KNOCKING down derelict industrial buildings in the centre of Newton Abbot would be ‘cultural vandalism’, it has been claimed.

Razing the Bradley Lane ‘brownfield’ site could generate 100 new homes for the town, and Teignbridge Council intends to spend government money on making it happen.

But opponents say the old buildings should be preserved, and developers are prepared to do so.

One of the buildings is Vicarys Mill, home for many years to a window company and known locally as the Launa Buildings.

It also housed a paper mill going back to the 1700s, but it has been rebuilt a number of times since. 

It is now empty, and has been badly vandalised. 

Days before the committee meeting, police and fire officers warned youngsters had been risking their lives getting onto the site, lighting fires and becoming trapped.

The council is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds just to maintain it.

An agreement to demolish units was first passed in 2021 but a deal with a would-be developer lapsed earlier this month with no work having started.

The council’s decision earlier this year to axe a planned town centre cinema scheme leaves unspent £2.4 million of the government’s Future High Streets money earmarked for Newton Abbot. 

Officers recommended the council should spend it on Bradley Lane instead.

Cllr Andrew MacGregor (SD Alliance, Bishopsteignton) asked for a decision to be delayed for a month so councillors could spend longer considering the details.

He said: ‘We’re being told we’ve got to vote for this or we’ll lose the money.

‘Things are always left to the last minute and we are told we have to make a decision now or else.

‘I’m not prepared to do that, and I’m not prepared to indulge in cultural vandalism.’

South Devon Alliance leader Richard Daws (Ambrook) added: ‘I can’t conceive that Future High Streets will give you this money to simply demolish history.’

But Cllr Mike Ryan (SD Alliance, Buckland and Milber) told the meeting: ‘It’s a perfectly good site that is crying out for houses to be built on it. I just want to see something built there.

‘The sooner it’s demolished, the better. 

‘It’s an eyesore. Build on it for the benefit of Newton Abbot.’

Cllr Gary Taylor (Lib Dem, Kenton and Starcross) urged his colleagues to ‘follow the money’.

He said: ‘If this is not approved now, the chance to use Future High Streets grant money will be lost.

‘There is no time to pursue an alternative.’

And Cllr Robert Hayes (Lib Dem, Bushell) added: ‘It’s a hideous building that lies on contaminated land. The safest thing to do is to demolish it and build modern housing for the people of Newton Abbot.’

New council leader Richard Keeling (Lib Dem, Chudleigh) urged: ‘We can’t afford to keep navel-gazing on this site.

‘I agree heritage is very important, but we have to move on with this. We can’t put it off any longer.’

Members voted by a large majority to go ahead with the demolition project.