I MUST reply to Joan Farley's letter "Not told about road plan" (Courier April 6).
I had a brief chat with Joan in Somerfield and I later learned from another that Joan had gained the impression that I said that residents had been told in advance of the new possible route for the link road.
I then contacted Joan to assure her that I had not meant to imply anything of the sort. I had no idea whether residents had been contacted individually and there was no reason for me to say they had, when Joan and her neighbours would obviously be able to confirm that they had not!
On any project such as this Council officers are continually developing their ideas and proposals. They are also in discussion with other authorities and it is often difficult to decide when plans are firm enough to be able to inform councillors where they have got to and "go public".
Your letters column on this subject seems to indicate that its open season for the conspiracy theorists who think that the new route is a "done deal".
It is most important that people realise that nothing is yet set in stone.
There is to be a further exhibition (possibly in July or September, I believe) and I know that councillors, including myself, will want to be satisfied that the route chosen achieves the necessary improvement in air quality and quality of life generally for residents of the Exeter Road end of town that we have been campaigning for over many years.
The proposed new route first came into the public domain when it was contained in a report to the County Council Executive. I don't believe that councillors knew about it until then and that is presumably how the newspapers learned about it.
As I understand it, work is going on to assess the noise, pollution and other impacts from this route and when the details are available, we will all need to consider the findings very carefully.
Residents in the east of the town are crying out for a reduction in the nuisance and health risks posed by the traffic they have had to tolerate for years. The town desperately needs an alternative route in from the Exeter direction.
We must ensure that a solution is found which achieves these objectives. Once all the research has been completed, we need to examine the options carefully before making a decision.
It would be disastrous if we cannot agree what that is because matters will only get worse if the link road is not built.
Until all the necessary information is available, I for one, reserve judgement on what will turn out to be for the best.
David Nation
Town and District Councillor for Lawrence Ward,
formerly for Boniface Ward for 12 years.
3 George Hill
Crediton
EX17 2DT