Cycling campaigners in Exeter have accused the local authority of “putting aside half a million ponds” to make the city’s streets less safe, after funding required to reopen a road closed to motorists since the pandemic was approved this week.
The long-running, stop-start saga surrounding the future of Dryden Road in Exeter is set to come to a head next month, when a new layout for the road will be considered for approval by the city’s Highways and Traffic Orders Committee (HATOC).
If approved, a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) will be granted, removing the current traffic filters and installing some form of active travel provision, while triggering a 28-day public consultation on the design.
Dryden Road, south-east of Exeter city centre and running alongside Royal Devon and Exeter hospital, was made a ‘cycles only’ route during the pandemic, the council opting to install bollards to prevent other traffic accessing the route and “helping to create a safer environment for people cycling”.
The closure was made permanent in 2022, with Devon County Council stating the move aimed to maintain lower traffic levels in the area and improve the safety and environment for people cycling.
The decision prompted a prolonged campaign among sections of the community who vocally opposed the closure, engaging in protests and online discussion, with a petition urging the reopening of Dryden Road attracting around 2,500 signatures.
Cycling campaigners in Exeter, however, say the ‘cycle only’ road has “has provided a low-conflict and strategically important connection into the city centre, avoiding heavily trafficked routes”, while reducing the number of crashes and improving air quality.
During a public consultation on the future of the road, which was temporarily paused at one point due to confusion over the options on offer, campaigners expressed dismay that reopening the road to motorists will not leave enough protected space for cyclists and pedestrians.
Nevertheless, following the much-delayed consultation, in July Devon County councillors voted to revoke the ban on motor vehicles. They also agreed to extend the area’s 20mph zone and develop “traffic calming and safer walking and cycling measures”.
According to the council, creating a protected bike route on the road, while retaining two-way traffic, would be “prohibitively expensive, impractical, and unviable” due to its width and the apparent need to remove a retaining wall and encroach on private land to create enough space.
Last month, the Exeter Cycling Campaign announced that it is launching a public crowdfunding appeal as part of its legal challenge against the decision.
The campaign said the move comes after it “exhausted efforts to resolve the issue through the normal democratic process”, and that they are planning to submit legal objections to the upcoming TRO.
“For more than ten years we have worked constructively with decision-makers to make Exeter’s streets safer for everyone. We have always preferred collaboration over confrontation. However, we now believe that stronger action is necessary,” James Diamond, the chair of Exeter Cycling Campaign, said last month.
It also noted that Active Travel England has identified the proposed changes as creating a ‘Critical Safety Issue’ due to the increased risk of collisions between cyclists and motorists. The crowdfunder has raised over £10,000, securing the support of legal firm Leigh Day and Cycling UK’s ‘Cyclists Defence Fund’.
On Tuesday, however, a meeting of the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority unanimously sanctioned £500,000 for the removal of the modal filter on Dryden Road as part of its 2026/27 Transport Capital Programme.
The meeting also agreed that a public consultation would be held to help the authority come to a solution that would “address local traffic concerns while still offering, safe attractive routes for people walking and cycling”.
According to the authority’s recommendations, the £500,000 will be acquired through highways funding, mainly through the government’s Local Transport Consolidated Funding. This is despite the Dryden Road changes being officially classified as an ‘active travel’ scheme in the council’s notes to the Department for Transport.
In January, Exeter’s Highways and Traffic Orders Committee confirmed that £55,000 of Active Travel England funding had been allocated to support public consultation activities and any ongoing work. It is expected that the total cost of the work will come to £650,000.
The proposed designs for the new layout are due to be published at the beginning of October and will be considered and voted on at the next HATOC meeting, attended by members of both Exeter City Council and Devon County Council, on 12 October.
road.cc understands that delays in the publication of the TRO are due to concerns within the local authority about the threat of legal action based on their designs for Dryden Road.
Once approved, a 21-day consultation on the TRO will commence and if no objections are submitted, work is scheduled to begin in the new year. However, Exeter Cycling Campaign had indicated that it will use the consultation period to launch its legal challenge in a bid to keep Dryden Road “safe”.
A spokesperson for the campaign told road.cc: “Devon County Council have decided to put aside half a million pounds for Dryden Road to reverse changes that have seen the local streets made much safer and removed traffic and main road congestion.
“We have a legal fund crowdfunded by our brilliant supporters, and the support and advice of a great legal firm and Cycling UK. When the County Council publish their plans we will be ready to keep on fighting to keep Dryden Road safe for everybody.”
Earlier this year, cycling writer Edward Pickering, the vice-chair of the Exeter Cycling Campaign, told road.cc that the proposed removal of the traffic filter amounted to “sacrificing cyclists’ safety for the sole benefit of drivers”.
“The worst thing is the funding to do this, which will increase danger to cyclists, is coming from the active travel pot,” he said.
“We were told by council officers that there was space for pedestrians, two-way traffic, and segregated bike lanes on Dryden Road. Now it turns out there isn’t, and surprise, surprise, guess which is going to be the one to give? It’s a disgrace.”
