Residents of Crediton are being put at unnecessary and avoidable risk due to an ongoing failure by Tesco and Devon County Council (DCC) to take responsibility for a short but critical stretch of road outside Redlands Doctors Surgery (Joseph Locke Way).

This location is:

• a main two-way bus route
• a main access road to the train station, and the only GP practice in Crediton
• a place where people are currently forced to wait for buses in the road or on the side of the road, on an uneven grass verge, with no shelter, in all weather conditions

Despite this, there is:

• no safe hardstanding to site a bus shelter, or accessible dropped kerb to access it
• no bus shelter
• and the road is not included in the gritting network

A problem made worse by bad weather

During recent periods of ice and freezing conditions, this stretch of road was not gritted. This appears to be because Devon County Council does not yet “own” the road. As a result, there have already been accidents and near-misses, while people — including elderly residents and those attending medical appointments — have continued to wait for buses in exposed and unsafe conditions.

This is not a minor side street. It is a key access route to essential healthcare and a busy public transport corridor.

Responsibility is being passed back and forth

At present:

• Tesco owns the road, and has agreed to carry out some upgrade works around June
• the road is expected to be adopted by Devon County Council around July–August
• however, Tesco’s planned works DO NOT include a hardstanding (concrete base), accessible dropped kerb, or bus shelter
• and DCC refuses to consider these works, or to include the road in the gritting network, until the road is formally adopted

This has created an unacceptable stalemate, leaving residents exposed to risk for at least another six to eight months — if a solution is reached at all.

Attempts to resolve this quietly have failed

Tesco has already been contacted directly with a detailed explanation of the safety and accessibility risks at this location. Reasonable, low-cost solutions were proposed, including installing a basic hardstanding area and a dropped kerb on land that Tesco currently owns.

Despite this, no response has been received, and no action has been taken.

Real people are already affected

This is not a theoretical issue. Disabled residents are already being impacted.

One wheelchair user is able to travel to the GP surgery by bus, but cannot travel home in the opposite direction solely because there is no dropped kerb and no level, stable waiting area. Other residents are forced to stand in mud, on uneven ground, or on the carriageway itself — often in poor weather. Numerous residents have been in contact to express the difficulties they have in attending or leaving the GP surgery safely.

These are obvious and avoidable barriers to accessing essential healthcare and public transport.

What we are asking for

We call on both Tesco and Devon County Council to act NOW, not months down the line, by:

1. Adding this stretch of road and pavement to the gritting network immediately
2. Providing hardstanding (a concrete base) and an accessible dropped kerb
3. Installing a proper bus shelter
4. Ending the delay caused by arguments over ownership and responsibility

These are modest, low-cost measures with a disproportionately large benefit to public safety, accessibility, and community wellbeing.

Why this matters

Where organisations are aware that disabled people and vulnerable residents rely on land they control to access essential services, there is an expectation that reasonable steps are taken to remove obvious barriers. In this case, those steps are simple, affordable, and long overdue.

This petition is being launched only after attempts to resolve the issue directly have failed. Residents should not have to wait for a serious injury — or worse — before common sense prevails.

Please sign and share this petition to help push for urgent action.