A NEW business park in Torrington and a multi-use sports facility for Holsworthy, both of which have attracted hundreds of thousands of pounds of external funding, have been given the green light by planners.

Torridge District Council is leading both projects with its land at Hatchmoor Road in Torrington being developed for nine flexible employment units within three new buildings on 1.2 hectares.

The council’s planning committee gave full planning consent for the buildings plus 49 car parking spaces, footpath and cycleway, access and drainage at a recent meeting.

It also granted outline permission for an additional 3,022 square metres of employment space on another 0.75 hectares.

The Hatchmoor project was awarded £1.6 million under the government’s £20 million of community regeneration partnership funding for Torridge but was thrown another £2 million when the Bideford Business Park Project – one of 12 projects for the district – was not progressed.

TDC has also borrowed £3.35 million to put into the scheme which has been a long standing priority for the council. The extra funds have allowed the project to be upscaled with extra infrastructure and construction.

Councillors welcomed the scheme but highlighted potential noise nuisance with the industrial estate being close to a nursing home. They were told that conditions were in place including restrictions on operating times and a comprehensive noise report submitted by an independent consultant did not raise any concerns. Nursing home owners would be fully informed of ways they could contact the council if noise issues did arise once the site was up and running, members were told.

Operating hours and deliveries are restricted from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm on Saturdays with no activity on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

Businesses who occupy the units will be encouraged to install water tanks to capture rainwater for reuse.

Initial objections from Devon County Council relating to the proposed surface water drainage management system were later withdrawn.

At the planning meeting a floodlit playzone at Park Grove, Holsworthy was also approved which is a multi-use games area suitable for a range of sports and recreational facilities.

The playzone will be enclosed by three metre high fencing which will be four metres behind the goals.

The tarmacked facility, costing £320,000, will be open from 8am to 9.30pm and be a training ground for a growing netball community but not host league games as it’s not big enough and could not be extended, officers said.

The project is one of two that is being funded with a Football Foundation grant in Torridge – the other is in Great Torrington – plus local partnership funding and a boost from the council itself.

It will be managed by the council’s leisure arm Active Torridge and can be used for free play as well as group sports.

Torrington Playzone, which will be a sand dressed surface, has already gone through the planning stages.