Ide park and ride a dead duck

Village referendum kills scheme

When a third of Ide's voters took part in a referendum, they all but killed off Devon County Council's plans for a park and ride near the village on the outskirts of Exeter.

They've voted with a nine-to-one majority to adopt a neighbourhood plan that compels Teignbridge District Council to pay heed to its aspirations. It means a 566-space park-and-ride on the western side of Exeter almost certainly won't go ahead on the site the county council had been planning for years to dig up.

The majority of voters in Ide have been against the scheme. Now they've got a democratic mandate for their views. The Ide neighbourhood plan says that proposals for development in the Ide Gateway Enhancement Area, which includes the Roundfield site, will only be supported if they do not have an adverse impact on the rural character of the Village entrance or its approaches along the Ide Village Road, was acceptable.

The £6 million scheme is in trouble - and with it, Exeter's hopes to become congestion-free by 2025.

The full Ide Neighbourhood Plan can be read here – https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/media/6925/ide-neighbourhood-plan-referendum-version-may-2018.pdf