Vital talks as £45m road upgrade nears

PLYMOUTH City Council is locked in talks with more than 20 property owners as work continues on the £45m upgrade of one of the city’s busiest roads.

- By WILLIAM TELFORD

As work on the second phase of the huge scheme is set to start this autumn, the council said it is still in discussions about obtaining land needed to widen Tavistock Road.

Construction began on the ambitious Woolwell to The George traffic scheme a year ago, in a bid to ease congestion on the A386. Preparations for phase two of the scheme, which involves widening Tavistock Road between Woolwell roundabout and The George Park and Ride, as well as replacing Woolwell roundabout with a new signalised junction, are ongoing, with work planned to start in the autumn.

Last year the council said it needed to acquire 32 plots of land, mainly gardens of houses but also part of the frontage of the Turners of Roborough car dealership and the former Millstones Hotel, which is to become flats. The authority said it wanted to obtain the land by negotiation, with compulsory purchase a last resort.