Councillors in Devon have given the go-ahead to a £24m road, largely funded by the county council’s own borrowing.
The highway authority’s cabinet approved the delivery of the two-phase spine road to a new employment development at Langage, which aims to improve links to a key part of the Plymouth and South Devon (PASD) Freeport.
The project includes extending the existing Kingsway road, as well as a multi-use bridge across the A38 Deep Lane Junction, which will connect the new community of Sherford to the development.
One of 12 designated by the Government, the freeport is a partnership between Devon CC, Plymouth City Council, South Hams District Council and the private sector. It aims to create over 3,500 jobs, predominantly across key engineering and manufacturing sectors.
Stuart Hughes, cabinet member for highway management, said: ‘I welcome the proposed infrastructure to support the Freeport, which will bring new jobs to the area.
‘The new bridge across the A38 is much needed to support active travel at an early stage in the expansion of homes and jobs on Plymouth’s urban fringe.’
The Kingsway road (pictured) currently stops just south of the Langage Power Station on the eastern side of the Langage Business Park. Phase one will focus on extending the road to serve the Langage customs and tax site.
The council said the ‘ambition’ is for work to begin in November this year for completion next spring.
The road will allow developers to deliver access points to the site in the future as individual plots receive planning permission and become available.
Phase two will extend the spine road to align with the future delivery of the employment development, expected to be in 2027.
The county council said a planning application is expected to be submitted in September 2024.
Work on the multi-use bridge is expected to start in December.
The delivery of this infrastructure, as well as improvements to the Sandy Road/Holland Road roundabout, is funded by £9.6m from the Government as part of the PASD Freeport seed capital programme, and up to £14.3m of borrowing by Devon.
