A campaign group calling for more road safety measures on the A38 in Cornwall has expressed anger and frustration after learning proposed improvements face a long delay, writes Warren Wilkins.

Safe38 says that all funding for safety projects on the route in South East Cornwall has been pushed back five years by the Department for Transport to balance the books.

James Millidge, the chairman of Safe38, said: “We are frankly shocked and dismayed that funding for vital safety improvements on one of the South West’s most notorious roads has been delayed.

“Safety cameras, lower speed limits and junction improvements would have reduced 30 per cent of collisions and seen a significant reduction in deaths and life-changing injuries.

“How can it be right that residents and visitors to South East Cornwall will have to wait until after 2030, potentially up to 12 years, for the most basic of safety interventions such as average speed cameras?

“The Department for Transport is failing completely in its duty of care to road users on this stretch of road — the proposed safety measures would have saved lives and reduced serious injuries.

“We think this is a serious error in judgement and very short-sighted.

“We call on the Department of Transport to make funding available so that, at the very least, average speed cameras can be rolled out by National Highways on this stretch of the A38 between Carkeel and Trerulefoot as soon as possible as we know these are proven to save lives.

“And we call again on our local MP to ensure sufficient funding for this is made available.

“It’s high time that South East Cornwall roads enjoyed their fair share of the levelling up so that they are future-proofed in the same way as the infrastructure further west in the county.”

South East Cornwall Liberal Democrats are urgently calling on the Government to reverse the decision to not fund the safety upgrades on the A38 from Trerulefoot to Carkeel.

Cornwall councillor Colin Martin said: “This road has one of the highest accident rates in the county and is in desperate need of critical safety improvements.

“Conservative South East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray promised that this road upgrade was a priority for her but once again this has turned out to be a hollow promise.

“It’s another example of South East Cornwall being left behind.”

Mrs Murray has responded saying that she will carry on “pushing” to get the work done as a matter of urgency.

Mrs Murray said: “I have already expressed to the Minister he can expect me to keep pushing. One of the things I have already asked him to do is to look at other pots of money that might be available outside the road investment strategy programme to see if anything can be delivered on the A38 to keep it safer for people using it.”

Mark Harper, secretary of state for transport, stressed that the work would still go ahead although it would be delayed due to financial constraints: “It’s about us balancing the books and dealing with the difficult financial challenges we’ve got.”.

In Tideford campaigners attended the long-awaited opening of the revamped children’s playpark to drive home their message that a pelican crossing is needed in the village. Such a crossing would be an additional measure to the current proposed package of safety works for the Carkeel to Trerulefoot section of the A38 which had been put forward for potential delivery from 2025 onwards but has now been pushed back.