Councillors back Newton Abbot to Torquay bike route bid

The government is due to make a decision on the bid by the autumn

Councillors have backed a £15m bid for a cycle route between Newton Abbot and Torquay.

Teignbridge District Council and Devon County Council are applying to the government for "levelling-up" funding.

As well as the dedicated new cycle route, the scheme would help provide better connectivity to a new housing development at Wolborough.

The government is expected to make a decision by the autumn, Teignbridge councillors were told.

The local authority will put in £500,000 and Devon County Council has agreed to pay £1m, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Speaking at this week's annual meeting, Councillor Gary Taylor, executive member for planning, said the route would make "better use of existing infrastructure and encourage increased cycling along one of Teignbridge's most important commuter corridors".

He added: "The scheme, with its new links, would deliver more sustainable, low carbon and low-cost travel choices and would secure long-lasting benefits for people living and working in the area."

Some councillors questioned why the authority was not instead focussing on the long-awaited next section of the Teign Estuary Trail, from the Passage House Inn to Teignmouth, that was approved by the county council last year.

An officer explained that projects awarded levelling-up funding have to be completed by March 2025 and the county council had advised that it was "not feasible" to get the Teign Estuary Trail done within that timescale.

The officer added, however, that the trail was a "popular scheme and a high priority".