BBCAbout £2.2m will be used to improve existing sections of a popular walking and cycling trail.
The changes to the Tarka Trail in north Devon have been split into three projects, with Spreacombe Junction to North Buckland Hill being one, both North Buckland Hill to Cottages and Cottages to Nethercott Road being another, with the third on Deans Copse, Nethercott Road to Knowle.
Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Devon County Council cabinet member for climate change and biodiversity, said the missing link between off-road sections at Willingcott and Knowle/Braunton was “hampering the trail from realising its full potential”.
Government funding and local money will be used for the project.
Councillors at Devon County Council approved the use of a Department for Transport active travel fund grant and safer roads funding, as well as local transport plan funding for the work.
Hodgson said the work would make “walking and cycling a more realistic option for more people, whether it’s for leisure or to travel to work or education”.
“It’s good for the local environment, good for people’s health and will help reduce carbon emissions.”
Councillor Graham Bell, county councillor for Braunton Rural, said when the work was completed “we will be getting close to having a continuous off-road cycle trail between Ilfracombe on the north coast down to Plymouth”.
He said: “Linking Ilfracombe to the cycle network is a vital part of the regeneration of the town and provides massive tourism and business opportunities for north Devon, as well as providing a safe route for children and others to reach Braunton, Barnstaple rail station and beyond.”
A number of sections between Willingcott and Knowle have already been completed including stretches from Willingcott Holiday Village to Buttercombe Lane, Buttercombe Lane to Foxhunters, Cottages to Nethercott Road and Nethercott Road.
A new section of trail through Willingcott Holiday Village is also due to be delivered by a private developer as part of planning permission to expand the holiday park.