A FUNDRAISER to fight the changes to Queen Street is close to its target as Newton Abbot’s MP says the scheme will not kill off local businesses.

Set up by the Queen Street Traders and Residents Association (QSTAR), the fundraiser is just a few hundred pounds shy of its £5,000 target.

As of Tuesday, August 6, the Crowdfunder has raised more than £4,300 and there are still five days to go.

QSTAR is calling for the scheme to be altered to one that carries the broad support of the traders and residents, but with works well underway, the only route left open to challenge the scheme is through the courts - hence the fundraiser.

This comes as Newton Abbot’s newly elected Liberal Democrat MP, Martin Wrigley, has this week said that the scheme will not kill off local businesses, contrary to the view held by QSTAR and many others.

Mr Wrigley also claimed it hadn't been an issue for local residents, citing a recent by-election of Newton Abbot Town Council where a Liberal Democrat beat a candidate running on a ‘Save Queen Street’ platform, see below.