TRADERS in St James Street, Okehampton, have demanded an urgent meeting to discuss re-opening a road which has provided a 'vital artery' to the south side of town.

At a heated meeting in the town on Tuesday night traders accused Devon County Council of 'killing off their livelihoods' by closing the road behind St James Chapel.

But the meeting was told there would be financial repercussions if contracts had to be broken a month into the enhancement scheme around St James Chapel of which the road closure is part.

Jill Emuss, of 'Allsorts', said her trade had been cut by 50 per cent since the road was shut off.

'We are struggling to carry on — this is supposed to be regeneration but you are killing us off,' she told local traffic officer for Devon County Council Mike Parnell.

'The road was closed four years ago and re-opened due to public opinion and now you close it again.'

Neil Hancox, of DIY Supplies, said there

needed to be vehicular access and parking at all times in St James Street.

'Okehampton is a rural town and people are not going to carry a bag of compost from here to the Waitrose car park,' he said.

'There were three arteries to get to Dartmoor and the south side of town, now a vital one has been cut off and another one is congested.'

Mr Hancox was one of the traders who called the meeting because they felt there was a lack of consultation over plans to close the road.

Shopkeeper Brian Hutchings told the meeting the majority of businesses in the area revolved around transport and retail and could not afford to have vehicles 'killed off'. It was not just St James Street that was affected by the road closure but the whole area which included Kempley Road, Park Row and Mill Road.

'There has been commotion over the last few weeks with bottlenecking in St James Street and people turning in the road,' he said.

'What is happening is that you are taking away people's livelihood and there will be empty properties before long — that is the last thing you want.'

He said four years ago he supported the road closure but times had changed and there was not the congestion in Mill Road that existed now.

County councillor Coleen Herriman explained that former local service officer Tony Lawrence had consulted with individuals street by street and the understanding was that closing the road was acceptable: 'We believed people were happy with it,' she said.

'A lot of money has been invested in the St James Street enhancement and there will be financial repercussions if contracts are broken at this stage.'

Mike Parnell added: 'I would say to people to give it a chance — when the scheme is completed it will attract more people into St James Street and to your shops.'

He said the chapel was a very prominent building and it had been undermined to a degree by all the vehicles travelling around it and parking in front of it.

'It is all very well making it very pretty but unless you are prepared to subsidise our shops there will be no shops for people to visit,' said Jill Emuss.

Traders were told the only people who could make a decision on re-opening the road were those on the West Devon Partnership Committee.

They called on Cllr Herriman to arrange an urgent meeting before any more work was carried out.