Dear Supporters
It’s been some time, but negotiations are still continuing with Devon County Council and landowners in a bid to remove the blockages to the development of the proposed Littlehempston to Totnes cycle path route.
In the meantime, you may be interested to hear that Devon County Council have recently taken firm action to progress a similar project elsewhere in the county. DCC have given the go ahead to extend National Route 2 of the National Cycle Network from Dawlish out to Teignmouth, involving the construction of 2.5 miles of cycle path and the application of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) at an estimated cost of £2.2 million. This is an example of what Devon County Council can achieve if they put their mind to it. Details are available HERE.
NCN2 is a long distance cycle route which, when complete, will link Dover in Kent with St. Austell in Cornwall via the south coast of England. It is also known as the South Coast Cycle Route. 359 miles of NCN2 are currently in operation, but there remains a large gap between Dawlish and Plymouth. The quicker this gap is filled, the better for local people in terms of health, access, recreation, and earnings from tourism.
We remain committed to the campaign to complete our local section of the route: it is the lack of a viable safe route between Littlehempston and Totnes that has blocked NCN2 from connecting up Ivybridge and Newton Abbot. You may remember that DCC have already established that their route option 3 from Littlehempston to Totnes (sharing the steam railway’s footbridge) would cost £0.3 million – around a 7th of the price of the Dawlish to Teignmouth project. And we remain hopeful that a CPO will be unnecessary if land owners are provided with the security they need and persuaded to support the community and back the project. With local businesses still suffering the effects of the recession, this project could deliver a real boost to the area, providing extra pull for tourists to visit and spend – not to mention the benefits to locals living in and around Totnes, and in the villages up to Newton Abbot.
Thank you all for your continued support.
Further updates will follow once negotiations are concluded with key parties.
South Devon Cycle Link