What is being proposed?

The plans are to create a 5km, two lane dual carriageway between Penn Inn and the Torbay Ring Road at Kerswell Gardens.

Starting just before the Penn Inn roundabout, a flyover would take traffic onto a dual carriageway,

created by widening the existing road until Aller. The road then swings west before proceeding in a southerly direction to bypass Kingskerswell, joining the Torbay Ring Road west of Kerswell Gardens.

The Government’s challenge to reduce costsThe scheme was forecast to cost £121m, but as the Government spending review took effect last year, all transport schemes under consideration were asked to look for savings.

Engineers at Devon County Council and Torbay Council reviewed the proposals and concluded that the scheme could be rolled out in stages, to reduce the immediate cost and spread the spending

over a longer period. This will not change or lessen the benefits of the scheme – there will still be gains from the very start, but it will mean that not all the work will be done at the same time.

As a result, the immediate cost of the scheme has been reduced to £110m, although Devon and Torbay will have to contribute more through a variety of funding packages.

So what has changed?

At Penn Inn, the new bridge over the roundabout would be narrower. Losing this extra width will save a significant sum, but it will not materially change the way the road operates.

The Aller Junction is being reconfigured to reduce its immediate cost. As there are alternative ways to access the new road, two new slip roads and the Aller Link Road would be built at a later date.

At Edginswell Junction, the dualling that was planned for the road at this point would also be built at a later date, also reducing the immediate cost of the scheme.

Finally, omitting the metre wide hard strips has reduced the width of the road construction. This change also means that the 50mph speed limit will be extended from Aller through to Edginswell.

New jobs, new local opportunities134,000 people live in Torbay, but these numbers swell dramatically during the tourist seasons, making the roads even more crowded. Tourism is a key part of Torbay’s economy, with nearly 17% of all jobs in the tourist industry, so a good transport network is vital.

The scheme will create the right environment for local businesses to thrive, which will have a knock on

effect across the tourism and retail sectors. As a result, the new road could create an additional 7,960 jobs across Devon and Torbay. Around 3,500 of these jobs would be in Torbay, with around 750 being in the tourist sector.

With the increase in employment, this will bring another £125m per year into Torbay’s economy, which will transform the area.

Land Management

With such a large scale project, it has also been important to ensure that the visual impact of the road is minimised as far as possible.

Careful use has been made of the contours of the land, creating artificial cuttings where necessary to screen the new route from houses and viewpoints.

Costs

2010 Cost of scheme £121m

Department for Transport contribution £108m

2011 Cost of current scheme £110m

Department for Transport contribution £76m

Devon County Council contribution £17m

Torbay Council contribution £17m

What happens next?

The scheme is in a development pool competing against 45 other schemes for a share of £630m. The total value of all the schemes is around £900m so it’s clear that not all of them will be successful.

A new final business case is being produced at the moment, which will be submitted by 9 September 2011. A decision on the successful schemes is expected by Christmas. If the scheme was granted permission to proceed by

the Secretary of State, construction could start in 2012 and the road could be in operation by December 2015.

However, we have lots to do in the meantime. We have reduced our costs significantly without compromising the effectiveness of the scheme. There are clear economic, social and environmental benefits. So now the road needs your support!

How to help

We need to show the Ministers making the decision that this is the best option. The case has to demonstrate that this is best for the area, that it has the backing of the community and so the money should be spent here, on this road.

There will be some that disagree, and the same process applies. Writing to the Minister and MPs will be very important in either case.

You can help make the case for

the road by writing to the Minister responsible for making the decision and to our MPs. Their details are on the newsletter – ask staff for a copy.

The more detail you can give about the difference a new road will make, the more effective the letter will be. MPs and Ministers get thousands of letters each day, so it’s important to make it stand out and make it personal.

Thank you very much for your help.

More information

For more information please visit our website:

www.southdevonlinkroad.co.uk or email: sdlr@coastmarcoms.co.uk

or contact: Paul Ewings at

Matford Offices Devon County Council County Hall Topsham Road Exeter EX2 4QW