Road closure 'catastrophic' for Dartmoor town

People living and working in a popular village on Dartmoor say the planned closure of the main road into the town will be "catastrophic".

Devon County Council plans to close a section of the A382 between Moretonhampstead and Bovey Tracey to all traffic from 20 July to 28 August.

People in the village said it would cause disruption for carers and their clients and severely damage businesses in Moretonhampstead already affected by previous road closures.

The county council said it was "not an ideal situation" but there were lots of factors that had led to its decision to carry out the work in the summer holidays.

Kevin Chamberlain, from Wray Valley and speaking on behalf of the Moretonhampstead Business Community, said there had been repeated efforts to get Devon County Council to look at options other than closure such as night-time working or keeping one lane open.

He said the attempts at negotiation had "met with a complete brick wall" from the county council.

Chamberlain said: "To completely shut the main route into town during the absolute peak of summer is a death sentence for independent traders and a major risk to our care network.

"We demand that Devon County Council consider using temporary traffic lights or night shifts to keep our town moving."

Businesses in the village said they had already suffered from the two-year closure of the A382 further on towards Newton Abbot and from the closure of the B3212 between Moretonhampstead and Exeter earlier in the year.

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said work to repair a retaining wall was "essential" as "deteriorating conditions mean the road is not fit for purpose".

They said: "Because of its proximity to the Wray Brook watercourse, and fish spawns within the vicinity of the wall, any works need to be carried out between 1 June to 30 September, as per Environment Agency regulations.

"Equally, it was considered important to avoid disruption to school transport during term time and exam period.

"The road will have to close while work is done - it can't be done with traffic management, because the road's too narrow for vehicles to pass."

The spokesperson said "every effort will be made" to complete the work as quickly as possible and it would also carry out drainage and resurfacing work during the road closure.

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