Pinhoe Station Interchange

Pinhoe Station Interchange opened Monday 31st October 2022

Facilities include >

• 12 secure cycle lockers available to rent

• Co-Bikes dock (connecting docks in Cranbrook, Exeter Science Park, Skypark and Exeter Airport)

• 15-space car park (reduced from 66 originally proposed) including two disabled parking bays, two EV charging points and a taxi bay

• new minibus service between Pinhoe Station and Exeter Science Park (Anning Road), Clyst Honiton Village (Lidl / Amazon), Clyst Honiton Bypass (SkyPark) and Exeter AirportSpecial bus fares available


New car park on the site of the coal yard / signal hut, east of Pinhoe Station

DCC describes Pinhoe as “an area of significant new housing, with several thousand new homes in Exeter and East Devon within a mile of the station”; the Council also registered 130,000 passenger entry and exits at the station in 2019/2020.

The multimodel interchange is designed to prioritise sustainable travel by pedestrians, cyclists and public transport

“The site is well connected to the local cycling network, with Station Road designated as a quiet cycling route, and an off-road shared use walking and cycling route to the west.”

Their statement adds: “On balance the scheme prioritises three of the top modes of transport in the Exeter Local Plan which are pedestrian, people with mobility problems and public transport”.

New cycle docks by Co-Bikes on the south side of Pinhoe Station leading to the proposed Community Hub site

Langaton Lane: experimental order

Posted in the village on Friday 4th March, Devon County Council have announced their Experimental Order for the closure of Langaton Lane to through traffic:

“The purpose of this scheme is to create a green lane on Langaton Lane by introducing a point closure south of the Railway bridge. A green lane is a type of street that allows for walking and cycling but prevents motorised through-traffic.
Recently E.ON have had the road closed temporarily for work on underground services. This has illustrated the benefits of removing rat-running traffic from Langaton Lane. The Lane will be quieter for all, and a pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists to use. Vehicle access to properties and land beside the Lane will still be available, but only from one direction.”

Green Lanes prioritise pedestrians and cyclists, which is a welcome approach to this important route to Pinhoe’s Scout Hut and our community field. However, there is no mention of the resilience route that Langaton Lane provides for vehicular traffic travelling through Pinhoe.

DCC: Langaton Lane Diversion Route

DCC info: Why is this being proposed?
“Langaton Lane is a relatively narrow lane, limiting two way traffic in places with no footways east of the motorway bridge. The 1st Pinhoe Scout Group, Pinhoe Target Shooting club, a meeting place for the Plymouth Brethren, WPD station, two residential properties and a storage facility for fairground equipment are situated on the lane. The lane is surrounded by planned residential and employment development in the East of Exeter Growth Point.
In its current form,  Langaton Lane is unsuitable for a significant amount of additional traffic. The lack of facilities for people walking or cycling, or people with mobility assisted vehicles is also a concern, and a future situation with higher pedestrian and vehicular traffic levels without improved pedestrian facilities is likely to lead to a worsening of road safety.
Creating a green lane on Langaton Lane (allowing walking and cycling but no through traffic) is identified in the Exeter Transport Strategy, following a recommendation to include green lanes as agreed at the Scrutiny Committee meeting which was held in June 2020. This would provide an attractive active travel link for Pinhoe residents to access employment at the Science Park, Cranbrook and also the future planned Clyst Valley Trail.

During recent months (June 2021 – March 2022) Langaton Lane has been closed under a TTRO for works to services. The temporary closure has been well received locally and requests have been made by members of the public to move to a permanent closure of the lane. In order to identify the support for this scheme, and to test out the access, an ETRO would allow these to be trialled before introducing a permanent change.”

Relevant webpage click HERE: there is also info on the Devon County site about their Doing What Matters scheme which has been identified as applicable to Langaton Lane: https://www.devon.gov.uk/doingwhatmatters/


NOTE: in his reply to a request for clarity regarding changes to DCC traffic strategy for Pinhoe (17NOV21) William Pratt referred to “a new crossing near Parkers Cross Lane, which I believe is the most popular new infrastructure proposal in the recent survey.” County Councillor Tracy Adams canvassed opinions from residents near to Langaton Lane (no public info available) and no access has been granted to information regarding the survey mentioned / 18th November 2021

FORMAL REQUEST TO HIGHWAYS

Sent to William Pratt / cc Cllr Stuart Hughes (Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management) > Cllr Henry Gent (Broadclyst), Cllr Tracy Adams (Pinhoe)
10th November 2021

“Please can you confirm the situation regarding updates to the Pinhoe Area Access Strategy (PAAS) Addendum

I have the following requests for information:
LANGATON LANE
With ECC Local Plan consultation about to close, we are looking to provide information to our community regarding plans for Langaton Lane, specifically provisions for its development as a relief mechanism for traffic travelling through the centre of the village included in recent planning applications, apparently in opposition to the Exeter Transport Strategy which identifies Langaton Lane as a Green Lane.

