AN ‘Overwhelming no’ was the verdict of traders on proposals to partly pedestrianise Newton Abbot’s Queen Street.

That’s according to councillors of the South Devon Alliance who carried out their own survey of 66 businesses.

The Alliance’s Liam Mullone said: ‘Teignbridge Council carried out a survey of business owners’ opinions along the part of Queen Street it has chalked out for its partial pedestrianisation / no stopping zone.

‘It has been remarkably vague about the findings, admitting that they were not as hoped for but stating it didn’t have enough responses to act one way or another on the results... and the plan is going ahead.

‘With Torbay Council having backtracked on its own disastrous pedestrianisation of Torbay Road in Paignton, it seemed like now was the right time to release our own survey.’

‘Members of the South Devon Alliance personally spoke to all the businesses in Queen Street and were surprised at the sheer weight of resistance against the plan.

‘The answer is an overwhelming “No”.

‘Many quoted the Paignton experiment with a sense of dread. Unlike the council’s, our survey will be published in full, with names, dates and exactly what they said to us.’

Cllr Mullone said the Alliance’s survey spoke to 66 businesses with 43 against the proposals and six in favour.

Seven were undecided or had no opinion and 10 businesses were either closed at the time of the survey or had nobody available to comment, he said.