Dartmouth residents bemoan year-long closure of key road

Residents submit petition with around 2,500 signatures calling for action

Dartmouth residents have submitted a petition with around 2,500 signatures calling for action over a key road which has been closed for a year.

Residents claim that warnings about the state of a wall along Warfleet Road were sent to the council in 2023, but that a lack of action meant the wall collapsed, leading to the road’s closure in February last year.

Lindsay Ellwood, a member of Warfleet Road Warriors, a campaign group, submitted a petition to Devon County Council at its full council meeting (Thursday 20 February), pleading with for the road to be fixed.

“We had an anticipated finish date for work of 30 September and there have since been five other occasions that Devon has committed to repair the road but it has not been done and we have had no formal notification about when work will commence,” Ms Ellwood said.

“Devon Highways is required to maintain the road and the council has the responsibility to reopen one of the two main thoroughfares in and out of Dartmouth.

“Now it is a four-mile round-trip to reach the centre of Dartmouth.”

Ms Ellwood added that the road is a vital route for the emergency services, and that residents and businesses are desperate to know when work would commence.

Fellow resident Marina Pusey added that Devon had “clearly not fulfilled its obligations, so when is it going to?”

Cllr Stuart Hughes (Conservative, Sidmouth) said there had been a legal issue that had inhibited its efforts, notably that the damaged wall was on privately owned land.

“Devon County Council has firm evidence that the wall is the responsibility of the adjacent landowners and have been actively trying to get the landowner to undertake the work since the wall collapsed,” he said.

“The landowner has only been saying that they will not take action since October. The county council has now had to undertake legal action to try to force the landowner to repair the wall, but this has not worked.

“We are now in the position where we are having to undertake the work ourselves and attempt to reclaim the cost from the landowner. At this stage in the financial year, it is difficult to identify the necessary budget, as this will mean that other schemes may have to be delayed.”

Cllr Hughes added because of the legal issues, it was difficult to give any timescales for the road’s repair and re-opening.