FOR decades, those of us living in South East Cornwall have been promised improvements to the A38. Yet here we are again, talking about how to make do, rather than how to fix it properly.

National Highways has recently set out new safety proposals for the A38 between Liskeard and Trerulefoot. Nobody disputes that action is needed. The collision record along this stretch, particularly around its junctions, is deeply concerning.

But there is growing concern locally that these proposals simply do not go far enough.

Much of the scheme relies on restricting right turns and U-turns at existing junctions. But closing a turning does not make the journey disappear. People still need to get to work, school, shops and services, and businesses still need to move goods.

So we have to ask a simple question: where will that traffic go?

Menheniot Parish Council has raised concerns that the changes could push more cars and commercial vehicles onto our narrow country lanes. Instead of solving the problem, we risk transferring traffic from a trunk road managed by National Highways onto smaller roads maintained by Cornwall Council, potentially creating new safety problems for the communities that use them.

Safe38 has also questioned whether these proposals offer the long-term solution our communities need.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that we have been here before.

In 2016, considerably more ambitious plans were developed for the Menheniot and Lean Quarry junctions. These included a local access road linking the junction areas, allowing dangerous right-turn movements and central reservation gaps to be removed while still providing local communities with suitable access to the A38.

Ten years later, we appear to be discussing restrictions without equivalent replacement infrastructure.

If we accept these measures now as the solution, will we simply be told that the A38 has been dealt with? Will we then wait another ten or twenty years for the investment we need?

Liberal Democrats have consistently campaigned for proper investment in the A38 because this is not simply about one junction. The A38 is a vital economic artery connecting Cornwall with Plymouth, Devon and the wider South West.

Billions of pounds are being invested in Devonport and the Government recognises that this expansion will require more workers, more homes and better transport connections. South East Cornwall will inevitably form part of that wider economic area, with many people travelling across the Tamar for work. If we are serious about making the most of this opportunity, our transport infrastructure has to grow with it.

For those of us living in South East Cornwall, the A38 is also the road thousands of us depend upon every day.

Of course we should support measures that genuinely make the A38 safer. But safety cannot simply mean moving a problem from one road to another.

After decades of discussion, South East Cornwall deserves more than another temporary fix. We need the ambition to invest properly in a safer, more reliable A38 that serves our communities, local economy and future generations.