20-year Link Road quest
BUSINESS leaders in North Devon are mounting a big campaign to lobby Whitehall to turn the North Devon Link Road into a dual carriageway.
Supporters say plans to dual the A361 and A39 would cost more than £200 million, but that it could be delivered in a staggered 20-year programme, with the worst traffic bottlenecks worked on first.
Kevin Kelway, spokesman for the North Devon Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said: "The Chamber is looking to set up an online petition to lobby transport bosses in London. The aim is to build on the momentum following the opening of Barnstaple's new £42 million bypass and bridge that opened recently."
Local business chiefs say the area would benefit from new business opportunities and reduced traffic jams if the North Devon Link Road was turned into a dual carriageway.
Jeremy Filmer-Bennet of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said: "We support the campaign by the NDCCI to dual the North Devon link road. It is crucial this strategic piece of road infrastructure is brought into the 21st century."
Philip Byers, chairman of the NDCCI, said: "The Chamber is leading one of the biggest campaigns since the Second World War, to lobby Whitehall to give North Devon better transport links."
And Mac Sherry, interim chief executive of the NDCCI, added:"Barnstaple is bigger than Penzance and yet the Cornish town has better road and rail networks! The time for Barnstaple to be properly served into the UK's national transport infrastructure is now long overdue."
The NDCCI is also holding a one-day event next week for local businesses to lobby visiting government officials for Ministers to do more to build on the unique entrepreneurial and business spirit being developed in North Devon.
The Link Road petition website is due to be up and running by the end of the week. Its address is:
www.northdevoncci.com
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