be done about Crediton's road situation."
The new link road could join at an extra roundabout to be built on the southern edge of the town as part of Tesco's development at Wellparks
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