PM asked to back declaration of road safety emergency on A38 in Cornwall
Safe 38 has written an open letter to Boris Johnson, calling for the option of a dual carriageway bypass to be put back on the table
Last updated 5th Jul 2021
Campaigners have declared a road safety emergency on Cornwall's A38 and called for the Prime Minister's backing.
Safe 38 has written an open letter to Boris Johnson, after a string of fatal and serious injury crashes.
The group says the stretch between Trerulefoot and Saltash is no longer fit for purpose.
It wants to see the option for a dual carriageway bypass put back on the table and is calling on the PM to take action now.
Safe 38 says the money found for improvements at Cornwall Airport Newquay ahead of the G7 and to send people into space is proof that money can also be found to improve the A38.
They have already written to Cornwall's MPs and councillors and now want Downing Street to take action.
What does the letter to the Prime Minister say?
Dear Prime Minister,
We hope your recent journey to Cornwall for the G7 was good. You came by air along with other G7 leaders attending the summit. You might well have also used the A30 but considering how precious your time is, possibly not. One thing, we are sure we know, is that you wouldn't have chosen to come via the A38 through South East Cornwall. But for most of us living here - using the A38 is not a choice but a daily necessity. Yet this road has a terrible safety record which impacts most on the people that live here.
A road that has a killed and seriously injured rate over 3 times the national average for a road of its type, which operates over capacity leading to chronic congestion, cutting communities in half, with toxic air quality in Tideford, impassable to the tallest vehicles, liable to heavy flooding, steep inclines and extreme bends and regular unplanned closures. One would be hard pressed to find another section of the Strategic Road Network that is in such desperate need of investment due to the myriad of deficiencies with it.
So, we are writing to you today because we need your help to avert a disaster. We want to ensure that the residents of Cornwall and its visitors get the infrastructure investment that is required and not a cheaper less than ideal solution. And to that end, we, the Safe38 committee are Declaring a Road Safety Emergency on our stretch of the A38 from Saltash to Trerulefoot.
It is not fit for purpose as a road that is part of the strategic road network, and the current plans to address the problem fall well short of what is needed. Highways England themselves have said that a dual carriageway bypass as planned in the 1990s would be the ideal solution however they are not able to put that forward as an option to the public to be consulted on in 2022 as the Department for Transport have defined the project in such a way that prohibits this.
As the 2018 A38 Case for Action showed, a new dual carriageway bypass would massively contribute to boosting the local and regional economy to the tune of £900m in induced economic growth securing livelihoods, and will slash the collision rate saving the most amount of lives.
You have said recently that the investment your Government is making will benefit 'all corners' of our great country and that funding needs to be levelled up. The current scope of the RIS3 pipeline project does not appear to do this.
So now, more than ever, SE Cornwall needs the right investment in our infrastructure in order to ensure a safe, prosperous and healthy future for generations to come. In a time where £millions is being spent in Cornwall to send people into space, we think it’s high time that our entire strategic road network for our daily commute is just as future-proofed as our route into space.
Yours most respectfully,
James Millidge, Chair of Safe38 and the Safe38 Committee
Linda Davidson, Gerith Eden, Tim Fleckney, Steve Jackson, David Landers, Sarah Martin
Chair of the Safe38 group James Millidge said: "We have written to our local Cornwall MPs, and our local town and parish councils. Now we need the Prime Minister to understand fully the issues with this road, and why we have no choice but to declare a Road Safety Emergency on the section of the A38 between Saltash and Trerulefoot.
"The case for action on the A38 showed that a new dual carriageway bypass would contribute to boosting the local and regional economy to the tune of £900m in induced economic growth securing livelihoods, and will slash the collision rate saving the most amount of lives.
"Surely the residents of Cornwall and its visitors deserve better than the current scope of proposals which only hints at sections of single carriageway bypasses and no dual carriageway at all. It does not represent a levelling up and does not appear to be building back better.
"We know that building new car parking spaces at Newquay airport to the tune of £7.8m in time for the G7 summit was treated as 'project speed' by this government, so where there's a will, there's a way.
"We are asking the Prime Minster to support us in this bid to get a dual carriageway option back on the table".
The group says proposals from Highways England that have been discussed within council stakeholders groups have so far ruled out this option in the pipeline projects to be consulted on in 2022 despite officers from Highways England themselves saying it would be the best solution.
James Millidge added: "In a fortuitous introduction to the now Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the delivery of the Case for Action on the A38 to Westminster in October 2018, he stated to the group that he fully supports the need for investment in the A38.
"That investment is now vital for this stretch of road. We know it will take many years to develop plans to get a dual carriageway delivered but we must push for the best solution and we must push for that now".
Chair of Safe 38, James Millidge