Upgrade M5 to ease our route south

A SUPER summer has attracted a vast number of tourists from the Midlands to sun-soaked Devon and Cornwall, to the great delight of local businesses down there.

However, there has been a price to pay, namely a slow hot journey down the M5, overloaded at times by holidaymakers. Journeys have been twice as long as usual, with eight hours to Cornwall not unheard of.

It is not until Exeter is reached when traffic crawling off the M5 splits into three streams heading for Torbay, Cornwall via Bodmin and the South Devon coast, that speeds increase.

This weekend is the last Bank Holiday of the year, so if this summer lasts a little longer, and the current signs are not bad, once more vehicles on the M5 will be reduced to a crawl.

I would have thought that Government would appreciate this growing problem and start to bring forward plans to add an extra lane all the way down to Exeter, while extending the M5 into Cornwall.

Travelling abroad is becoming more expensive due to the sinking pound, which coupled with the problems of striking workers, be it pilots or air traffic controllers, is persuading British holiday makers to stay at home.

This in turn, is very good for a mass of small businesses that depend on tourism in this country for their bread and butter.

The M5 is the only road to the West Country, for the alternative means driving through Gloucester, Bristol and Taunton on the old A38, a tortuous journey, with many speed restrictions through villages and hamlets resulting in a lengthy time in a hot car, not good for maintaining even tempers.

Perhaps our mayor, Andy Street could add to his list the urgent need to get Government to look away from the needs of the South-East, and dole out some money to help road users of the Midlands who pay high taxes, but see little investment that will ease their misery. Russell Luckock is chairman of Birmingham pressings firm

AE Harris