Council in talks with port to ease congestion

A city council says it is in talks with ferry port bosses about opening up a temporary new route for traffic into a traffic-clogged area.

Businesses in Stonehouse, Plymouth, have been struggling with disruption caused by emergency road closures after a 27m (88.5ft) exclusion zone was set up around Evolution Cove, in Durnford Street on 17 April.

It followed a fire service review which said the building was structurally unsafe and traders say the situation has been hitting footfall and takings hard.

Plymouth City Council has confirmed discussions are under way with the Association of British Ports (ABP) and Stonehouse Barracks to explore whether traffic could be diverted through Millbay Port.

It says the move could take pressure off residential streets while work continues to make the building safe.

Glenn Caplin-Grey, the council's strategic director for growth, said: "We're not in a position to say when that would be yet, but we are working really hard to get that across the line as quickly as we possibly can, and hopefully we'll have more to say on that next week."

He added: "That has got to work for ABP as well as the city council and the residents and the businesses, so we're just trying to work through a traffic management plan that would allow access but also allow ABP to be confident that it wouldn't disrupt their business."

Extra staff have also been placed on site from 07:00 to 19:00 BST to manually manage traffic lights, alongside temporary CCTV and new signs telling people businesses are still open.

Yannick Loue, director of Le Vignoble at the Royal William Yard, said conditions had improved once staff were deployed to manage traffic.

"I could see actually there was three people manning the traffic lights," he said. "The flow was pretty fluid, which is a great result.

"I think the message we want to bring to people is we are here, it's still open."

A spokesperson for the Evolution Cove's owner Grey GR, said: "When residents were told to leave the building on 20 March, Grey GR estimated it would take eight weeks before they could return.

"If this estimate changes we will let residents know as quickly as possible.

"A ground survey has been completed, and the findings are being used to develop back propping designs.

"Once these designs are finalised, the propping works will commence. Once the work is complete and the building has been confirmed as safe by surveyors, further investigations to establish the cause of the cracking will be undertaken."

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