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St Austell to A30 link road

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The St Austell to A30 link road will connect the old A30 near Victoria to the north and the A391 at Stenalees roundabout to the south. It will be a new 3.9 mile single carriageway road.  It is a vital link to bring opportunities to the area including: 

  • improving economic growth by upgrading links to St Austell from the rest of the United Kingdom
  • making it easier to get to Cornwall’s growing employment sites.

The £87m road has provisional funding from the Government and funding from Cornwall Council.

Complementary traffic management measures in surrounding villages and roads will be built once the link road is open. These may include:

  • HGV restrictions
  • widening footways, and
  • traffic calming to prevent through traffic

June 2021 update

The Statutory consultations for the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and Side Road Order (SRO) are needed. This is to build the new link road were held in late 2020.  Some objections were received to both orders.  The objections to the SRO have now been removed. The Council’s legal team will continue to work with the legal teams of the CPO objectors. It is hoped this will resolve the objections so things can progress.  If the objections are not removed a Public Inquiry will need to be held to discuss and make decisions on them.  This is most likely to be held in September 2021.

The Final Business Case was submitted to the Department for Transport in Autumn 2020.

A site office has been established north of Roche. Alun Griffiths (Contractors) will start to operate from this location as COVID-19 restrictions allow. In time, this will become the main site offices for the team.

Next key steps

In June/July 2021 a further statutory consultation will be held. This will be with the existing Commoners on the proposed changes to the Common Land.  The changes will see Common Land lost to the new road being replaced with new Common Land.  The new land is of a similar standard. Commoners rights will be transferred. It is next to the current Common, and will have good or better public access.

If the remaining objections to the CPO (as noted above) cannot be resolved then a Public Inquiry will need to be held in September 2021, to discuss and make decisions on them.

The project team are hopeful that the funding for the new link will be confirmed by the Department for Transport this year. Either late Summer or during the Winter depending on whether a public inquiry is needed.  This is once all the statutory processes for the project have been completed.  It is hoped that some works will be able to start on site towards the end of the year with archaeological investigations. The main earthworks will likely start in Spring 2022.

  • Autumn 2021 – anticipated completion of statutory processes required for the new route.
  • Summer 2021 - anticipated funding announcement from the Department for Transport.
  • Autumn 2021 – works commence on new link with archaeological investigations.
  • Spring 2024 – new road open to traffic.
  • Spring 2025 – all complementary measures in surrounding villages and on other routes complete.

The above dates may become delayed if a Public Enquiry is necessary in 2021 to resolve the objections that were received for the CPO.

1. Orders and Supporting Documents

2. Planning & Policy Documents

3. Scoping Documents

4. Economic Documents

5. Legislation

Complementary traffic management measures will ease some of the effects of traffic transferring to the new road. These will be built in the surrounding villages and roads and will include:

  • Additional traffic calming on the B3274.  This will be through Ruddlemoor, Trethowel and Carthew (the White River Valley);
  • Traffic calming and ‘placemaking’ in Bugle and Roche;
  • Trekenning Junction Improvements.  Realignment of B3247 and approach to T-junction to improve visibility
  • Increasing the height clearance at the rail bridge on the A390 Holmbush Road.

These measures will be progressed in line with the timescales indicated below if funding is received as anticipated by the end of 2021.

White River Valley

The project team has engaged with representatives from the communities along the B3274 in White River Valley. The residents have expressed their concerns and preferences for a variety of treatments. Measures are being developed about these over the coming months. We aim to have these measures agreed and implemented in a short timescale.

Bugle and Roche

We have also met residents from Bugle and Roche. Feedback has given some idea of preferences from the two groups. The more complex situations within the Proposed Development in these two villages will take more time.  The processes to get strategies implemented have been set out to the representatives. 

The reasons for the measures, and the practicalities around their implementation, mean that they will be built around 2022. Several early wins are likely to be achieved before the road opens. However most of the works will need the quieter traffic conditions that will come with the new link road.

Trekenning Improvements

Improvements at Trekenning Junction on the road between Roche and St Columb Major have also been identified.  These are at their initial stages. These works will:

  • realign the junction
  • widen the road in some places
  • improve drainage along this route

This will improve the connection with the new link road. Allowing for surveys, scheme development and planning requirements, means that it will be completed early in 2022.

Holmbush Road Rail Bridge

Increasing the low height clearance will provide a route for the tallest of heavy goods vehicles. This means they can avoid St Austell’s residential streets.  Surveys of the bridge’s foundations and the ground beneath them took place in November 2019. The findings of the investigations were positive.  Therefore design is to be progressed in the coming months. An expression of interest has been submitted for Local Pinch Point Funds.  This is to allow for the construction of the scheme. We are currently awaiting feedback for this submission.

The National Wildflower Centre at Eden has been appointed by Cornwall Council to create a planting scheme for the new A30 to St Austell link road. The National Wildflower Centre has specified six different wildflower mixes.  These will be planted along the whole road. This will also include a significant quantity of heather seeding. The wildflower species are chosen to reflect the local flora of Cornwall. This will also be a great benefit to pollinators.

The National Wildflower Centre plans to source seeds from wild populations growing in Cornwall. This involves liaising with local landowners to grow enough seed for the landscaping works. This will follow the construction phase in 2-3 years’ time. Eden have been working with volunteers to collect the Red Campion and Foxglove that are needed in large quantities. They will also collect some of the species which are more problematic to grow. Such as Bird’s Foot Trefoil. Eden have also combine-harvested a significant quantity of cornfield annual seed.  This is from the wildflower fields at the Eden Project. These amazing landscapes attracted national press attention this year. They hope to provide a taste of what is to come with the new road planting.

During 2020 they worked with volunteers and local botanists to collect the rest of the starter seed needed from wild populations.  They also got the seeds in the ground for a big harvest in 2021. The final result of all this effort will be a net gain for biodiversity for the whole project. A feat unheard of for a road construction project. Cornwall Council is proud to be leading the way in this with Eden. We cannot wait to see the results.

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