Quest to revive rail link plan is gathering pace

GOVERNMENT HAS PLACED TAVISTOCK LINK IN JEOPARDY

- ALISON STEPHENSON

THE push for a restored rail link between Tavistock and Plymouth is gathering pace, as the reality of hundreds of extra homes hits.

West Devon Borough Council (WDBC) is writing to ministers and local MPs to get the rail project back on the table, after the Restoring Your Railways initiative was scrapped by the Labour Government not long after it took power. Previously approved investment to put together a business case and complete the project, with £150 million ring-fenced from diverted HS2 rail project funds is seen as vital to the economy and to education and work opportunities, as well as meeting net zero targets.

Cllr Ric Cheadle (Independent, Buckland Monachorum) said the Government’s plan to increase housebuilding across the country means that Plymouth and West Devon would have an “eye-watering” amount of new homes over the next few years. “If they want extra houses, they must be prepared for the infrastructure to support them,” he said.

Despite work on the edge of Plymouth to improve traffic flow on the A386, councillors claimed that the journey time from Yelverton to Plymouth’s Manadon roundabout is estimated to improve by just 40 seconds.