County council to proceed with compulsory purchase of land to complete Seaton to Colyford cycle way

Devon County Council is to proceed with a compulsory purchase Order (CPO) to complete the Stop Line Way cycle route through Seaton Wetlands.

Seaton county councillor Martin Shaw has revealed that the CPO will be advertised this week and, if successful, will complete the 'missing link' on the Seaton to Colyford multi-use path following unsuccessful negotiations with landowners.

Cllr Shaw said: "I'm disappointed that negotiations with the landowner did not produce a result, and I should warn that the CPO process could still take some months, but this is progress.

"I wish to pay tribute to the officers who have pursued this. I know that many people in Seaton and Colyford and the entire area will be pleased."

The Seaton to Colyford section of the Stop Line Way forms part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network, which is being developed in sections across the country.

Trafalgar Way in Axminster opened in 2009; Aldercar under the A35 into Kilmington in 2011; and Cloakham in Axminster to Weycroft in 2012. The Seaton to Colyford section first opened in 2015.

The Stop Line Way is a long distance coast-to-coast walking and cycling route which in parts is suitable for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

In Devon, the route stretches from Seaton Promenade to the county boundary passing through Axminster and will be a largely traffic-free footway and cycleway.  When complete the trail will form a 70-mile link from the Bristol Channel to Lyme Bay, passing through Devon, Somerset, and Dorset.

The Stop Line Way route of the trail closely follows and is named after the Second World War defences built following the evacuation of Allies from Dunkirk, as the Devon and Cornwall coast was considered too long to defend.

Many of the concrete pillboxes and anti-tank gun emplacements remain along the line and can be seen from parts of the cycling and walking route.