Villagers say lives worse since dualled A30 opened

Work on local link roads as part of the A30 upgrade has yet to be completed

Small villages are still bearing the brunt of incomplete work on local roads as part of the A30 upgrade through Cornwall, residents have said.

A new nine-mile (14.5km) stretch of dual-carriageway between Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross opened in June after four years of construction.

Some traffic is still having to pass through nearby villages though as work on link roads either side of the new road has yet to be finished.

National Highways, which is in charge of the scheme, said it always intended to finish local roads after opening the dual carriageway and most of the work should be complete by the end of the year.

Carol Wilson, chairwoman of St Allen Parish Council and who lives in Zelah one of the worst-affected places, said: "There has been a number of complaints and concerns that lives are being made worse rather than better at the moment.

"We had a property damaged when it was hit by a large vehicle coming on the diversion from Truro because they can't get onto the old A30."

She said places such as St Newlyn East and Goonhavern were also experiencing the same "frustrating" problem.

"We've had it for over four years; we still have this difficulty accessing local roads and moving freely around the area," she said.

Carol Wilson says people in Zelah feel traffic through the village is worse than ever since the new A30 opened

Alan Prowse, a farmer in St Allen who has fields on the other side of the new A30, said: "Getting from the Truro side to the Newquay side would have been normally a four-mile (6.4km) trip.

"We're now expected to do a 21-mile (34km) round trip to do the same work.

"It's extra cost in diesel and [wearing of] tyres, and that extra cost is making it impossible to make the crop viable and making it costly to produce."

Neil Winter, National Highways’ senior project manager for scheme, said: “As we communicated to local communities at the time, the new A30 was opened in June; the wider scheme is continuing with ancillary and finishing-up works throughout the year.

“This involves finishing work on local link roads, footpaths, cycleways and bridleways, as well as work on the north side of the Marazanvose green bridge, completion of Cornish hedging and landscaping and planting on the green bridge through the autumn.

“The bulk of work is anticipated to be completed by the end of the calendar year.

"We thank people in advance for their co-operation and patience while we complete these essential works."