OKEHAMPTON has been listed as one of the travel and transport priority areas in Devon for the next year and £150,000 is expected to be spent on improvement measures.

West Devon Partnership Committee has been told that Okehampton and the surrounding area is one of ten in Devon included in a bid for funding from the Government.

But concerns have been expressed that the villages, some of which are in urgent need of traffic schemes, have been sidetracked in favour of Okehampton.

Local service officer for Devon County Council Mike Parnell told partnership committee members the reason the money was being focused in Okehampton was because of the 'great deal' of background which had been carried out between West Devon Borough Council, Okehampton 2000 and the Okehampton Enhancement and Traffic Working Group.

He said a number of proposals had been put forward and it was felt these could be delivered in the next year.

They included improving safety for residents in Station Road and improving priority for pedestrians in Paradise Square and St James Street.

If funding permits it is also recommended that improvement to access safety to Okehampton Primary School from the town centre be considered.

Members were told that in the full five-year Devon Travel and Transport Plan the partnership committee would be looking at the bigger picture for Okehampton and the surrounding area instead of focussing on smaller individual schemes.

Cllr Noel Cartwright, borough councillor for the Courtenay ward which includes Okehampton Hamlets, said: 'I am fed up with Okehampton and Tavistock getting the money all the time from West Devon Borough Council and Devon County Council. I can think of three of four traffic calming schemes that are needed in my area. These are accident spots and there are not many accidents in Okehampton.'

Mr Parnell added that the bid for £150,000 for Okehampton was purely for projects which could be completed within the next year.

'We had to work with what we had in order to get a bid submitted for the coming year,' he said.

'After Christmas we will work with parish and town councils and go through the whole consultation process at which time everybody will have an opportunity to promote their ideas and we can be very clear about what we are trying to achieve.'