THE PUBLIC are set to have their say on improvements to the A30 and A303 from Ilminster to Honiton.

Highways England is currently developing improvements to the A358 and the A303 east of Southfields and on other sections of the A303/A30.

Now Devon County Council is looking at three potential route options to improve the road between Honiton and Devonshire Inn, where the A30 meets the A303, and in turn provide a boost to the economy. The two month public consultation period started last Wednesday (August 3).

The county council is proposing five miles of the existing single carriageway road between the Honiton Bypass and Devonshire Inn (the junction of the A30 with the A303) should be replaced.

Devon County councillor Andrew Leadbetter said: “The A30/A303 is a vital piece of strategic infrastructure, providing our most direct road link from the South West to London and the South East.

“However, the existing road doesn’t meet modern standards and presents a number of challenges. Businesses in the region view the route as unreliable and a constraint to the economy of the area.

“This public consultation is an opportunity for people to express their views on the first stage of the scheme proposals.

“Improvement of the A358 will deliver extra capacity but we also need improvements to this section of the A30/A303 in order for the Devon economy and that of the wider South West to start to realise its potential.”

The scheme lies within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), a nationally protected landscape, so Devon has adopted an environment-led approach in developing options. A dual carriageway has been ruled out because forecast traffic flows are too low to justify the high costs of construction and because it would require much more land than a single carriageway, resulting in additional adverse environmental impacts on the AONB.

Councillor Sara Randall Johnson added: “This section of the A30/A303 is in need of an upgrade in order to support not just the local economy but also the economy of the wider south west region.

“It is vital that people take part in the consultation as their feedback will help inform how the scheme is progressed.”

All scheme options are estimated to cost around £170 million and will comprise a wide carriageway with three lanes, which provides sufficient long term capacity. It will be laid out with two lanes in one direction and one lane in the other to enable overtaking in one direction, alternating along the route.