CAROLINE Allen, counsel for Kingskerswell Alliance, maintained that transport solutions alone would not turn around the economic fortunes of Torbay.

She pointed out that to save eight-and-a-half-minutes in journey time Devon County Council intended to spend £130 million.

Summing up on the final day of the inquiry, on Wednesday, she said the Alliance considered alternatives at half the cost and would solve the problem with a number of measures.

Miss Allen said that while Alliance members were not engineering or traffic modelling experts, they did have first hand knowledge and experience of the A380.

'It put forward several options, but no comprehensive assessment took place by the county. The Alliance was unable to do so because of the costs.

'Of particular concern is the effect the bypass would have on European protected species, including the lesser horseshoe bat and other wildlife, and the adverse impact on 356 properties and the landscape,' she said.

For Devon County Council, Andrew Tait QC, said for many years the road had failed to function effectively with traffic volumes extremely high and journey times varying from nine-and-a-half-minutes to fifteen-and-a-half minutes, compared to a free flow time of seven minutes.

It put highly undesirable volumes of traffic on unsuitable parallel routes in the A380 corridor. Between 1999 and 2005 there was a 26 per cent increase in traffic on St Marychurch Road.

'Devon County Council regard the A380 as one of the worst performing routes in the county with accidents well above the national average,' he said.

Mr Tait continued that Torbay was dependant on the road as its major highway link and for its economy.

Examination of alternative schemes had been exhaustive, in which the county and Torbay councils had commissioned a full corridor study of all modes of transport.

'There is no realistic alternative to the bypass if the problems are to be addressed,' claimed Mr Tait.

On Wednesday morning the inspector, Jack Moffett, visited the A380 and surrounding roads, looked at the proposed bypass route and visited houses and sites affected.

There are still matters to be considered on some supplementary orders later.