Resident account · 7 October 2026
Walking alongside additional traffic
A resident describes narrow village approaches, poor road condition, limited passing space and a route towards the A3122 bus stop near Woodlands without a footway or street lighting. The concern is the effect of additional resident, delivery and construction vehicles on people using that route.
This project has not completed a physical route survey. These concerns identify what to investigate; they do not establish the continuous absence of facilities or a measured level of risk.
What the earlier approval tells us
The original French Furze committee report acknowledged narrow approaches and possible additional delay. It records Devon’s view that the predicted additional traffic and delays did not justify a highway objection. Devon nevertheless sought changes and controls on road details, construction and other matters; the scheme ultimately received conditional permission. Historic narrowness alone did not prevent permission. Original committee report, pages 13–14.
That assessment does not decide whether another development is acceptable today. The relevant question is how the new scheme changes current and future conditions on the routes it would actually use.
Parish records document concerns about collisions and visibility at Forces Cross. They support obtaining the underlying incident records, but do not establish a verified collision total or its cause. There is also contrary evidence to preserve: parish notes recall a 2022 speed survey showing compliance and a maximum measured speed of 25 mph. Its location and methods need checking; lower speeds do not settle passing or pedestrian-access questions. February 2026 minutes; November 2025 record, page 10.
A nearby stop is only part of bus access.
Forces Cross and Woodlands Leisure Park are separate pairs of registered stops on the A3122. The proposal should identify which stops and services it relies on. A stop record does not establish a continuous footway, safe crossing, lighting, shelter or usable timetable. DfT’s Devon stop data; Devon’s bus map.
The audit should start at the proposed homes and cover both outward and return journeys: actual walking distance, gradients, footway gaps, widths, refuges, bends, crossings and waiting areas. It should assess darkness and the needs of children, older people and people with limited mobility. A vehicle passing place is not automatically a safe pedestrian refuge. Active Travel England’s bus-stop guidance; DfT’s Inclusive Mobility guidance.
Blackawton’s environmental policy already identifies a safe walking route to the Forces to catch a bus as an objective. It also supports limiting lighting, including its removal from the French Furze scheme. The aim is safe, usable access, with lighting considered alongside landscape, ecology and light pollution. Lack of lighting alone does not establish grounds for refusal. Parish environmental policy, sections 6 and 7.5.
The current planning tests
NPPF policy TR6 distinguishes unacceptable highway-safety effects from severe adverse capacity or congestion effects, including cumulative impacts, after accounting for mitigation. It covers construction and completed development. TR3 and TR4 address sustainable locations and safe, inclusive journeys. A safety objection does not have to prove severe congestion. Current national transport policies.
Local policy DEV29 supports examining the wider network, safe access, connections and practical walking, cycling and public transport access to services. The site entrance is therefore only part of the assessment. Joint Local Plan DEV29.
The evidence to request
- Routes and pinch points. Map permanent and construction routes, measured road widths, usable passing spaces, visibility and vehicle manoeuvres.
- A representative baseline. Publish current traffic, speed and pedestrian observations, including school peaks and relevant seasonal or agricultural movements.
- The additional effect. Compare a consistent future scenario without and with the new homes, including committed development. Test assumed bus use against actual routes and service times.
- Construction arrangements. Identify lorry numbers and sizes, turning, waiting, worker parking and school-time controls. Assess overlap with Vistry’s drainage works where programmes coincide.
- Deliverable improvements. Show the land, funding, permissions and completion triggers for any necessary passing place, pedestrian link or junction improvement.
National assessment guidance supports proportionate investigation of existing conditions, public transport, walking, safety and cumulative effects. The evidence should establish whether the additional impacts can be acceptably addressed; it does not create a general obligation to widen every village road. Transport-assessment guidance.
See the questions for the developer · Explore the source documents