COUNTY Hall has paved the way for the creation of the Teign Estuary Trail cycle route.

Hopes of creating the traffic-free alternative to the busy A381 have been building for more than a decade.

On Wednesday members of Devon County Council's cabinet agreed to take the multi-million pound project to the next stage.

They confirmed a preferred route from the Passage House Inn, Kingsteignton, to Teignmouth Station which stays mainly to the landward side of the railway.

The meeting agreed the land could be acquired by negotiation or compulsory powers if necessary.