LCWIP

Otter Trail LCWIP Response

The page contains a summary of the Otter Trail Group and the Sidmouth Cycling Campaign’s response to Devon County Council’s Consultation on the Countywide Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).

The Otter Trail Group was formed in 2012 and, together with sister organisations in Sidmouth, has worked towards the establishment of a shared use trail from Sidmouth to Feniton via Tipton St John and Ottery St Mary.

Key achievements have been

  • The completion of a Study into the Feasibility of the route (SUSTRANS, 2013) , which recommended that the route be constructed in seven sections,
  • The 2018 agreement in principle of the landowner (Clinton Devon Estates) to an access arrangement covering the Bowd to Tipton section of the route (Otter Trail Group and Ross Mills, DCC), and
  • The 2018 preparation of detailed design and costings for the Bowd to Tipton section (co-ordinated by Emma Hext, DCC).

The East Devon countryside provides a beautiful experience on foot and cycle, and the concept of linking up communities (Sidmouth, Tipton, Ottery and Feniton) with a safe route is very appealing and would provide tourism, leisure, and local commuting benefits. Currently there are no accessible, safe routes from Sidmouth to the countryside. Existing routes either involve busy roads (e.g. A3052), or steep hills (Peak Hill or Salcombe Hill). The proposed route offers safe, easy graded access to and from the Otter Valley and forms the basis of a route onward to Ottery St Mary and Feniton.

The section from the Bowd to Tipton St John has detailed plans and costings available and it had the agreement in princple of the landowner (as of 2018). This section in and of itself will provide a valuable all weather connection between Sidmouth and the Otter Valley for walkers and cyclists, and will support the development of links into Sidmouth town and back to Ottery St Mary.

BACKGROUND MATERIAL

In 2013 SUSTRANS delivered an 80-page report entitled ‘Feniton to Sidmouth (Otter Trail) Feasibility Report‘. It recommended that the Trail be constructed in seven sections. At the time it was estimated that the construction cost (with an ‘at grade’ crossing of the A2052 near the Bowd) was £1.4M.

In 2015 the Otter Trail was incorporated into DCC’s 15 year Transport Plan.

In 2016 The Otter Trail Group commissioned a Civil Engineer to undertake an assessment of two of the proposed seven sections and to produce reports ‘Detailing the Works Required’. Reports: ‘The Bowd to Tipton‘, ‘Tipton to Ottery‘.

In 2017 Funding from East Devon ANOB and Cllr Stuart Hughes allowed the Otter Trail and Sidmouth Groups to commission a SUSTRANS’ study into cycle routes both within Sidmouth and also to the surrounding countryside. Report: ‘Sidmouth and East Devon Network Study‘.

In 2018 The Otter Trail Group and DCC (Ross Mills) negotiate an access agreement with the landowner (Clinton Devon Estates) of one of the seven sections of the trail (Bowd to Tipton).

Also in 2018 DCC (Roger North) developed detailed plans and costings for the Bowd to Tipton section. DCC (Emma Hext) and the Otter Trail Group applied for a grant from the Rural Development Fund for England (RDPE) to cover the construction costs. Unfortunately, this application was unsuccessful.

In 2023 both the Otter Trail Group and Sidmouth Cycling Campaign conducted surveys of residents’ views on cycling in East Devon. Otter Trail Responses, Sidmouth Responses.