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Today, the Connect2 scheme to enable walkers and cyclists from Ottery St Mary to travel over the beautiful River Otter for easy, direct and traffic-free access across the town is a step closer as sustainable transport charity Sustrans and its Connect2 partners at East Devon District Council sign the paperwork that will guide the development for the coming years.

The agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, confirms partners’ continued commitment to the project and pledges £150,000 from Sustrans’ Connect2 lottery award to create the walking and cycling network over the river linking the town in the east and the high school, hospital and workplaces in the west. 

The new bridge near the Tumbling Weir will be accessible to people pushing prams, wheelchair users, cyclists and walkers. There will also be a network of connecting paths – approaching the bridge and linking into the local community.

Over the next two to three years, Sustrans and East Devon District Council, together with Devon County Council, will work together to complete the scheme. Now the agreement between partners has been signed, the project will progress through planning, design and construction stages over the next three years. It is anticipated that work will begin on the ground in 2010.

Sustrans’ area manager, Peter Grainger said: “The new bridge over the River Otter will re-draw the map of the walking and cycling network of the town to provide convenient links and create a traffic-free path between important local destinations including Ottery Hospital and the King’s School. I’m looking forward to working with the local community and District and County Councils to make it happen.”

Councillor David Cox, an East Devon District County Ward Member for Ottery St Mary Town Ward, said: ''There is a great deal of enthusiasm and support within the town for the new footpath and bridge, which will enable residents, school children and visitors to walk and cycle in safety away from the busy main road. The scheme will link with the National Cycle Network and will play a key role in boosting the economic future of Ottery St. Mary''.

Councillor Margaret Rogers, Devon County Council Executive Member for Environment, said: “We were delighted to lend our support to Sustrans in its successful bid for Lottery funding for the Connect 2 project, which is benefiting two communities in Devon, Ottery St Mary and Newton Abbot. I am very pleased that this is enabling Ottery Saint Mary to get its bridge and further ambitions for walking and cycling in the area, and we are keen to see both this scheme and the Newton Abbot scheme coming to fruition.”

This scheme has been made possible through the enormous popular support for Sustrans’ Connect2 – as voted for by the public in the UK’s largest lottery competition in December 2007. In addition, after the size of the project was scaled up to provide a safe walking and cycling route even during floods, there has been tremendous additional support from East Devon District Council, Devon County Council, the Environment Agency, Ottery St Mary Town Council, and Cycling England’s Links to Schools to raise the funds needed.

Published on 07th Apr 2009