Teignbridge Council should be making the most of the tourism opportunities offered by a £2.9 million cycle path due to be built between Kingsteignton and Newton Abbot, not just offering no objection to it a senior councillor has argued.

On Monday, members of the authority's development control committee met to discuss the latest planning application by Devon County Council for a new bridge over the River Teign at Town Quay and a path to Hackney Marshes.

Ken Berry, of the Newton Area Cycle Group, was invited to speak, and he said the benefits would be widespread.

Not only would leisure riders be better off, he argued, so would commuters and people who used mobility scooters as they would have a 'wonderful viewing point' looking out over the estuary.

Members agreed and offered their support. Council officers recommended that the meeting should not offer any objection to the county's scheme.

Then, Cllr Jeremy Christophers chipped in and, after apologising for 'pouring cold water' on the proceedings, asked why the council's tourism experts had not been consulted.

'Is no objection the best we can do? I think we need to be actively supporting this,' he said.

He went on to describe the latest section of the Connect 2 cycle route, that could one day run from Exeter along the coast to Dartmoor, as 'a major part of the jigsaw'.

He called for links to the Templer Way to promote tourism across the district.

Others followed suit, including Shaldon's Cllr Chris Clarance, who said the £1.3million set aside for the Kingsteignton to Teignmouth section had been safeguarded by the county.

Cllr Paul Parker, from Ashburton, said the cycle path could become the district's equivalent to the Camel Trail between Bodmin and Padstow, something, he said, that had driven economic regeneration in that part of Cornwall.

Bovey Tracey member Cllr Sally Morgan welcomed the application, saying: 'How about completing it all the way to Moretonhampstead?'

Members voted unanimously not to offer 'no objection' but to actively encourage the path's arrival.