THE proposed Boniface Trail is moving into its next stage!

Specialist surveys will take place on the A377 between Crediton and Newton St Cyres from Monday, September 7 to Wednesday, September 23.

The information gathered will help Devon County Council develop more detailed plans for the proposed 12km walking and cycling route between Crediton Railway Station and Exeter St David’s.

The topographical surveys will provide detailed information about the highway and surrounding land.

Temporary traffic signals will be in use between the Tesco Superstore roundabout in Crediton and Newton St Cyres in the first instance.

The County Council has explained that the road will remain open, but delays are likely, and advises people to please allow extra time or consider an alternative route where possible.

A map of the proposed route of the Boniface Trail between Crediton and Exeter.
A map of the proposed route of the Boniface Trail between Crediton and Exeter. (DCC)

Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said: “The Boniface Trail has the potential to provide a safer and more direct walking and cycling connection between Crediton and Exeter, so we are pleased that plans are moving into their next stage.

“We have worked closely with local communities as the preferred route has been developed. These surveys will allow us to develop the design and understand how the trail could be delivered safely.”

It was in January that the decades-long bid to connect Exeter and Crediton with a cycle trail took a major step forward but campaigners pleaded for quick action.

The Trail took a significant leap towards to becoming a reality when Devon County Council’s cabinet endorsed a preferred route and fired the starting gun on moves to buy up land it needs to complete the trail.

Newton St Cyres sign IMG_0900.jpg
Temporary traffic lights will operate between Newton St Cyres and Crediton Tesco store to allow survey works to be completed until September 23. (Alan Quick, Crediton Courier)

In the first instance it agreed to progress with the first section from Crediton to Newton St Cyres.

Further stages will then follow, from there on to Langford and Cowley, and then to Exeter St David’s. The total cost at 2025 prices is around £15.5 million.

Nearly a third of commuting trips from Crediton are to Exeter, yet there is a severe lack of safe ways to walk, cycle or wheel between the two locations, Devon County Council’s cabinet heard in January.

Campaigners who have been pushing for the trail for years or even decades, welcomed the report but pressed the cabinet to ensure it moved quickly to bring the trail to life.

Nick Dyer, Chair of the Boniface Trail Association who wrote a letter of support to all Cabinet Members, said: “The unanimous decision of Cabinet to endorse the A377 alignment option and approve commencement of acquisition procedures is most welcome. There is much work to be done.”

Resident Gerald Conyngham, who attended the meeting to address the cabinet, said: “I’m very glad about this report as it is very much in line with what we are aiming for, but I’m concerned about timing.

“I hope the suggestion that the first phase won’t be completed in the next two to three years is wrong, and I hope this project is given priority, especially given the Crediton to Newton St Cyres section is eminently doable.”

It is hoped government-related transport funding and contributions from housing developers can be secured to pay for the route.

While the proposed route will largely follow the A377, it will use a so-called ‘quiet lanes alignment’ between Newton St Cyres and Langford.

In January the cabinet voted unanimously in favour of progressing the trail.

Find out more: https://orlo.uk/WJHiU