Plans have been unveiled for a £290 million road upgrade scheme on the A30 in Cornwall.

Details proposals for the A30 Chiverton Cross to Carland Cross upgrade will go on display at a number of consultation events next month.

The project involves improving an eight-mile stretch of the route to boost journey times as well as unlocking one of the last bottlenecks in Cornwall, providing drivers with more than 100 miles of dual carriageway between the M5 and Camborne.

The is part of the Government's £15 billion Road Investment Strategy and will be partly funded by an £8m contribution from the European Regional Development Fund. The remaining costs will be met by central Government.

Josh Hodder, Project Manager for Highways England, said: "We recognise the strategic importance of improving this section of the A30 in helping to unlock economic growth in Cornwall and the whole of the region.


"We look forward to sharing our plans with local stakeholders, businesses and the community, full details of the proposals will be made available when we launch the consultation and we welcome all feedback."

Portfolio Holder for Transport at Cornwall Council, Cllr Geoff Brown, added: "I welcome this next step and the further consultation with communities. The scheme will help to improve journey times for local people, businesses and visitors and we know from previous public engagement that there is strong support locally to improve this stretch of the A30."

Public consultation events, offering people the chance to see the proposals and meet with members of the project team, will be held at the following;

• Friday, 02 February - St Erme Community Centre, near Truro TR4 9AP, 2pm-8pm

• Wednesday, 07 February - Blackwater Village Hall, Blackwater TR4 8ET, 2pm-8pm

• Thursday, 08 February - Perranporth Methodist Chapel, Boscawen Road, Perranporth TR6 0EW, 10am-4pm

• Saturday, 10 February – New County Hall, Treyew Road, Truro TR1 3AY, 11am-5pm

• Monday, 12 February – Victory Hall, Indian Queens, St Columb TR9 6PP, 2pm-8pm

• Tuesday, 13 February – Shortlanesend Village Hall, School Hill, Shortlanesend TR4 9DU, 2pm-8pm

• Wednesday, 14 February – St Michael the Archangel Church, Newquay TR7 1RA, 2pm-8pm

Information will also be available to view at the following local information points from 29 January – 12 March.

• County Hall, Truro

• Truro Community Library

• St Agnes Library

• Perranporth Library

• Redruth Library

• Newquay Library

Following consultation, the scheme will then progress through the formal planning process. Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2020.

(LM)