Better Transport

30 November: Yesterday, locals trying to stop the very damaging proposed Kingskerswell Bypass in Devon witnessed just how shabby regional decision-making can be -- when a £27 million cost increase on the road was waved through.

The South West regional transport board met to discuss whether or not to approve the increase (the total scheme is now costed at £117 million).  The board gave the Kingskerswell Alliance just two minutes to present its case but allowed the scheme's promotors, Devon County Council, to talk at length.

The regional transport board failed to question the council’s claims or ask for evidence:

• The council claimed that businesses would not relocate to the area without the road, yet did not provide evidence for this and weren't asked for any by the board.  The Kingskerswell Alliance have been asking for this information for years, but the council has declined to supply it
• The council claimed tourism would decline without the road, yet failed to mention that last summer saw a bumper year for tourists, without a bypass in sight

There was no analysis of alternatives that could be provided at lower cost. Despite the Alliance coming up with a whole package of alternatives, they were not allowed to present them to the board. 

A similar thing happened with the Weymouth Relief Road last month. Astonishingly, the member of the board who represents environmental interests was prevented from correcting Dorset County Council’s claims that Natural England had removed its objection to the scheme (it hasn’t). The board instead waved through yet another expensive and destructive scheme.

Next year each English region will be sending priority lists of transport schemes to the Government, with the regional development agencies leading the process. Let us hope the process is more transparent and credible than what happened so far in the South West.