Well, what an awful weekend with Storm Eunice wreaking havoc across Devon… With over 250 trees being uprooted and affecting travel on the county highways our dedicated and professional teams were working around the clock responding to many of the 700 calls received in the Network Operations Control Centre as well as carrying out overnight winter service gritting as temperatures dropped below zero. I should like to take this opportunity in thanking those who heeded our warnings not to travel and as a result, there were no fatalities across the county.

It's good to see the ongoing major resurfacing and highway drainage improvement scheme in Sidmouth is progressing well.

The 12-week scheme, which is covering around one mile of the A375 from Temple Gardens to the junction with the Esplanade, started in January and has now reached the halfway point.

Work involves repairs to a number of sections of damaged and collapsed drainage pipes and this has been completed on the stretch from Salcombe Road to All Saints Road and the roundabout, as well as in Fore Street and High Street.

Resurfacing is due to take place in Fore Street and High Street between Thursday 3 March and Friday 11 March when the road will be closed overnight from 5.30pm until 7am. During the overnight closures, the diversion route will be via All Saints Road, Station Road and continue until the Esplanade. Return route vice versa.

Drainage repairs are now taking place on small sections in the Temple Street and Vicarage Road area. The local traffic for Lawn Vista, Woolcombe Lane and Chandler’s Lane will be managed on site, maintaining the traffic flow systems in their current layout.

Resurfacing will be undertaken on these stretches of the road from around Monday 14 March. When sections of Temple Street and Vicarage Road are closed the diversion route will be Vicarage Road / Temple Street north on the A375 Arcot Road then Sidford Road, left onto the A3052 Sidford High Street then left onto the B3176, Station Road; then left onto All Saints Road and Radway and Vicarage Road and vice versa.

The scheme is going well and is on schedule so far, so a big thanks must go to our contractors. The whole town will benefit from this drainage and road reconstruction work so please bear with us for the remaining weeks of the scheme and if you need any further information on the work areas, road closures, and diversion routes etc then please visit the County Council’s roadworks webpages.

Finally, in reply to a letter published recently in the Herald re the Sidmouth Pedestrianisation Scheme, I can confirm that the Chamber of Commerce were consulted on the scheme and in fact the Chairman was a member of the group which included Town and District that agreed on the scheme and which was advertised and went through a formal consultation process before being rubber-stamped by the East Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee.
Until next time Stay Safe