NEW cycles routes are to be created around Okehampton and Hatherleigh as part of £7 million project to develop the National Cycle Network in Devon.

The ?Path to Prosperity? will run from Minehead in Somerset through the whole of the Objective Two area to connect with Torbay and include a link from Hatherleigh to Highampton, Holsworthy and Bude.

The long awaited connection of the Tarka Trail to Hatherleigh will also form part of the scheme plus the completion of the Granite Way from Okehampton to Lydford.

Work on the route will begin immediately and it is hoped it will largely be completed by 2008.The centrepiece of the scheme will be a 160 metre bridge over the Walkham Valley near Tavistock.

Funding has been secured following successful bids by Devon County Council to the South West Regional Development Agency and the European Union Objective Two funding.

Cllr David Morrish, who is responsible for the environment on the council?s executive committee said: ?The aim of the programme is to confirm Devon?s position as one of the best places to cycle in the country, bringing considerable benefits to the area as well as achieving real local benefits such as safe routes to school.

?The local economy of Devon relies heavily on visitors for its income but we must offset and reduce the impact that the growth in car travel has on the fabric of the very countryside and coastlines that people come here to enjoy.?