The Cullompton Town Centre Relief Road has taken another major step towards delivery, as Tesco has confirmed its willingness to sell a key piece of land required to deliver the relief road.

Building on the back of significant recent progress in securing funding, and commencing the relocation of Cullompton Cricket Pitch, this latest announcement marks the achievement of another key milestone and paves the way for the delivery of the long-awaited relief road.

Councillor Steve Keable, Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Regeneration for Mid Devon District Council said: “I am delighted that Tesco has heard the voices of Mid Devon District Council, Devon County Council, Richard Foord MP and local residents and has listened. This positive decision by Tesco has come at a crucial time for Cullompton, building on other recent successes. It marks the over-coming of the final major hurdle to delivery of the relief road and I now look forward to seeing the relief road built.”

The relief road has been long awaited by local residents as it will address town centre congestion, improve air quality in the town and support the vibrancy of the town centre. The construction of the relief road was supported by Homes England as it is also essential in unlocking planned homes – both at North West Cullompton and to the east of the M5 where the initial phase of homes associated with the Culm Garden Village are proposed. These works would have remained stalled without the hard work of all those involved, including Mid Devon District Council, Devon County Council and Homes England.

The relief road, which secured planning permission in January 2021, will run from Station Road in the north to Duke Street in the south and will also include enhanced walking and cycling facilities to support sustainable and active travel within the town.

Completion of the road is forecast for 2028 with the major focus of work in the short term being to finalise designs, complete the acquisition of land and fully relocate the cricket club.

It is expected that the relief road will be the first phase of major road infrastructure investment in Cullompton with further investment expected to support the upgrading of J28 in order to address the capacity of the junction and support wider planned growth. A further business case for investment in the J28 junction is currently with Government for consideration.