While some residents in the immediate vicinity have been in touch with both Cllr Adams and Cllr Gent to advise of their support for closure to vehicular traffic, there is wider concern from residents in the larger context of Pinhoe, Monkerton, Tithebarn and Westclyst who note this route was an important part of resilience measures for Pinhoe’s village centre in DCC’s strategic document. 
The Forum has measured over 1200 vehicles per hour crossing the double roundabouts during rush hour; these measurements were restricted to traffic travelling across the roundabouts in the direction of Cumberland Way and Westclyst, and did not include traffic travelling between Station Road and Church Hill which would further increase traffic volumes. Working with researchers at the University of Exeter, we are beginning a new project to measure air and noise pollution in this location and others, and are expecting levels significantly above safe guidelines. As we’re collecting data which will be shared as a developing community resource, we are keen to share our methodology and results with you.

SAFETY CONCERNS
It is welcome news that the pedestrian crossing long promised for the top of Parkers Cross Lane is now agreed. However there are significant problems with traffic management in Pinhoe since the loss of the Exhibition Way link road. I must draw your attention to the following immediate safety concerns:

• Railway bridge vehicular and pedestrian crossing at Venny Bridge: extensive and increasing use of this route is a major and urgent safety concern not addressed by PAAS and addendum documents
• Traffic management on Church Hill: cycle paths and provisions for pedestrians have been lost, while vehicular traffic has increased exponentially as a route connecting Stoke Woods / Tiverton / Crediton to the M5 / A30
• Tithebarn Way: the junction with Pinn Lane is unsafe and, as the location of a fatal accident, residents are calling for raised pedestrian crossings to mitigate traffic speeds and a new road layout which prioritises pedestrian safety
Importantly, these are not the only safety concerns. As a commuter gateway to Exeter, Pinhoe is used as the connection from Mid-Devon to the M5 and there are huge volumes of traffic crossing Pinhoe from East Devon to access Cumberland Way. Moreover, Pinhoe sits as the connection to the East Devon Growth Point, the M5 and the A30. with considerable development underway and further proposed. 

NEW STRATEGY VISION
The Forum is calling for a new, sustainable vision for traffic management in Pinhoe, which incorporates the Westclyst, Monkerton and Tithebarn areas. We believe the PAAS and addendum documents are outdated, unsafe and perpetuate dangerous assumptions regarding levels of use and infrastructure resilience. They do not reflect current policy ambitions for sustainable active travel.
In light of the climate emergency and DCC’s Net Zero and Low Carbon directives, we believe there is tremendous local support for change. 

The Forum offers consultative support and community connection through our well-established networks. As the Forum moves to social enterprise as part of The Pinhoe Collective, data from our consultations will be included as part of the Exeter Data Mill. We’re working on new projects with funding from the National Lottery which include participatory mapping of green spaces with the University of Exeter, and are involved as part of the Global Systems Institute’s Living Lab and their complex systems mapping.

The Forum is keen to support DCC Highways in shifting to new, more sustainable transport management models. We are currently co-developing a consultative framework and hyper-local information network. As part of this, I am investigating funding to support our innovative programme of community consultation and dedicated to providing open data models to develop our consultative methodology. 
Please let me know how best we can assist you. Meanwhile, I’d be grateful for your update to developments for our community newsletters.

With all best wishes,
Kate Jago

P I N H O E F O R U M

FOLLOWED UP 16NOV21>

Dear Will and Cllr Hughes,
Please can you advise on your response to our formal call for the PAAS and addendum to be reconsidered in light of the removal of the option for the Exhibition Way link road.  We’ve recommended residents also raise their concerns in their response to the Local Plan and, with GESP due to re-emerge as a local issue for Pinhoe, we are formalising our community consultation as per my previous email.
In addition to my previous request, I’d like to draw your attention to safety issues at Cheynegate bridge where there is no pedestrian footpath across a gap of approx 50m. With construction vehicles regularly using this route, residents have again been in touch to raise the alarm. The Forum has made representations to local development sites with some success, but the safety issue remains a major concern for pedestrians and cyclists across all age groups.
Moreover, with Highways suggesting there are no problems with the planning proposals for the development of a large, commercial Lidl site at the intersection of Venny Bridge, Cumberland Way and Main Road, we would also welcome evidence of your local assessment mechanisms and more detail on their findings. We have been advised that the lack of effective safety barriers on the bridge over the railway near this location is of immediate concern. 
As part of our commitment to open data, we plan to publish this information on our website and associated social media pages.
With kind regards, Pinhoe Forum 
NO RESPONSE TO DATE (AUGUST 2022)