The Proposed Road

Click here to see latest changes to the scheme Updated 16th July 2011

The proposed bypass would be a 5km stretch of dual carriageway between Penn Inn and Kerswell Gardens.

Traffic coming from the A380 North of Penn Inn roundabout, travelling towards Torquay, would filter over a single carriageway flyover which would completely dominate the roundabout. The flyover comes down in front of the houses on Addison Rd.

The existing A380 road would then be widened to form the dual carriageway up to Aller Brake where a new stretch of road swings off to the West of Kingskerswell, over the railway near the Barn Owl public house. There would be no bus stops between Penn Inn and this point.

The main route north from the village of Kingskerswell would be accessed via a complex of roundabouts and slip roads at Aller Rd near the Barn Owl.

The bypass would then continue to run West of the village, cutting a swathe through the countryside. The route would run extremely close to the Conservation Area passing within 180m of the grade II* listed St Marys Parish church. The splendid oak tree to be seen on the skyline above the church would be felled.

The route continues through the hillside reaching a depth of nearly 70 feet and goes under Maddacombe Road taking off a section through Kerswell Downs including the current car park before severing Churchway Lane, with its hedgerows full of wildlife.

The bypass would then be elevated on an embankment parallel to Greenhill Rd and pass so close to the listed church on Yon street that strengthening for the structure would be needed.

The yellow line shows the proposed route which would sever the village to the west

The route would then cut off the hamlets of Huxnor and North and South Whilborough from the rest of Kingskerswell. It would then make its way past Edginswell down to a complex of junctions controlled by traffic lights onto Hamelin Way and Kerswell Gardens. There would be no side roads off the bypass and no services.

The Kingskerswell Alliance accepts that there is support for the bypass. Indeed the Herald Express newspaper has a campaign to persuade the Department for Transport that the road is key to economic growth. However, we feel at a time of national austerity, the continued reliance on a very expensive road building project with no Plan B to help ease peak congestion on the A380 is foolhardy. Government policy appears to have shifted away from ' build a road and they will come'. The world has changed since the bypass was first mooted 50 years ago and we would like a 21st century solution to transform the economy of Torbay.

Now you can make your own mind up. Please fill in one of the Picture Perfect postcards which we will return to Norman Baker, the current Under-Secretary of State for Transport. These are available from any of the Alliance members or email us via the contact page and we will be pleased to pass one on.