PRESS RELEASE: Alarm as South Devon council seeks to “hurry through” plans to flatten historic mill buildings

National heritage bodies and local group raise urgent concerns as Teignbridge District Council seeks to demolish its own historic buildings using public funding 

Public urged to comment on demolition plans before October 7.

4th October, 2024

Teignbridge District Council is pressing ahead with highly controversial plans to demolish historic Bradley Lane Mills which it owns, despite strong objections from SAVE Britain’s Heritage, Newton Abbot & District Civic Society, the National Trust, Victorian Society, Historic Buildings & Places, and World Monuments Fund Britain. 

This locally listed collection of industrial buildings is a much-loved landmark in Newton Abbot. The Council is applying for demolition through the ‘prior approval process’ a legal loophole that does not require full planning permission.  

The Council announced in July plans to use a pot of £1.5 million of public funds intended for regeneration to demolish these historic mill buildings, with an urgent deadline to spend these funds by March 2025. 

SAVE and Newton Abbot & District Civic Society (NADCS) have been leading a campaign urging the council to re-use, rather than flatten, this historic site and are concerned the Council is rushing the process. 

The Council’s demolition using central government funding would leave an empty site on the edge of the town centre with no future plans in place for its redevelopment.  

In 2022, SAVE published an alternative vision for the buildings, designed by architect Jonathan Dransfield. The mill buildings would be retained and converted along with additional new development offering a mixed neighbourhood with 111 dwellings and 28 affordable homes – in line with local targets for housing. 

To comment on the plans use the online form here or write to planning@teignbridge.gov.uk citing application reference no. 24/01475/DEM before Monday 7 October. 

Henrietta Billings, director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, said: “We are deeply concerned that Teignbridge is hurrying through short-sighted demolition plans for their own historic buildings. These buildings are part of Newton Abbot’s history – and could be repurposed and transformed into much-needed characterful housing for the town, while keeping the memories of the bricks and mortar that so many people care about. SAVE’s alternative vision for the mills demonstrated that Bradley Lane Mills could form a vibrant part of Newton Abbot’s future, without concreting over its history.” 

Newton Abbot & District Civic Society said: “Bradley Lane Mills remains an important part of this town’s history and is a landmark site. The use of public funds to demolish such a site, rather than renovate and transform it, is inappropriate, and would cause an irreversible loss to the town.” 

Bradley Lane Mills, which is still partly occupied, was home to a number of independent businesses, some of which were vacated as recently as 2022. In preparation for plans submitted by Lovell Homes in 2022, to bulldoze the mills and build on the site, the Council have already spent £2.10 million on relocating tenants. Lovells' contract has since expired.  

SAVE Campaign 

SAVE has had a long-running involvement in these historic mills since 2022, when we commissioned an alternative vision for the site showing how heritage buildings can blend with contemporary uses – while also avoiding the huge carbon cost of a new development. 

This alternative vision for Bradley Lane Mills, designed by Jonathan Dransfield, has attracted commercial interest from an experienced developer who expressed interest in buying the site and reusing the buildings to create a vibrant mixed-use district of affordable homes and workplaces.  

SAVE presented this vision last year at a public meeting which we co-hosted with NADCS. The then leader of the council (now MP for Newton Abbot) Martin Wrigley publicly backed our proposal. 

In July, SAVE submitted a letter to the Mid-Devon Advertiser urging councillors to rethink demolition which was co-signed by the Victorian Society, World Monuments Fund Britain, Newton Abbot & District Civic Society and Historic Buildings & Places.  

The characterful buildings of Bradley Lane Mills tell the story of the town’s rise to prosperity during the Industrial Revolution. The site, right on the edge of the town centre, has a milling history dating back to the 13th century, though the existing buildings were rebuilt after a fire by the famous Vicary’s leather tanners in 1883. Demolition would destroy forever this tangible link with Newton Abbot’s history. 


ENDS

Notes to editors:

1/ For more information contact lydia.franklin@savebritainsheritage.org or call the office on 020 7253 3500.
2/ Download a copy of SAVE's alternative vision here.
3/ Read our most recent press release on Bradley Lane Mills here.
4/ SAVE Britain’s Heritage is an independent voice in conservation that fights for threatened historic buildings and sustainable reuses. We stand apart from other organisations by bringing together architects, engineers, planners and investors to offer viable alternative proposals. Where necessary, and with expert advice, we take legal action to prevent major and needless losses.