AROUND 50 people attended a ‘drop-in’ community traffic consultation held in St John’s Church, Delabole on Saturday afternoon.

On display were various proposals and plans that had been drawn up to mitigate the issues around congestion, speeding and road safety in the village.

On hand to talk residents through the plans and get their views through a short written survey was county councillor for St Teath and St Breward Dominic Fairman (Lib Dem) and various members of St Teath Parish Council.

Cllr Fairman said: “This had been the culmination of over two years’ work by me since being first elected in June 2016. Having fought two elections in the ward I knew that traffic issues in the village were the main concern of most of the residents and I have continually worked at New County Hall to find ideas and more importantly secure funding to get something done.”

The plans that have been worked up to date involve three potential solutions to the problem of congestion on the High Street between the doctors surgery and Water Lane, a proposal for a 20-mph zone through the centre of the village, and the creation of some off-road delivery bays for the main businesses that are located at the top of Pengelly junction.

The first option for the High Street had already been presented to the village in 2012 and involved the creation of some passing places by inserting stretches of double-yellow lines on the south side of the street.

The loss of on-street parking for residents would be partially compensated for by the creation of a parking bay on the large grass verge on the north side of the street.

Option two involved the creation of a new off-street car park behind the properties on the south side, with access off Water Lane, which could have help remove most of the on-street parking, and option three involved using a longer stretch of the grass very to widen the road at the point where traffic currently must mount the pavement in order to pass.

There was clear support shown for the road widening in the High Street which would allow residents to keep their on-street parking while narrowing the pinch point to around just 50 metres with a clear view of on-coming traffic from both directions.

The proposal for a 20-mph zone was also clearly supported by residents along with some safety improvements at the top of Pengelly.

Cllr Fairman said: “I was very pleased and grateful for the views of the residents who came along, and I now have a clear idea as to what schemes have community support.

“This administration of Cornwall Council has allocated highways funds for each of the 19 Community Networks over the county and I have already gained the support of the other 17 parishes around Camelford to allocate a large portion of this to Delabole.

“I also now have the attention of the head of transport for Cornwall, and he has assured me that if I can find a solution to the congestion in the High Street that has community support that he will help me get a solution delivered on the ground using this fund.”

Cllr Fairman added: “The other improvement may have to wait for future funding opportunities such as new development. In St Teath I have secured money for a village wide 20-mph zone on the back of a small development and I am confident that both villages will see some infrastructure improvements over the next couple of years.”

If anyone would like to find out more information or has views on these issues you can contact Cllr Fairman on 07939 122303 or at [email protected]