Work to upgrade a missing section of the Tarka Trail has now been completed. Devon County Council is committed to connecting the final sections of the trail between Willingcott and Knowle in order to link the route between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe.
The 385-metre section on Nethercott Road is the latest to be delivered. Although the section on-road has low traffic numbers with surveys showing one vehicle every three minutes at its busiest times and driving speeds are low.
The upgrade, funded with the Government’s Active Travel Funding, has created five passing places alongside the existing road with retaining walls and timber fences above. These passing places will improve the safety of walkers and cyclists should they meet oncoming vehicles.
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New signs and road markings have also been added to make drivers more aware of the possibility of people in the road and to reduce speeds.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for highway management, said: “We remain committed to completing these gaps in the Tarka Trail, and I’m pleased to see work has finished on this short stretch at Nethercott Road. While there is traffic on this section, volumes are low and similar layouts of passing places already exist and have worked successfully on rural lane sections of the Wray Valley Trail between Newton Abbot and Moretonhampstead. The Tarka Trail is hugely popular and I hope the improvements will be welcomed by everyone who uses it.”
Councillor Pru Maskell, County Councillor for Braunton Rural, said: “I am delighted that another section of the Tarka Trail has been completed and that we are another step closer to delivering the trail from Knowle to Willingcott. The team has been working hard to achieve this goal, which will be hugely welcomed by people in the area.”
Completing the gaps in the Tarka Trail is a priority identified in the North Devon and Torridge Local Plan 2011-2031 and Devon’s
Transport Infrastructure Plan.
Work on the next section of the route, from Buttercombe Lane to Foxhunters, is expected to start in the summer.
