Businesses are being urged to complete a survey to help strengthen a funding bid for repairs to the A379.

Dartmouth & District Chamber of Commerce is asking businesses to spend 10 minutes completing its Economic Impact Survey, with the anonymised results due to be shared with South Devon MP Caroline Voaden and Devon County Council (DCC).

The information will be used to support a request to central government for funding to repair the road, which the chamber says is a vital link for local communities and businesses.

In an appeal to members, the chamber said only one questionnaire had been completed in the four days since the survey was launched, despite a typically stronger response to previous surveys.

The chamber stressed it is "not a political organisation" and that its role is to support the local business community and maintain a healthy commercial economy.

It said: "Central Government have given Caroline and DCC an opportunity to pitch for funding to repair the A379. This is not a permanent solution to this key link for our communities, but a repair would solve the immediate issue of disconnect."

The chamber said funding bids require as much evidence as possible demonstrating both the need for investment and the economic benefits it would deliver, with businesses best placed to provide that information.

It also stated what it believes are challenges facing the bid, including a limited understanding within central government of the impact road closures have on rural communities and the importance of the visitor economy in the South West.

The chamber added: "We are all rightly proud of the inherent resilience of the communities we live in, but we should not let that resilience mean we overlook an opportunity to get a deserved helping hand."

The chamber will produce a summary of the survey findings and share them with participants as well as publishing the results on its website.

To complete the survey visit : https://tinyurl.com/2te92twn