Traffic information

The Teign Estuary Trail

The Teign Estuary Trail is a long-term aspiration of Devon County Council, forming part of the council’s Cycling and Multi-use Trail Strategy with work being undertaken to progress the design of various sections over recent years.

The first section of the Teign Estuary Trail between Town Quay, Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton was opened in March 2013. This section, while part of the future Teign Estuary route, is a valuable connection for local utility trips to work and other facilities in its own right.

More recently, the route eastwards linking Newton Abbot Racecourse to Passage House Inn opened in April 2018. This currently leaves a gap on the coastal walking and cycling route between Passage House Inn and Dawlish.

From Dawlish, the path already connects to the Exe Estuary Trail and provides a high-quality route via Exeter to Exmouth.

The Teign Estuary Trail Strategy

The work to connect the Teign and Exe Estuary routes has been divided into multiple sections: Passage House Inn to Bishopsteignton and Teignmouth, Teignmouth and Teignmouth to Dawlish. Design work is progressing on outstanding sections of the Teign Estuary Trail.

Strategic Routes from Exmouth to Newton Abbot — Teign Estuary Trail Strategic Routes

Passage House Inn to Bishopsteignton and Teignmouth

In 2019, Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council both committed £200,000 to prepare and submit a planning application for the missing link between Passage House Inn and Teignmouth.

This part of the route is approximately 5km in length from the end of the current section at Passage House Inn. The section to Bishopsteignton would run over open land north of the railway and connections would be made to Bishopsteignton which would enable local businesses to benefit from additional trade.

Beyond Bishopsteignton the route has several constraints given the nature of the topography together with the proximity to the A381, neighbouring properties, the main west coast railway line and the estuary.

To address these, a route primarily on the northern side of the A381 has been identified utilising sections of old highway and widening sections of existing footway, some set into the hillside, to achieve desired path widths and provide estuary views.

This would stretch from Bishopsteignton for approximately 1.5km, terminating at the junction of the A381 with the entrance to Morrisons superstore/garage.

A public consultation on the proposals between Newton Abbot and Teignmouth was held between 17 November 2020 and 18 December 2020. Consultation information is still available on the consultation webpage. Following the close of the public consultation, the project team reviewed responses in order to establish an understanding of the support for the proposals and any issues raised with a view of including these in the ongoing scheme design where possible. The Public Consultation Report summarises the overall results, which demonstrated strong support for the proposals (92%) and for the Teign Estuary Trail overall (98%).

The planning application for the section of the Teign Estuary Trail between the Broadmeadow junction and Passage House (Kingsteignton) was submitted in May 2021 and was approved (with conditions) in December 2021. There were notable efforts dedicated towards the preparation of material for the planning application, which was funded jointly by Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council. The planning applications reference is DCC/4238/2021 and the documentation can be viewed on the Devon County Council planning website. Work is currently underway to establish up-to-date estimates based on the approved design plans for the route. There are 14 planning conditions that require further work to be undertaken subsequent to the planning approval (some of which need to be discharged ahead of commencing any delivery works). A flexible plan for progressing these has been produced, but this will require further funding to resource. The project team will continue progressing work on the scheme whilst investigating potential funding opportunities.

Teignmouth

Within Teignmouth, pedestrians would use existing footways. A segregated cycle route is not currently possible due to the constraints of the urban environment. It is therefore proposed that for the time being the Teign Estuary Trail strategy does not prioritise sections within the Teignmouth urban environment beyond the junction of the A381 with the entrance to Morrisons.

It is expected that confident cyclists would remain on the existing highway to navigate the urban environment, whilst those who are less confident would permeate through quieter, residential routes.

Should suitable funding sources be identified, a further phase of the Teign Estuary Trail to include the provision of an urban route through Teignmouth could be explored. However, to prevent the resolution of these challenging aspects from stalling the route as a whole, this is omitted from the current strategy.

Teignmouth to Dawlish

A complete route between Teignmouth and Holcombe has been identified, beginning in Teignmouth town centre. Pedestrians could use the promenade adjacent to the railway, and for cyclists, the route would head northeast using quiet roads near Eastcliff Park and public rights of way before running on shared-use paths parallel to the A379 to Holcombe.

Northeast from Holcombe, the trail would continue along shared-use paths parallel to the main A379 to reach Dawlish. There is an existing pedestrian route along the coast.

Following a similar approach to the urban area in Teignmouth, a light-touch approach would be taken through Dawlish itself. Pedestrians would use existing facilities and it is expected that confident cyclists would remain on the existing highway, whilst those who are less confident could be routed through quieter, residential routes.

Local Engagement

The local authorities are continuing to engage with partners and the local community on the progress of the Trail. The Teign Estuary Trail plans are supported by a number of local councils, including Devon County Council, Teignbridge District Council and town and parish councils along the estuary. Following confirmation of the funding commitment for the planning application, a joint letter of support for the delivery of the Teign Estuary Trail was sent to Sustrans, the walking and cycling charity with responsibility for the National Cycle Network, in order to raise awareness and support for the ongoing work to develop the route.

Devon County Council, Teignbridge District Council and Bishopsteignton Parish Council attended the 2019 Bishopsteignton Festival to gather community input into the planning application being prepared.

The local ‘Save the Teign Estuary Trail Campaign’ also helped out at the event where a total of 168 signatures of support were collected, a noteworthy amount of support at a local event.

The Teign Estuary Trail is a project which continues to attract significant local support, with a huge number of residents, cycle enthusiasts, walkers, business owners and visitors to the area flagging up the need for the delivery of this route on a continual basis.

A public consultation was held between 17 November and 18 December 2020, which received approximately 3000 responses from members of the public. The details and outcome of this can be seen on the consultation’s Have Your Say webpage.

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Last Updated: 17 August 2022