NOW that I have seen the actual plans for the third, more westerly, route for the relief road I have complete sympathy for the residents on the east side of Exeter Road.
The proposed road does appear to be too near their back gardens to be acceptable. The road has to be either deeper or cut more into the hillside so that the sound impact of the road is significantly reduced from that planned.
The council should spend more money to ensure that the quality of life of those residents are not unduly affected, especially as it is those very same people that the link road was meant to benefit!
If the road was cut further into the hill it would not only be further away from the houses and allow a bigger bank to be created; it would also allow more of the orchard and allotments to be preserved.
It probably would still be cheaper than either of the other options.
The options currently on the table only partially satisfy the need to reduce pollution in Crediton. The pollution levels along the High Street will be unaffected and the number of vehicles removed from Exeter Road will not be maximised.
A better (albeit more expensive) scheme would be to branch the road from the A377 further out from Crediton and bring it into the Industrial Estate on the eastern side of the hill.
If the final solution is too buried in compromise and restricted it will ultimately serve no one well.
Alistair Manning
Crediton
by email