Clyst Valley Regional Park: Plan to double accessible green space

Clyst Valley Regional Park provides a buffer between Exeter and the countryside

A plan to double the amount of accessible space in an east Devon park will be put before residents.

East Devon District Council proposed increasing accessible space in Clyst Valley Regional Park by 740 hectares (1828 acres) over 25 years.

It said the park would be linked by greenways or accessible routes through the area.

Councillor Geoff Jung, portfolio holder for the environment, said the plans "provided access to the countryside".

According to the plans, a large proportion of Clyst Valley Regional Park lies within the National Trust's Killerton Estate, while 40% of it is within a floodplain.

At present, 762 hectares (1882 acres) of land is accessible.

Boundary changes

Members of the council's strategic planning committee voted in favour of the plans going out to consultation.

A key aspect of the proposal includes the removal of some areas from the existing regional park boundary, including Cranbrook, Clyst St Mary and the enterprise zone, where development has taken place.

The council also said a separate master plan would be determined for green spaces and routes for the new community between the A3052 and the A30.

Those spaces would ultimately form part of the park, it said.

Mr Jung said of the proposal: "At the same time as we're building new houses, we have to provide access to the countryside and this project does exactly that, so I hope councillors support it."

Plans welcomed

Councillor Olly Davey, chairman of the strategic planning committee, praised the plan's inclusion of the new community and its links to the park.

"It looks like for once we're getting that right, and we'll make sure we get the other bits of the new community right in the same way," he said.

"This is something members have often called for, and it looks like that will happen, so these plans are to be welcomed."

The consultation is expected to begin later in May and last for six weeks.