OKEHAMPTON and District Chamber of Trade has written to Devon County Council to express its concern about traffic congestion in the town.

The letter cited the pedestrian crossing in Market Street as a major problem, causing traffic to back up in School Way when it works out of conjunction with the main traffic lights on the Fore Street junction.

Chamber chairperson Jade Oliver invited council representatives to visit Okehampton during a busy Friday afternoon to see how bad congestion can get.

In her letter to the council, Jade Oliver said: ‘Members, of which most are business owners, are noticing that the congestion in and around the centre of town is deterring people coming in to town at certain times during the day. This is obviously having a knock on effect to the businesses and the productivity of the town as a whole.

‘With more houses being built around Okehampton, congestion is going to increase, particularly until the ring road is done. Developers building new homes is great, but if people are unable to get into town, then the town will die and people will not want to buy here. 

‘I had an irate customer in my shop on Friday of last week, telling me it had taken him 40 minutes to get from Fore Street to School Way and that he wasn’t going to come to Okehampton due to the traffic — he would rather shop online. If more and more people feel like this, then the small independents and the supermarkets are all going to suffer.’

In his response, Head of Service for Highways Andy Whitton said there was little that could be done in the short term but that there was a long term plan in place. He also said that after the situation was investigated in 2008, the Market Street crossing was upgraded the following year to make it ‘as efficient as possible’ and that the ‘current arrangement is the best that can be achieved within the land available’.

Mr Whitton wrote: ‘Whilst congestion is never welcomed, it is unavoidable as demands on the network increase, and it is hoped that the work to promote walking, cycling, and public transport in Devon assists in managing these demands.

‘The Okehampton Traffic Management Plan has been advertised after consultation with the town council and has concentrated on dealing with parking issues in the town. Some rationalisation of signing is also planned which should in particular make directions to car parks clearer.

‘In the immediate future however there is little more that can be done, but our highway management teams will continue to review any opportunities that arise. However, longer term, alongside development in the town, there is a plan to address these issues.

‘The delivery of new housing within Okehampton is largely taking place in accordance with the adopted West Devon Core Strategy. This allocates a considerable quantity of land, both to the north and south of Crediton Road, for residential development, and identifies the infrastructure required to support this development. In particular, the Core Strategy identified the impact of development on the Market Street junction, due to additional trips to the town centre supermarkets, as unacceptable without suitable mitigation.

‘A new Town Centre Access Road along the alignment of Oaklands Drive with a new bridge across to North Street was therefore identified as a critical element of the plan to provide this mitigation, through an alternative route from Crediton Road to the town centre supermarkets.  

‘The county council is currently working with the borough council to secure contributions from every new house built in the new developments to the east of the town towards delivery of the Town Centre Access Road, and a link road between Exeter Road and Crediton Road through development itself. Once a sufficient level of contributions have been committed the council will then start work to deliver each road.

‘Realistically, it is unlikely that the Town Centre Access Road will be constructed until early in the next decade as even once sufficient funding is committed it will take several years to undertake the design, preparation and construction of the road.’

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