AFTER ten controversial months, the experimental one-way system in Kingsteignton's Fore Street has been made permanent.

The decision was made by the Teignbridge Council Local Government Partnership Committee, in a debate which occasionally descended into personal and political criticism.

Andrew Butler, the local services officer in charge of the scheme, said the system had been part of an holistic approach to Kingsteignton's traffic problems, in particular the concerns of residents in the centre of the village over the speed and quantity of traffic using Fore Street. He said that while they appreciated that traffic had subsequently grown in other streets, the vast amount of traffic now used the bypass route. 'That was our objective,' he said.

He also told councillors that a decision had to be reached at the meeting, because on July 15 the experiment would reach its time limit of 18 months; the period being measured from the date the scheme was first granted the go-ahead

Five minutes was allocated for councillors to read through a summarised list of written objections before the floor was thrown open to debate.

Cllr Mike Walters, who has been an outspoken critic of the scheme since its inception, made reference to his personally-compiled questionnaire, which he said he had distributed to all members of the Kingsteignton East Ward. The bypass, he said, was 'an inconvenience to businesses and residents'. He criticised the handling of the scheme saying that many people had not returned questionnaires because they thought it was already permanent.

Illustrating the lack of public knowledge about the scheme, he said that at one point he had encountered the Devon County County Council mobile library coming in the wrong direction.

Commenting on the idea of also making Golvers Hill into a one-way road, he said that this would turn Kingsteignton into 'nothing more than a complex system of one-way roads.

'Cars are still speeding, people are still in danger,' he said. 'The scheme has been a failure and should revert back.'

In turn his questionnaire was criticised as being political and 'junk' by a member of Kingsteignton Parish Council. Chairman, Cllr Mike Haines, quickly told councillors that he would not allow the debate to become political and asked councillors to refrain from such attacks.

Chairman of Kingsteignton Parish Council, Cllr Edna Wickham, said that the scheme had been designed after consultation between the parish council, Andrew Butler and Cllr John Smith, now partnership committee vice-chairman.

'The object of the experiment was to address the problems and to test the reaction and projected movement of traffic in the village,' she said. 'It would appear that part of the objective has been achieved and a significant quantity of traffic is now travelling around the village, giving some improvement to the quality of life for our residents.

'The parish council are strongly of the opinion that the proposed community travel plan will be the start of much needed improvements to traffic management in Kingsteignton.'

Cllr John Smith said that objectives to improve the quality of air and general atmosphere in the village had been achieved and the problems that businesses reported, he said, would be alleviated if planned parking was built nearby.

'My main concern is children going to school,' he continued. 'We have narrow roads and pavements along Fore Street and the danger is so obvious that parents are driving their children to school, causing more problems.'

Andrew Butler said that pavements would be improved, paved with sympathetic surfaces in line with the travel plan.

Cllr Graham Wickham, another in favour of the scheme, said that if the proposal was given the go-ahead, it would be necessary to have better signage.

'Kingsteignton is an absolute disaster area', said Cllr Jim Grimble. 'This test seems to a pre-conceived solution. We need to have something to test it against.' Cllr Grimble suggested that the traffic be turned and allowed to flow one-way in the opposite direction to give a clear idea of the scheme's usefulness.

Cllr Haines, said that the test was against the two-way system in place beforehand. He then told councillors that he regretted that a decision on the scheme's future had to be made so close to the deadline . 'For us to approve this today though,' he continued, 'does not set it in stone. We can come back at a later stage to take into account new information.'

Before a vote was taken, Cllr Smith told the committee that in his view, the one-way system was the germ of something that could be very good, not just for Kingsteignton, but for the whole area.

The decision to make Fore Street a permanent one-way system was carried by a majority of 11 to one.