Transport improvements could soon be seen in Devon
Devon County Council are bidding to secure £100 million of Government cash to put towards five schemes
Last updated 3rd Jun 2021
A new railway station, a new cycle trail, and three long-awaited highways schemes are to be put forward in a bid to get nearly £100m of Government cash.
Devon County Council’s cabinet, when they meet next Wednesday, are recommended to give approval for the council to work with the relevant district councils to submit bids to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.
The Government’s Levelling Up Fund was announced at the 2020 Spending Review to support communities in order to regenerate town centres, enable investment in cultural facilities or upgrade local transport infrastructure.
A programme of schemes in Devon have been identified which cover a range of transport modes and spread the bids over a wide geography, with each scheme demonstrating a net gain in biodiversity, a reduction in carbon and air quality improvements.
The five schemes identified are:
- Okehampton – new rail station & transport hub
- Cullompton – Town Centre Relief Road
- Exmouth – Completion of Dinan Way and town centre improvements
- Teign Estuary Trail and associated cycle links
- Lee Mill – Slip road and associated local improvements
"All the schemes will have a valid permission which will demonstrate a net gain in biodiversity, a reduction in carbon and air quality improvements. There is a wide range of schemes including a rail station, two strategic multi-use trails and highway schemes aimed at reducing the impact of traffic on sensitive residential areas and town centres."
Dave Black - Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment
The total cost of the programme is approximately £92m, the report says, which would include £74.3m in capital grant from Government, £12m from other contributions and a contribution of £5.7m from Devon County Council.
OKEHAMPTON
Working with West Devon Borough Council, a bid for a West Devon Transport Hub in Okehampton will be submitted.
The transport hub will include a new rail station – Okehampton Parkway – close to the emerging development and the junction off the A30 to the east of Okehampton.
Devon County Council currently owns the necessary land and the hub will include facilities for bus connections, cycle facilities and electric vehicle charging at the car park. The aim is to provide an interchange for Okehampton and the rural hinterland stretching up to Holsworthy, Hatherleigh and North Cornwall, which currently has poor connectivity to the national rail network.
CULLOMPTON
Working with Mid Devon District Council, a bid for funding for the Cullompton Town Centre Relief Road will be submitted.
The relief road will enable traffic to be removed from the High Street therefore improving air quality and enabling further regeneration of the historic core of Cullompton, and was granted planning permission in January 2021.
Mid Devon District Council have secured £10m in funding from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, but this is considered insufficient taking into account the high cost of land acquisition, mitigation work related to relocation of sports facilities, pedestrian/cycle facilities and construction costs.
EXMOUTH
Working with East Devon District Council, a package bid which includes the Dinan Way extension will be submitted.
Dinan Way currently forms a partial ring road around Exmouth, but it lacks the final connection to the A376, and as a result, traffic from Dinan Way has to use unsuitable residential road, and furthermore, goods vehicles accessing the Liverton Business Park, surrounding employment & retail area and the road to Budleigh Salterton are signed to travel through residential areas and past the school on the periphery of the town centre.
The Dinan Way extension proposals, which secured planning permission in 2017, will provide an improved pedestrian/cycle connection to the Exe Estuary multi-use trail and has potential for better bus services to Exeter.
This will form part of a wider bid covering Exmouth, with other proposals focusing on the regeneration of the town centre, including interventions utilising district owned land to enhance the existing town centre assets which could include new mobility opportunities, better accessibility and wayfinding and leisure and cultural attractions.
TEIGN ESTUARY TRAIL
Working with Teignbridge District Council, a bid for the Teign Estuary Trail between Newton Abbot and Teignmouth would be submitted.
Development work on the trail is progressing well and a planning application is due to be submitted imminently, while Teignbridge are also looking at other schemes to link cycle and pedestrian facilities with the new multi-use trail.
It is proposed that the scheme will not be included in the first tranche of LUF bids as a scheme with planning permission, associated mitigation and costs estimates would demonstrate it is deliverable.
LEE MILL
Devon County Council will submit a bid for a new Lee Mill eastbound slip road, a bus gate on the existing A38 slip road and improvements for cyclists/pedestrians.
The proposals would provide a new A38 eastbound off-slip at Lee Mill which would connect vehicles exiting the A38 to the industrial estate and village, whilst avoiding unnecessary trips through Lee Mill Village.
The new slip road would leave the elevated A38 and descend towards a new roundabout, providing a tie-in with the existing local road network, which the existing slip road would be stopped up, with access along Plymouth Road retained but returned to an appropriate function, and approval to proceed towards outline design and the planning permission stage was granted by cabinet in February.
The scheme may not be included in the first tranche of LUF bids as a scheme with planning permission, associated mitigation and costs estimates would demonstrate it is deliverable.
The cabinet, when they meet on June 9, are recommended to submit the schemes for Okehampton, Cullompton and Exmouth to the Levelling Up Fund. The Teign Estuary Trail and potentially Lee Mill will be included in the next Tranche of bids, the recommendation of officers says.