Anger as cycle path work shuts road for 14 months

A group of residents are facing long diversions and more than a year of disruption for the construction of a new cycle path.

People living on or near Colesdown Hill, in Plymstock, Devon, said they were given three weeks' notice the main road to their properties would be closed for 14 months.

One resident said he thought it was "mistake" when he received a letter about the closure, while another questioned whether there was a "cheaper or quicker alternative".

The authority said "there was no alternative" to closing the road and the works were "the most complex stage" of a 3km (1.86 miles) cycle and walking route linking Laira Bridge to the new town of Sherford.

John Stephens, the council's cabinet member for strategic planning and transport, said he "fully empathised" with residents.

However, he said the extension to the city's walking and cycle route would have wider benefits.

Plymouth had seen a 27% increase in cycle journeys over the past seven years, he said.

"We're improving a network of cycling and walking routes across the city so people of all physical abilities and ages can cycle safely," he continued.

"It's one we need to do to ensure people in the area have the opportunity to cycle.

"It improves public health, it reduces carbon monoxide poisoning on the roads and it's a chance to join up communities in a way that they don't have to travel by car."

However, some residents said the diversion took them into traffic from Sherford which can become congested at peak times.

Susan Ballantyne, who lives a short distance from the closure, believes the local authority should have consulted residents about the planned £3.8m development.

"We should have been allowed to feed in to their plans and maybe look at viable options to allow a cycle path, but maybe of a cheaper or quicker alternative" she said.

Hembry said he mistakenly thought the works would last between one and four months.

"I thought that's a long time," he said.

"Then I read it again and it was 14 months and I thought that can't be true. I was really angry about it then."

Valerie Wells said her husband was recently diagnosed with cancer which meant they needed to visit the doctor and pharmacy.

"It means now my two-mile round trip has escalated into a five-mile round trip," she said.

Susan Ballantyne said residents should have had more opportunity to contribute to the planned £3.8m development.

"We should have been allowed to feed in to their plans and maybe look at viable options to allow a cycle path, but maybe a cheaper or quicker alternative," she said.

While Brian Furse said he feared the diversion might put off the carer who looks after his wife.

"They're going to try it but they might have to give their notice in, and I don't know what I'll do without them," he said.

"She only gets paid for the time she's in my house."

The council said work began last month and a section of the road, which runs off Billacombe Road, would remain closed to vehicles until April 2027.

Drivers must now take a diversionary route via Haye Road to reach homes on Colesdown Hill.

The local authority said it was extending the existing off road path by opening up a blocked off bridge under Colesdown Hill and adding a crossing over Elburton Road.

Councillor Stephens said the authority was "working hard to minimise the duration of the road closure".

He said the money for the scheme would come from government active travel funding and housing developments.

"We want to know when these situations arise so that we can work with the agencies involved to help bring about as normal a service that the residents would expect," he said.

He said the money for the scheme would come from government active travel funding and housing developments.

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