PLANS to put a cycleway/walkway through the grounds of the Fountain Hotel in Okehampton, creating a short cut from Mill Road car park to the town centre, have met opposition from some businesses who fear they will be bypassed.
Traders say the walkway will do no favours for their shops in East Street which was already seen as a 'secondary shopping area'.
But officers from West Devon Borough Council believe the move will result in more people using the car park, benefiting the town as a whole.
Colin Chadderton, from the Little Tea Shop, said to all intents and purposes the town stopped at the bridge by the Fountain Hotel and it was not at all easy to attract people further up the road into East Street.
He said: 'Shoppers parking in the Mill Road car park have always had to walk past our businesses but with a walkway through the Fountain it will make it even easier not to bother.
'East Street has always been a secondary shopping area and this will turn it into a third rate shopping area.'
Paul Chastey, of Chastey's Shoes, said East Street was already struggling because there were so many offices and not enough retail outlets to entice people to that part of town.
'It is true that we might not even see any of these new visitors that the council expects to draw in from making the car park more accessible, but I am also worried about cyclists coming out onto a busy road,' he said.
'There is a blind corner on East Street and I believe this cycle route will be dangerous.'
His fears about safety and the impact on East Street businesses have also been reiterated by mayor of Okehampton Christine Marsh and West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett, who has written a letter to the borough council.
Deputy chief executive of the borough council David Inman said the issue of safety would be discussed with the highways authority but the aim was to get as much of the cycle route around the town as possible off-road.
He said he would expect cyclists to wheel their bikes through the Fountain Inn grounds and appropriate signage would warn them of a road ahead.
'It is important that we strike a balance with the traders in the town regarding what times of the day the route is used and for what purposes, but my overall view is that it will be an advantage to the town if we get Mill Road car park in full use,' he said.
He added that shopkeepers could make their representations to the council through the chamber of trade.
Joint owner of the Fountain Hotel David Hinds, who is enthusiastic about the idea to run the route through the hotel grounds, said he believed more people would shop in East Street as a result.
'The car park is certainly difficult to get to at the moment and I think it will bring more people to this part of town,' he said. 'As for cyclists they will be able to park their bikes up and spend money right here in East Street.'