Traffic information

Starcross A379 and Mamhead Route

Background

Starcross – The section of the A379 through Starcross is a well known pinch-point. The narrow sections of road near the pillars and adjacent to the Spar can restrict traffic flow, particularly during summer months when car and caravan flows are higher. The narrow footways along The Strand, between New Road and the Spar can be unattractive to some pedestrians.

Mamhead Route – The C-class Mamhead Road from New Road to the A380 is occasionally blocked by large vehicles which are unable to pass. The route provides an alternative to the A379 through Starcross for vehicles heading to and from the A380. Improvements to the Mamhead Route are identified in the council’s Transport Infrastructure Plan.

Consultation

A public consultation on proposed improvements to the A379 at Starcross and the Mamhead Road from Starcross to the A380 was held in January and February 2020. Details of the consultation documents and scheme plans can be found on the Devon County Council Have Your Say page.

While little can be done to improve traffic flow, the consultation for Starcross focused on proposals to widen sections of footway along The Strand to improve pedestrian safety. These are proposed alongside a number of smaller scale measures to improve traffic flow, road safety, and reduce vehicle speeds.

On the Mamhead route a number of modest improvements are proposed at key pinch-points along the route. These are primarily to widen the narrowest parts of the road where there is insufficient room for large vehicles to pass and at the hairpin bend. The sections for which improvements are proposed are indicated in the overview plan of Mamhead Road widths.

Responses

Approximately 150 responses were received. This was a mixture of online responses, paper questionnaires returned on the day of the exhibition and posted responses.

The main comments in response to the Starcross proposals are set out below:

Equal support and opposition for the proposed footway widening on The Strand. The proposals were however supported by Starcross residents, with those from outside Starcross typically against this.
Starcross Parish Council supported the changes to the A379 and requested that the Church St junction also be included.
The additional footway on New Road, and the potential to ban the right turn out of New Road were supported.
There was support for proposed double yellow lines, albeit some respondents suggested these could be time-based restrictions.
The Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club supported changes to the bus stop, provided it did not impact visibility at their car park access.
Respondents were overall in favour of the proposed changes in the vicinity of Royal Way.

In terms of the proposals to upgrade the Mamhead Route, the responses were:

Slightly more respondents were in favour (52%) than against (43%) the upgrading of the Mamhead route, however ‘strongly disagree’ was the most popular response.
Those against the improvements raised concerns about environmental impact and increased speeds, and suggested that instead large vehicles should be banned.
Mamhead Parish Council and Starcross Parish Council agreed with the upgrade of the route, albeit the latter had concerns about sections where no improvements are proposed, such as New Road to the A379.
The British Horse Society were concerned that the proposals would increase traffic speeds and volumes, particularly at Section 7 (Black Forest Lodge). Devon Countryside Access Forum also highlighted that the proposals could increase speeds and risk to vulnerable road users.
The responses indicated that proposals for Section 6 (hairpin) were most supported, whereas Sections 1 (narrowing near the A380) and 7 (approach to Black Forest crossroads) were the least supported.

More detailed analysis of the consultation responses is provided in the report below:

Next Steps

Starcross

Following receipt of the feedback, detailed design work on the measures for Starcross is being progressed. Approval to progress the scheme will however need to go through the Teignbridge Highways and Traffic Orders Committee before any works can take place.

Mamhead Route

The Mamhead proposals will also be revised in light of the comments received. In particular the following sections which were most strongly opposed in the consultation will be removed from the scheme.

Section 1 – widening of kerbed narrowing as road comes from A380 to Mamhead Road
Section 7 – road widening to enable two vehicles to pass on section between crossroads at Ivy Cottage Cross and Blackforest Lodge

Design work on the remaining sections will be progressed. However, there is no funding currently allocated to the Mamhead project. Any works will therefore only be progressed as funding becomes available.

Useful Links

If you wish to provide any comment on the proposals please send to: transportplanning@devon.gov.uk