TALKS to improve safety at a Tavistock housing estate were thrown into disarray this week when Devon County Council erected signs officially declaring it as a main route to the town.

Residents of the Tiddybrook estate, who are now considering getting their MP involved, slammed the move by the council as 'absolutely shambolic' after being given assurances that highways officers were looking into the problem.

A sign making Buzzard Road through Tiddybrook the main route for traffic into Tavistock was put up on Monday, fuelling the anger for residents who say the safety of the hundreds of children who live on the estate is being put at risk by fast travelling vehicles, buses and lorries.

But following intervention by county councillor Debo Sellis, who said she was 'incandescent with rage' over the issue, the sign was covered over by highways workers.

Tiddybrook resident Phil Desmond, a chartered surveyor who works in property development, planning and roads on a day to day basis, said Cllr Sellis had been campaigning for the residents since vehicles started using Buzzard Road, which joins with Anderton Lane, as a cut through to the roundabout into Tavistock on the A386.

Highways officers had agreed to look at it and the proposals that had been suggested by residents, including weight restriction signs and a 20mph speed limit for which the road was designed.

He said:?'They said, yes, yes, yes but now we are presented with this signage as a "fait accompli".

'The residents have been completely ignored.'

Mr Desmond said that when he bought his home, his expectation was that there would be a T-junction from Buzzard Road to Anderton Lane, however, this would now be difficult to achieve because of the kink that had been built into Anderton Lane.

'I bought this house on a quiet family estate, not envisaging there would be a main road running through it and neither did anyone else.'

He said he had been in contact with both Devon County and the planning authority, West Devon Borough Council.

'I have never known local authorities so incompetent and intransigent. It beggars belief. It is absolutely shambolic how they have dealt with this.'

Resident David Rose said planning guidelines stated that extraneous traffic must be avoided through housing estates.

'No-one in Buzzard Road would have bought houses here if was going to be a main road,' he said.

Lisa Sutlow, who has two children, aged seven and four, said one of the play areas had to bolted shut because the road was so dangerous .

'This was designed as a 20mph road to cope with residents' traffic and little Hoppa buses, yet vehicles come through at such speed and lorries block the road.

'This is a family estate and a child will be knocked over sooner or later.'

Cllr Sellis said she had no idea the sign was going up as she was still in discussions about what could be done at Tiddybrook.

She said:?'We should not be encouraging any traffic through that estate. I fully support the residents on this and was incandescent with rage when that sign went up. It has now been covered up and hopefully this will bring it all to a head. We need to get a solution here.'

A Devon County Council spokesman said: 'The developer erected the sign in response to proposals contained within the Safety Audit report they commissioned.

'However, the direction signing to Tavistock from Anderton Lane has been covered up to enable traffic heading towards Tavistock to choose whether to travel via Buzzard Road, which was designed as a through road, or the alternative, using Anderton Lane.

'Plymouth-bound traffic using Anderton Lane will be directed to use the left turn to the existing Anderton Lane —and a left turn from there into the A386.'

In an earlier Times article West Devon Borough Council said Buzzard Road was always supposed to be a through road. Its winding nature was seen as traffic calming and anyone buying a house there would have had access to the plans.