£10 MILLION LINK ROAD PROPOSED

9.29.53pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 4th Aug 2008

Crediton Liberal Democrats are delighted with the progress that County Councillor Nick Way and the Liberal Democrat County Council administration have at last made with a proposal to bring long-awaited traffic relief to the town.

A link road from the busy A377 into the Lords Meadow Industrial Estate will remove hundreds of HGVs from the notoriously narrow Exeter Road/East Street/Mill Street residential areas of the town. If the project goes ahead, it is likely to represent the largest single investment that any public authority has ever made within the town and area. The estimated cost of two possible routes are up to £10 million for the Valley Route or £7 million for the Hillside route.

As long ago as 1996, the Liberal Democrats obtained funding for air quality monitoring in the town and these revealed unacceptably high levels of pollution.

When elected to the County Council in 2005, Cllr Way successfully pressed for traffic relief to be included in the County's Local Transport Plan. This led the County to release £120,000 for the link road feasibility study just concluded.

Cllr David Nation and Cllr Nick Way have represented the town on Mid Devon District Council for over 13 years and campaigned throughout for a scheme to reduce through traffic.

David said "Local residents have been campaigning for over 50 years for a new road and are to be congratulated for keeping up the pressure. Over the last three years that Nick has been our County Councillor, he has lobbied continuously for the Council to actively search for solutions and the today's news is the result. At long last the chronic problems of traffic hazards and pollution are being seriously addressed. Residents will now be consulted on the two possible routes. If the cheaper route through the hill is preferred, I am confident that Nick's efforts mean that the new road will be built.

"Not before time, local residents will see a vast improvement in their environment This is great news for Crediton."