PEOPLE power has put seven West Devon towns and villages back on the map. The victory follows major alterations to the Merrymeet junction — the new look layout meant Chagford, Drewsteignton, North Tawton, South Zeal, Spreyton, Sticklepath and Whiddon Down were left unsigned from the A30. The loss of signs cost residents and visitors many hours and gallons of petrol as drivers missed the A382 turn-off and had to continue on as far as Okehampton. And it cost local businesses thousands of pounds in lost trade —Paul Lucas, landlord of the Oxenham Arms in South Zeal, estimated his profits fell by more than £12,000 from the time the village lost its road sign. In response to the villages' plight, parish councils in the area launched letter-writing campaigns to the Highways Agency in Bristol. The letters led to a meeting at Whiddon Down, at which representatives from the parish councils, the Dartmoor Tourist Association, Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council met the Highways Agency and the designers of the junction. Chagford parish councillor Terry Bleakman was at the meeting, at which the distribution of place names on new signs off the east and westbound carriageways of the A30 was decided jointly. He said: 'It wasn't at all confrontational and by the end of the meeting everybody there was pleased with the outcome.' New signs, with the missing names on them, will be added to the junction in time for the Whitsun bank holiday — though not in time for Easter or May Day. Mr Bleakman said the Highways Agency had commented at the meeting on the volume of letters they had received from residents and businesses in the area. 'The letters forced the meeting, and without them we wouldn't have got the signs,' he said. 'It's been a united effort by everyone in the area.' He also praised County Councillor James McInnes for his work in underlining the importance of tourism in the area to the Highways Agency. Cllr McInnes said the decision about the new road signs was 'brilliant news for all the villages involved: They're back on the map.' Chris Webber, of Chagford Business Association, said he was relieved at the outcome. 'Common sense has finally prevailed,' he said, although he added that if the original decision had been made in order to reduce traffic on the A382 then the question of improving that road should now be addressed. In another local victory over the Highways Agency, villagers from Tedburn St Mary have won a high court injunction which will prevent the closure of the Fingle Glen junction on the A30 — which was scheduled to take place on April 4. The Fingle Glen Action Group argued that the closure would mean drivers going to Tedburn would have to make a seven-mile detour to Cheriton Bishop, or, more likely, take a dangerous shortcut along the C50, a winding back lane. Devon County Council and the group are now campaigning for the Highways Agency to reconsider an earlier, rejected plan to install a flyover, slip-roads and traffic lights at the Fingle Glen junction in order to improve road safety.
