Dawlish News

You would be forgiven for not knowing where the South Devon Link Road was going – even after studying the plans. But will it really be going at all?

Despite the lengthy prose poem celebrating a year of works in the Herald Express on November 12 (we guess it’s probably a formatting problem, but how avant guard if not!), a Devon Councillor has highlighted that one of the companies involved has gone into ‘examinership’.

Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Newton Abbot South and District Councillor for Buckland and Milber, Gordon Hook, through whose constituency the new road cuts a jaunty swathe, has written about the rumours surrounding the South Devon Link Road on his website.

Apparently, GallifordTry (the main contractor involved in the building of the road) have sub contracted a sizeable proportion of the on site work to an Irish company called SIAC Construction, which Gordon says has gone into ‘examinership’ (an ‘Irish equivalent of receivership’) with debts of 42m Euros.

Gordon writes: “The CEO is also in court on fraud charges. This and other news of the company can all be found and confirmed on line at SIAC Construction Ltd. It makes unpleasant and unhappy reading for the employees of the company, and I have already asked for assurances that the funding for the SDLR is secure.

“The last thing I, or I imagine any residents living anywhere near the project want is for it to ‘fall’ now. While I may have significant reservations about the merit of the scheme, to see it stop now would be a disaster of mega proportions for all concerned.

“As I say, I am seeking re assurances and will keep you posted.”

There are potential purchasers of the company, and it is hoped ‘that local business will not suffer as a consequence of this financial collapse and that debts will be honoured’.

For the full story – and for updates – pop over to Gordon Hook’s site. Also, if you have an info about the situation, drop Gordon a line.