A new footbridge creating a circular walk around Ivybridge is a little closer after a funding body gave its support to the project.

The Greater Dartmoor Local Enterprise Action Fund contacted Ivybridge Town Council to say it had "endorsed" an expression of interest submitted for the project, to bridge the river Erme above Stowford Mill.

In plain English, this means a full application for funding can now be made.

The idea was dreamt up by the Ivybridge Heritage and Archive Group, which researches and collects information on the town’s history.

The group has a particular interest in Stowford Mill, and members discovered that there used to be a small bridge over the river Erme just above it. The original abutments supporting the bridge on either side of the river remain in place, and the old paths leading to it on both sides are still in evidence.

So the volunteer group came up with the idea of creating an easy, accessible circular walk that would bring locals and visitors alike face to face with Ivybridge’s past.

The scheme won the support of the town council, and the two organisations got to work to make an outline application to the GD LEAF. The fund gives out European Union cash to boost the economy of the national park and its surrounds.

The administrators of the LEAF have now indicated they believe the project may be eligible for funding.

Speaking at this week’s meeting of the full Ivybridge Town Council, town clerk Lesley Hughes called the announcement 'brilliant news'. She thanked Lesley Thatcher and her colleagues in the heritage group for their hard work, and said Dartmoor National Park had also been supportive, offering to provide a granite ’clapper stone’ to bridge the nearby leat.

Ms Hughes said the project would require the council to spend some money up front to pay for a structural survey, but she believed it would help bring people into the town. The project had been discussed with the team developing Stowford Mill, who were 'really excited', she said, adding it had been a real team and community effort to bring the scheme forward.

The deadline for the funding application is March 2018.

The proposed circular walk would head up Harford Road past the main mill gates, then take walkers towards the east bank of the Erme. Crossing the river on the new bridge, the route would continue down through Longtimber Woods back to the town centre.

It is hoped the new walk would support tourism as well as adding to the infrastructure of the town with a new link between the eastern and western parts of Ivybridge, and a practical route to Dartmoor and the Two Moors Way. The proposal also includes detailed heritage information, with displays offering walkers insights into the fascinating industrial past of this area of the town.