CREDITON Rugby Club has applied for planning permission for the next phase of its relocation to Creedy Bridge.

Mid Devon District Council has already given the club the thumbs-up in principle to move from Lords Meadow to the north-eastern edge of the new 257-home Libbets Grange development off the A3072.

Now, Crediton RFC is asking the local authority to approve where three of its proposed four rugby pitches (two with drainage, one without) would go at the 8.6-hectare site, alongside other particulars. It has also given details of its proposed new stone car park and nylon-netted fencing to stop rugby balls escaping.

If this application is successful, it will then move onto its third phase and ask for permission for the fourth pitch and a new club house.

The club has split up the planning process in this way so that it can use the new area this season. It has also applied for a grant for a new pitch through the Rugby Football Union (RFU).

Lidl has helped pay for the relocation by giving Crediton RFC £400,000 to mitigate the loss of one of the club’s pitches to build its new supermarket in the town.

Designing Out Crime Officer Rick Napier of Devon and Cornwall Police's Prevention Department has recommended thinking about “how/what will separate the car park from the playing areas and any future built facilities, for example fencing, railings, Devon banks and walls”.

“Gates or barriers at the intended formal entrance from the public highway to the finished car park should also be considered during this phase,” he said.

“Gates and barriers will allow the site to be secured when not in use and reduce the potential for unauthorised access and any associated ASB.”

Work is progressing on building homes at the new Libbets Grange development at Creedy Bridge.

The development, which is in the parish of Sandford and on land north of Old Tiverton Road and Exhibition Road, will feature 201 houses for private sale, 56 affordable homes for low-cost rent or shared ownership and up to five gypsy and traveller pitches.

Land totalling 8.6 hectares has been set aside for the relocation of Crediton RFC, and 1.1 hectares for a new primary school.

You can see the application on Mid Devon District Council’s website under reference 25/00735/MARM.

To see more public notices and planning applications, visit: publicnoticeportal.uk.