Tavistock roadworks paused for Dickensian Evening after backlash over traffic chaos

There will be a temporary halt on roadworks for Friday’s (5 December) popular Tavistock Dickensian Evening to avoid the event being marred by traffic chaos.

Christmas shoppers had been urged to leave home early to visit Tavistock’s biggest event of the year as traffic congestion continues to plague the town.

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But organisers were told on Wednesday (3 December) that National Grid intends to take away the traffic lights in the Drake’s Statue area from 4pm on Friday until Monday morning.

Town leaders called it “a relief” after fears that footfall would drop because of the gridlock.

Visitors to the Christmas shopping event from Plymouth are still encouraged to use the park and ride at Morrisons on Plymouth Road, which begins at 4.15pm, but there will also be free parking in West Devon Borough Council car parks from 3pm.

The Moorlander previously reported a full preview of this year's Dickensian Evening events, which can be read here.

Manager of Tavistock’s Business Improvement District, Janna Sanders, called the roadworks “an absolute nightmare” as they had been in place for nearly a month and were continuing throughout the run-up to Christmas, affecting trade.

“Why they could not have done it in October I don’t know, it’s awful timing,” she said.

However, she added that despite the traffic mayhem, it would still be “a magical night.”

High winds last year meant outdoor events at Dickensian Evening had to be cancelled, but the shops, with people dressed in Dickensian costume, still saw a good footfall.

Janna had approached the utility company asking if there was anything they could do to put a temporary stop to the works just for the evening, which draws in thousands of people from near and far.

“It was disappointing when we had to downsize last year but we are back to full size on Friday. There is some light rain forecast but there are plenty of places to get out of the rain.”

The BID manager said it had been a good year for high street businesses and there had been an increase in coaches coming to the town, but she added that months of roadworks had been frustrating.

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“There has been a renewed sense of vibrancy and we have had a good summer. We don’t want people to be put off by the roadworks and urge them to come and continue to support the town for Christmas.”

The public had expressed their annoyance over the traffic situation on social media. One post on Facebook said the roadworks were going to “kill Tavistock this Christmas” and suggested the blame lay with Tavistock Town Council. But mayor of the town Steve Hipsey put the record straight.

“It’s frustrating that the public blames the town council and the BID for the traffic chaos because it is nothing to do with us, we do not co-ordinate roadworks,” he said.

Devon County Council coordinates roadworks across the region, and in response to concerns, the authority issued a statement explaining its role.

A Devon County Council spokesperson said:

“We’re always keen to support community events and work closely with organisers to make them a success. For example, during the Dickensian Evening, we introduced special arrangements such as suspending through traffic and parking on selected roads to ensure the event runs smoothly and safely for everyone.”

They added that in some circumstances disruption is unavoidable.

“More generally, in emergency situations utility companies are legally permitted to access their infrastructure without giving advanced notice. When work is planned, we work with them to help minimise the impact to the travelling public and our communities. However, preventing all disruption to the network isn’t always possible.”

The spokesperson said clashes between planned and emergency works can create unexpected pressure:

“For instance, if planned work is already taking place and then, in the same area, that is overlaid with reactive or ‘emergency’ works, unfortunately it can result in congestion.”

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On social media, a member of the public said it was a shame that the authorities and utility companies couldn’t come up with a simple one-way system that would help ease the congestion, but added: “We all need to dig deep and have buckets of patience through these challenging times.”

Another said: “I am determined I will not make our wonderful town suffer. They need people to make an effort to use them at their busiest time of year.”

Mr Hipsey added that there were more new, spectacular Christmas lights in town this year, in locations such as Market Street, and a highlight of the event would be former Tavistock Town Council carpenter Ian Lashbrook switching them on.

Ian, who retired earlier this year, was responsible for putting up and taking down the lights for 46 years.

National Grid Electricity Distribution said:

“The roadworks will be suspended from 4pm on Friday for the Dickensian Evening and will resume on Monday. The excavations we are doing are necessary to lay underground cables to provide a new electricity connection for a significant housing development in the town. We’d like to thank the community for bearing with us during this inconvenience. We are due to complete all works by mid-December.”