Barnstaple M5 motorway. Because Barnstaple is the main shopping area for North Devon, retail work is a contributor to the economy. There are many generic chain stores in the town centre and in the Roundswell Business Park, on the western fringe of the town. Tesco has several stores in the area, which includes a Tesco Extra hypermarket, a large Tesco superstore. There is also a Sainsbury's superstore, a Lidl supermarket. And, the multi-million pound redevelopment of the former Leaderflush Shapland works at Anchorwood Bank, and the surrounding area, is creating a conservation area near the River Taw, hundreds of new homes,
Barnstaple railway station centre of Barnstaple is reached by crossing the Long Bridge over the River Taw from the station. A footpath from the station leads onto the cycleway along the abandoned railway line to Bideford which forms part of the South West Coast Path. Engineers sidings remain just before the terminus, with a run around loop accessed from a ground frame. The connection to the second platform also remains however the platform itself is no longer in use. Barnstaple is served by fourteen trains each weekday (approximately once each hour), fifteen on Saturdays (due to a 00:05 service) and seven on Sundays