The green light has been given to dual one of the last remaining single stretches of the A30 in Cornwall.

Cornwall Council said the improvements from Temple to Higher Carblake would remove a “major bottleneck” that has a “serious detrimental effect” on business, tourism and the lives of Cornish residents.

Queues of up to nine miles of traffic are common on that stretch in the peak summer months.

Today Chancellor George Osborne announced as part of his Autumn Budget statement that developing a scheme to dual the 2.8 mile section can now begin in the knowledge that, if planning permission is secured, the funding is available for the first time.

Dan Rogerson, MP for that area of North Cornwall, has been working with Cornwall Council and the Temple to Bodmin A30 Action Group for a number of years in a bid to make the scheme happen.

He said: “I would like to pay tribute to the work of the A30 Action Group and local people for the way in which they’ve come together with such resolute determination.”

Improvements to the A30 were identified by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership as one of its key priorities earlier this year, with chairman Chris Pomfret estimating that the work would benefit transport by £154 million, by reducing congestion and delays, as well as bring a £117 million boost for the Cornish economy.