CAMPAIGNERS hoping that planning inspectors would change the development plans for Crediton, including the link road and Pedlerspool site, have been disappointed.

Inspectors Brian Sims and David Hogger have found Mid Devon District Council's (MDDC) Allocations and Infrastructure Development Plan Document (DPD), which sets out sites for development in the district up to 2026, to be sound, subject to some minor changes.

They gave the go-ahead to the link road between the A377 and Lord's Meadow Industrial Estate to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.

They supported Devon County Council's preference for the £7.75 million hillside route, as there was no issue regarding flood risk, minimal impact on existing residents, a direct route and a high benefit to cost ratio.

Their report said the route was the most satisfactory and its visual impact was outweighed by the benefits it would bring.

Crediton Traffic Action Group (CTAG) had campaigned for the valley route, which could be extended into a bypass in future. But the inspectors wrote: "This is not an aspiration of Devon County Council and there is no evidence that such a proposal would ever be delivered. It would therefore be inappropriate to include it as a proposal in the DPD."

CTAG member Graham Pearcey said: "Local people, including specialists, are utterly convinced the valley route is the sole solution for the long-term requirements of the town and surrounding area."

The inspectors accepted the deletion of the protected route for a town bypass and said this would "remove a major constraint" from the Pedlerspool site.

The county council resolved in March to abandon the route for reasons including cost, lack of need and environmental impact. MDDC in turn proposed to delete it from the DPD. People argued that this decision was flawed and that councillors were misinformed.

The inspectors said: "It is evident that there is now no significant prospect of the bypass being implemented and the safeguarding provisions of [the policy] can no longer be justified."

CTAG chairman Bob Edwards said the group was extremely disappointed by this.

"We had a chance to do something really positive about the abysmal road infrastructure in and around Crediton," he said.

"Instead we are stuck with a half-baked solution. It might take a few vehicles off Exeter Road, but everybody knows it will have little real effect on the traffic problems and air pollution that have bugged Crediton for decades."

Crediton Town Council chairman Frank Letch said: "I think we're all sad at the loss of the bypass. We were worried there would also be the possibility of developing that land for building, and most people in Crediton are against that."

The inspectors approved land for homes, including affordable homes, in Crediton, Bow, Copplestone, Morchard Bishop and Sandford, and the allocation of new employment land at Wellparks, Exeter Road, and in Bow.

Representations seeking the allocation of different land to that in the plan were not supported. In Crediton, these were west of Wellparks, at Higher Road, Landscore, Fordton and Chapel Downs.

The Creedy Valley Protection Group had hoped Pedlerspool, a greenfield site straddling Pedlerspool Lane on the edge of Crediton, would be removed from the plan, where it was at third contingency level. But the inspectors recommended the removal of the order of priority for the release of contingency sites.

MDDC councillor Richard Chesterton, portfolio holder for planning and economic development, said he was delighted that the DPD had been accepted.

The report is available to view at www.middevon.gov.uk.