Introduction
The Teign Estuary Trail is a core aspiration for Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council. It will provide a high-quality multi-use trail for walking, wheeling and cycling along the Teign Estuary, connecting Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton to Dawlish.
The trail will fill the gap between existing multi-use trails, the Exe Estuary Trail, the Stover Trail (Newton Abbot to Bovey Tracey) and the Wray Valley Trail (Bovey Tracey to Moretonhampstead), linking city to sea to moor.
The route is included within the consultation draft of the Devon Countywide Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan as a priority for the county.
The Teign Estuary Trail route will be delivered in sections, which are described in more detail below. Some sections have already been delivered, and future sections will continue to be designed and prepared for construction in the coming years.
Route Sections
Newton Abbot to Passage House Inn
From: Newton Abbot
To: Passage House Inn via Kingsteignton
The first section of the Teign Estuary Trail, between the Town Quay in Newton Abbot and the centre of Kingsteignton opened in March 2013. This section of the route provides a valuable connection for local trips between the two urban areas.
In April 2018 a 700 metre spur of this route linking eastwards to the Passage House Inn opened. This section provides a route towards the Teign Estuary from Newton Abbot and Kingsteington.
Passage House Inn to Bishopsteignton
From: Passage House Inn
To: Bishopsteignton (West)
The next section of the Teign Estuary Trail to be developed will be the section between the Passage House Inn and Bishopsteignton. This part of the trail will run over open land parallel to the Teign estuary and north of the railway. The route will include a number of raised boardwalks to cross the water courses leading down to the estuary and a subway to navigate existing infrastructure.
A connection to the western extent of Bishopsteignton will be made to allow residents and businesses in Bishopsteignton to benefit from the trail.
This section will ultimately connect the well-populated settlements of Newton Abbot and Kingsteington with Bishopsteignton, by providing a safe and consistent route along the estuary, avoiding the busy A381.
It will provide a transformational new access to the stunning Teign Estuary for those walking, wheeling and cycling.
This delivery of this section of the route has strong stakeholder support and will bring significant opportunities for local residents and visitors to travel sustainably along the estuary.
Following commitments of £200,000 from both Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council to submit a planning application, in 2021 planning permission was granted for this section of the Teign Estuary Trail, and beyond to Broadmeadow junction on the edge of Teignmouth. The planning application reference is DCC/4238/2021 and the documentation can be viewed on the Devon County Council planning website.
Bishopsteignton to Teignmouth
From: Bishopsteignton (West)
To: Teignmouth (West)
This section of the trail will continue along the northside of the railway, parallel to the estuary. Using raised boardwalks, the multi-use trail will allow views over the ponds and banks of the estuary. A new bridge will be built over Flow Lane.
A spur northbound will link the trail to Bishopsteignton along Flow Lane, maximising connectivity for residents, visitors and businesses.
The trail will join the A381 Teignmouth Road west of Bishopsteignton. A shared use path will provide a safe route on the northern side of the A381; the existing footway will be widened, and sections of the highway will be utilised to provide the appropriate width for walkers, wheelers and cyclists.
The route will reach Teignmouth at the junction of the A381 with the entrance to the Morrisons superstore.
Within 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
From: Teignmouth (East)
To: Dawlish (South)
From Teignmouth, the routes for pedestrians and cyclist would diverge. The promenade adjacent to the railway will provide a safe route northbound for pedestrians, and cyclists will head northeast using quiet roads near Eastcliff Park.
From Cliff Road, the trail will continue along a shared-used path parallel to the A379 to the southern extent of Dawlish.
The South West coast path will continue to provide a route for pedestrians along the coast.
Engagement and Consultation
A number of stages of engagement and consultation have been undertaken to date to understand to what extent, and in what ways, the local community, partners and stakeholders support the development of the Teign Estuary Trail.
Overall, 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 Teign Estuary Trail.
-
2019 Engagement
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.
-
2020 Public Consultation
Devon County Council hosted a public consultation on the route proposals between Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton, and Teignmouth between 17 November and 18 December 2020.
View the Have Your Say page for this consultation online.
The public consultation report summarises the overall results of the consultation, which demonstrated strong support for the proposals for the Newton Abbot to Teignmouth sections (92%) and for the delivery of the Teign Estuary Trail overall (98%).
-
Ongoing Engagement
The local authorities continue to engagement with the local community, stakeholders and partners on the progress of the trail.
A Teign Estuary Trail stakeholder meeting is held three to four times a year, which is chaired by Bishopsteignton Parish Council, and attended by Devon County Council, Teignbridge District Council and representatives of the Teign Estuary Trail Campaign Group. Updates are shown on the Bishopsteignton Parish Council website.
Following commitment of the funding of the planning application for the Newton Abbot to Teignmouth part of the Teign Estuary Trail, a joint letter of support for the delivery of the Teign Estuary Trail was sent to Sustrans, the walking and cycling charity responsible for the National Cycle Network, in order to raise awareness and support for the ongoing work to develop the route.
Next Steps
In November 2023, Teignbridge District Council committed funding for the production of a tourism opportunities report and an outline business case for the Teign Estuary Trail. This business case has since been developed and demonstrated the scheme represents good value for money. This outcome has secured a further £550,000 of Community Infrastructure Levy funding from Teignbridge District Council.
The results of the business case have unlocked further funding from Teignbridge District Council, and in October 2024, the Devon County Council Cabinet approved a commitment of £900,000 towards the Teign Estuary Trail.
Combined, the two authorities are dedicating £1.45 million towards further design work and land acquisition for the Teign Estuary Trail. This funding will be targeted towards the Passage House Inn to Bishopsteignton section of the route.
The design work has commenced, and in the coming years will include processes such as land inspections, surveying and the discharge of the 14 planning conditions attached to the planning permission.
The full delivery of this section of the trail, and the remaining sections of the Teign Estuary Trail, will require significant funding from external sources. While design works progress, the project team will continue investigating and preparing for potential external funding opportunities to enable the construction of the trail.
Useful links
The following links provide supplementary information relevant to the Teign Estuary Trail.
Contact Information
Post: Devon County Council, Transport Planning, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QD
Email: transportplanning@devon.gov.uk.
Phone: 0345 155 1004
Accessibility
We take accessibility seriously and recognise that some of the information presented in the files available on this page may not be fully accessible to someone using assistive technology such as a screen reader.
If you need guidance or an alternative format, email transportplanning@devon.gov.uk with details of any preferred format and the assistive technology you use.