A FORMER town mayor and councillor has slammed news that a cycle route, intended to run along the former Bere Alston to Tavistock railway line, has been shelved after 'vast amounts' of public money were spent on it. At a Tavistock Town full council meeting on July 15, Devon County Cllr Debo Sellis stated that the cycle track, hoped to run parallel with the track, was considered too dangerous, and the new plan was to link Tavistock with the Tamar Valley Trails at Bedford Sawmills near Gulworthy. But Cllr Anne Johnson spoke of her disappointment that public money had already been used to clear the area proposed for the cycle track. She said: 'I was disappointed but not surprised that after vast amounts of money spent from the public purse clearing the line, there was to be no direct link to Bere Alston for cyclists. 'The originally proposed route would have provided a track suitable for ordinary cyclists — linking to the Tamar Trails sounds to me far more challenging and for more experienced riders.' In 2006, the county council had approval to create a recreational walking and cycling route along the former track bed. But a detailed investigation, which has taken place over the past two years, recommended that a shared footpath and cycleway could not be pursued alongside the route of the rail line due to restricted width. Cllr Sellis said: 'After due consideration, Devon County Council had to shelve the original plan.  'Cllr Philip Sanders and I lobbied for it, however, it was considered unsafe and not possible by Network Rail. 'The link to the Tamar Valley Trails Centre should be an exciting addition to the world renowned cycle and footpath network in Devon. 'Increasing links such as this should generate local interest and work well with the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Cornwall and West Devon Mining Heritage Site.' A spokesperson from Devon County Council said: 'Devon County Council has invested some money in a range of elements of work along the former railway line. 'This included vegetation clearance and the capping of unstable mine shafts. 'This work would have been needed for the pedestrian/cycle route and the railway. As such, the investment made was appropriate and will support the rail scheme in future. 'The county council is now promoting further work to investigate an alternative pedestrian and cycle route to link Tavistock with the Tamar Trails Centre. 'Linking to this facility aims to increase visitor numbers helping to increase its viability and also improve access to the World Heritage site more generally.' l The railway line was identified as critical infrastructure in the West Devon Core Strategy, following its adoption in 2011. The line, which would provide a direct link between Tavistock and Plymouth, is required to support development in Tavistock and would minimise additional traffic on the A386.