Moves towards the planned Teign Estuary Trail are gathering pace after Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council agreed a combined investment of £1.45 million to push the project forward.

Devon County Council is providing £900,000 and Teignbridge are spending £550,000 towards the design and the purchase of land for the three kilometre stretch between Kingsteignton and Bishopsteignton.

The route will run along the river and will include raised boardwalks to cross streams leading into the estuary and a subway ‘to navigate existing infrastructure’.

The £550,000 from Teignbridge District Council is part of the £1million it pledged towards the project last November. Councillors had agreed to use money from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to buy the land and design the path from Passage House in Kingsteignton to the western edge of Bishopsteignton. Teignbridge has also spent £50,000 to outline a business case to fund the construction of the path, which a Teignbridge spokesperson said ‘has been completed and shows positive outputs’.

The remaining £400,000 of the £1million promised last year is being spent on Phase 2 design work and land purchase around Bishopsteignton. ‘The focus is currently on progressing with Phase 3 while remaining flexible in relation to any future opportunities across the entire route,’ the spokesperson added.

Both Devon and Teignbridge had already paid £200,000 each to submit planning applications for this section and the section from Broadmeadow into Teignmouth, which was approved in 2021.

The total cost of the Teign Estuary Trail, which will provide a safe route along the river avoiding the busy A381, is estimated at around £44million. While both councils are investing in the planning, design and land purchase work, the actual cost of the build will need to be funded externally.

‘There is strong support for the Teign Estuary Trail and I’m sure everyone will be encouraged that Devon and Teignbridge are providing this funding to enable progress on the design and land purchase to connect from the Passage House Inn to Bishopsteignton,’ said the Devon County Council cabinet member with responsibility for cycling, Councillor Stuart Hughes. ‘Our teams will be working hard to get this next section shovel ready, but significant external funding will be needed to deliver this and the other remaining sections of the trail,’ he added.

A public consultation in 2020 on route proposals between Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton and Teignmouth revealed overwhelming support for the trail to be delivered and regular stakeholder meetings about the trail are held three or four times a year to keep people up to date on progress.

The first section of the Teign Estuary Trail, a 1.2 kilometre section between Town Quay in Newton Abbot and the centre of Kingsteignton, opened in March 2013. A link from this section to the Passage House Inn opened in April 2018.

Other future sections include a three kilometre route from Bishopsteignton to Teignmouth and a further 3.3km of the trail linking Teignmouth to Dawlish.