Government approves Newton Abbot to Torquay Link Road orders
By newtonnews | Monday, December 05, 2011, 11:40
The South Devon Link Road has received further backing from the Government, reaching another key milestone.
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The present Newton Abbot - Torbay traffic.
The Secretary of State for Transport has confirmed the Compulsory Purchase Orders and Side Road Orders which were subject to a Public Inquiry in July 2009, and The Department for Transport has confirmed that the Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening has accepted the recommendations of the Inspector.
In his report, Planning Inspector Jack Moffett said: "To my mind, any adverse impacts, which would be limited, would be far outweighed by the significant benefits that the Scheme would bring. It is my view that the Scheme is very much in the public interest and should be allowed to proceed."
Devon County Council, Torbay Council and Teignbridge District Council have all welcomed the latest news.
Councillor Jeremy Christophers, Leader of Teignbridge District Council said:
"Slow and painstaking has been the best description of progress on the South Devon Link Road for both road users and promoters of the new road. Thank goodness that now, through some really effective cross-party work and commitment from all sides, we're seeing the bureaucracy bottleneck ease up and the scheme move forward.
"The view of the Inspector and Secretary of State reinforces the scheme, which will be a tremendous economic boost and a relief to many motorists, especially around the Penn Inn Roundabout. This is great news for Newton Abbot."
The design and build construction contract is expected to be awarded in March 2012, with work due to start on site in October 2012 and completed by December 2015.
Comments
I'm please because hopefully it will end the hours I've spent sitting in traffic on the Newton Abbot. Nothing more annoying than when you fly down the motorway from north but then get held up getting from Newton Abbot to Torquay. And I know it's just as bad going the other way. I do think it's a shame though that some of the countryside will be affected. Not sure if there's any happy medium on this one.
By bigsteve2009 at 15:45 on 06/12/11
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