Major Torquay development set to advance

Plans for a major mixed-use development in Torquay could advance next week, with approval lined up for the job-creating scheme. The application – which concerns retail and employment space – would also provide a new lease of life for a long-standing business.The application is for a site on Newton Road, which currently comprises several buildings and commercial uses, with Devon Garden Machinery being the largest and most publicly visible.Proposed is demolishing a number of assets on the site and constructing a new development in their place.Lined up is an Aldi supermarket and a drive-thru Costa Coffee on the southern part of the site.To the north would be a fast-food restaurant across a single-storey, with room around the building for 30 cars.Further north of this would be a specialist retail unit to provide a replacement building for Devon Garden Machinery.The outline element of the hybrid applications concerns an L-shaped asset for general industry or storage and distribution purposes. Detailed plans are not provided, with all matters reserved for future consideration.If approved, the proposal would provide “significant employment-generating uses”, with the supermarket likely to bring forward 40 full and part-time jobs, together with up to 91 created through the wider development.The outline element could yield a further 38 positions.Approval has been recommended.