A CONTROVERSIAL traffic scheme at Whitchurch should be scrapped, say local residents.

They want Devon County Council to return the rural gateway between Whitchurch and Horrabridge to a two-way road.

Their views were made clear in a survey carried out by Plasterdown Parish Council, which covers rural Whitchurch.

Eighty per cent of local residents who responded to the survey said they had experienced problems with it.

Some 74% of the 192 residents in Plasterdown and Whitchurch who filled in the questionnaire said they wanted the gateway returned to a two-way road.

The scheme to make a section of the road single track with passing places was installed in 2000, after a decision by the now defunct West Devon Partnership Committee.

It was seen as a measure to reduce traffic and speeding on the road through Whitchurch.

But it proved highly unpopular with residents who felt it did not stop speeding traffic and created gridlock when the main A386 was closed because of an accident.

Residents in Horrabridge are also being asked their opinions on the gateway in a general survey about the parish.

Chairman of Plasterdown Parish Council Ian Walton said the results did not come as any great surprise.

'We expected the majority of people to say they wanted to get rid of it because there have been a lot of complaints, but we were not absolutely certain, so that is why we did a survey.

'It has not solved the speeding problem and if any traffic gets diverted down this road it just gets clogged up.

'The survey was the first step in what I expect will be a very long process in getting something done.'

Tavistock Town Council contributed £100 towards the survey in Whitchurch.

Town and borough councillor Debo Sellis said the rural gateway was the 'thorn in the flesh' of local residents: 'It appears to have been an ill-concieved decision and was undemocratically dumped on residents years ago.

'Tavistock Town Council and Plasterdown and Horrabridge parish councils were all against it. At the time there was very scant support for the scheme.

'I welcome any efforts of both parish councils to determine what is the general public opinion.'

Tavistock town and borough councillor Ted Sherrell also said he was not surprised by the results of the survey: 'The rural gateway represents a shocking waste of public money.

'All it does is to create problems in an area where previously there were virtually none. It should be returned without delay to its original state of carrying two-way traffic.'

In 2005, county councillor Roy Connelly said he built up a case for the removal of the gateway because of local concerns, but he did not get much support from other local members on the partnership committee.

'There was no way I could get the gateway changed at the time — the best I could do was get the laybys adjusted,' he said.

'I think there needs to be a much wider approach to the consultation as many more people use it than those who live in the parish. Although some people are saying it is not working, they have to provide evidence to back it up.'

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said: 'The road was reduced from two-way to one-way with passing places for a length of about 300m as part of a traffic calming scheme in response to requests from local residents concerned about the speed of traffic entering Whitchurch and travelling along the C474.

'We have monitored the traffic flows and the scheme is working as intended.'

She added that the survey would not be ignored but it would be up to the local members of the HATOC committee to raise the issue again.

'We have to take everyone's views into account, particularly the people who live along that road,' she said.

There have been repeated calls for the rural gateway to be reviewed, including an all-party move by West Devon borough councillors in 2004 on the partnership committee.

The move, proposed by former Tavistock town and borough councillor Roger Mathew, narrowly failed. Cllr Connelly, at the time, voted against a review.