Message from Councillor Jonathan Drean, Cabinet Member for Transport
Dear Plymouth residents and businesses,
Over the past few months we have become very aware of the frustration from drivers across Plymouth, particularly those who have to travel to and from the north of the city, about the number of roadworks currently under way.
As Cabinet Member for Transport, I am aware of these frustrations. I read the many emails in my inbox, the comments on social media and the newspaper headlines. I know that being stuck in traffic is not good and delays travel times. Therefore, I want to start by saying sorry. We do understand.
Whilst we do try to regularly explain the reasons why roadworks are essential, I know that for many people this doesn’t help if they are late for work, miss an appointment or generally just spend a long time travelling a short journey. So, I want to try to explain a bit more about the works on our roads, the complexities involved and the challenges that we face in the future.
Why do we need to do the works?
As a city council, one of our objectives is to support our city’s economic growth, transforming Plymouth’s long-term prosperity, ensuring that local people can benefit from high quality services and facilities. As our local economy expands, our population is also growing. We expect that by 2034 Plymouth will have nearly 300,000 residents. That is a huge jump from where we are now. We need to make sure there are quality homes and higher-value jobs for all those people. There are already plans for 19,000 new homes. For every new development, there must be the infrastructure in place to make sure people can access schools, waste management, telecommunications (like Wi-Fi), gas, electricity and water.
Putting these things in place does not happen overnight and involves planning. Added to which, essential to any expanding city is a robust transport network. A network that is not just about vehicular traffic, but also supports the reduction of carbon emissions, as part of our commitment to be net zero by 2030. We therefore must have a transport system that encourages and supports people to consider greener travel options.
Our current road network is outdated and needs updating. It is a legacy of the post-war era, with many places in need of significant improvement. Doing nothing is not an option. In fact, doing nothing would be a lot worse.
If we do not take action to improve the city’s road and transport network, it will not be able to cope with the additional demands in the future.
What are the works?
I know that for many people all works that impact the roads are the same, and it doesn’t matter who is responsible for them, or what they are trying to achieve. But it does matter. There are generally three types of works that affect our roads:
- Strategic and sustainable transport improvements – these involve significant financial investment to support the growth of the city, for example the new Forder Valley Link Road, the Derriford Transport Scheme or the improvements to Charles Cross roundabout.
- General highway improvements – our day-to-day work to make sure our roads are in good state of repair, for example fixing potholes, resurfacing roads and maintaining signals.
- Utility works – essential works carried out by third parties such as OpenReach and Western Power Distribution. Many of these works do involve road closures. Without these works, many people would be left without internet access, electricity or even water.
Why are so many happening now?
No matter what the works, we are all in ‘catch-up’ mode. The pandemic has meant that we are still addressing the backlog that mounted up over the course of the last few years. There are thousands of potholes on our very long list. We are getting through them. But to do them well, we can’t rush it, and sometimes parked cars or obstructions mean we are unable to make the repair and need to attend again at a later date.
Added to this, the utility companies are also trying to catch up. We are not responsible for these works and very often we cannot say no to their requests, particularly in an emergency. But we do work closely with the contractors to ensure works are communicated in advance and carried out safely. And when there are issues, we will hold them to account.
Furthermore, many of our long-term transport projects, the ones that are vital to Plymouth’s growth and economy, are funded by the government. That funding means local council tax payers don’t have to foot the bill – but it often comes with very tight deadlines to spend the money. Unfortunately, it does mean some of the works will happen at the same time. We have no choice. If we don’t achieve the work in the set timescales, we don’t get the money and Plymouth will lose out.
Mitigating the impact
While travelling in the city, you may just see cones, cars and queues. I have seen the comments where people think there isn’t a well thought out schedule. This could not be further from the truth. But it is complicated and reliant on so many variables. We also have to be flexible and sometimes our plans need to shift. If we waited for one scheme to end before starting another – nothing would ever get done.
When designing all new transport schemes, careful attention is paid throughout to look at other works that are going on and try to mitigate the impact. For example, we have not allowed any more roadworks on the A386 at Derriford while the Morlaix Drive and Brest Road schemes are being built.
Once construction starts we adjust traffic management arrangements on the ground to minimise the disruption to the travelling public where it is safe and cost-effective to do so.
Whilst all of these works are essential, the Council is aware of the significant impact they have on local communities, commuters, businesses and visitors to the city. Therefore, we work hard to mitigate disruption, for example by adjusting signal timing, closure times, diversions and so on.
We really understand the frustration. I want to reassure everyone that we are working so fast and hard to get them all done. But, at the end of the day these are long-term plans to update a modern city and we are unfortunately all are going to have to temporarily bear with it in the short term.
Keeping you informed
What we can do though is help you plan your journeys a bit better, making sure you are informed in advance of any planned works. We can also help you consider other forms of travel.
Thousands of pounds are being invested into our cycling infrastructure and our Plymotion Travel Programme. We are also aware that there have been a number of obstacles in recent months in getting people onto buses, including some services being cancelled and staffing issues. Local bus providers are fully aware of the issues and we are lobbying the government for additional funding to improve public transport.
Hopefully this letter will help you feel a bit more informed about the challenges we face and the journey we are all on together to keep Plymouth moving. There is no quick fix. But I hope that you all now understand a bit more about our direction of travel.
I will end this letter by providing some helpful signposts and links to resources that will help you plan and prepare your journeys in the future.
- See our roadworks map. This is updated daily with information about our works, but also works carried out by utility companies, developers and so on.
- Sign up to our weekly roadworks roundup email. This sends out a list of roadworks every Friday.
- Sign up to our weekly residents' email newsletter. This has detailed information when new major schemes or works are announced.
- Visit Plymotion travel programme web page. This has information about our sustainable travel programme.
Thank you again for your time and your patience. It will be worth it.
Councillor Jonathan Drean
Cabinet Member for Transport