The site of the hugely controversial Sidford Business Park has been put up for sale with a price tag of £4million. 

After spending years fighting for planning permission to develop the land off Two Bridges Road into an industrial estate, the owners Tim and Mike Ford are selling it off. 

They have decided to invest in improvements to their other employment site, the Alexandria Industrial Estate in Sidmouth, instead, and have applied for planning permission for a new road to make access to it much easier. The proceeds from the sale of the Sidford land will help fund the upgrade to the Alexandria site. 

The 8,445-square-metre site in Sidford, where some flood improvement work has already been completed, can now be sold as an ‘oven ready’ brownfield site. It could still be developed into a business park, but could also be used to build a supermarket or housing. 

There has been massive opposition to the plans for the Sidford Business Park, which were initially turned down by East Devon District Council on the grounds that it would be ‘a detriment to highway safety’ because of the likely increase in traffic, including lorries, on the narrow local roads. There were also questions over the need for extra employment land, and local residents were upset at the loss of greenfield land within the AONB. 

But EDDC’s rejection of the scheme was overturned at a planning inquiry in 2019, and since then the debate has been over other matters including the height of the buildings and the landscaping of the site. 

With the land up for sale, there is speculation over what might now be built there. It is known that Aldi has been looking for a supermarket site in Sidmouth for some time, and there is also a demand for extra land for housing. 

The district councillor for Sidmouth Rural John Loudoun, who also represents Sidford on Sidmouth Town Council, told the Herald: “I agree with the owners of both the Alexandria industrial estate and the Sidford business park that Alexandria is probably the best local location for improved and more modern employment facilities.  

“I have always argued that Sidford is not a good site to operate employment from, but that argument was lost when the Planning Inspector ruled on this in 2019. I believe that the Sidford site would now be best suited for housing. Obviously, this site will never now be returned to agricultural use. I would hope that any future owner of the site would seek to ask the district council to change the use of this site as part of the current Local Plan consultation.” 

East Devon District Council has declined to comment on the news of the sale. Joseph Marchant, the planning agent for its owners, Tim and Mike Ford, said: “I can confirm on behalf of Messrs Ford that Sidford land is on the market. A statement may be released towards the end of January.”