‘Rat run’ fears over Paignton town centre plans

Traffic could return after 30 years

People living in Paignton town centre are up in arms over reports that a one-way street closed to through-traffic for 30 years could be opened again.

Residents of Gerston Road say they fear the street could become a ‘rat run’ if a new development in Station Square goes ahead.

No details have been published yet, but locals believe a supermarket could be involved, and they fear it will want access to Gerston Road to make deliveries.

It was once a busy through-road linking into Station Square, but was closed off when Great Western Road was created in the 1980s.

“It is just going to be a rat run,” said Gerston Road resident Paul Humphries. “They say it will just be for delivery vehicles, but if it’s open late at night we’ll just get motorbikes coming up and down.”

Joining the protests is Richard Kaskow of the Action For Paignton pressure group, which is calling for a rethink on all proposals for Station Square.

Torbay Council is poised to redevelop the square, using government regeneration money to streamline traffic flows, improve landscaping and create public meeting spaces.

But the supermarket proposal and any changes in Gerston Road are not part of the overall council plan for the area because the run-down buildings fronting onto the square are privately owned.

The council has carried out consultation meetings, and will soon publish detailed proposals.

Mr Kaskow is also calling for the council to be more ambitious in its scheme for Station Square, which he says could become the gateway to a ‘Garden Town by the Seaside’.

“We’ve waited 25 years for this, and it needs to be done right,” he said. “Time is of the essence.”

And Colin Hurst of Action For Paignton added: “The plans published by the council for Station Square, at great expense to the public purse, show nothing exciting at all, a couple of flower beds and a re-designed highway.”