SIDMOUTH Gig Club has been given the go-ahead to create a boat storage shed at Port Royal.

Club members learnt of the good news in the week they announced they had placed an order for a brand new wooden gig that will allow them to compete at world championships level.

Plans to enclose an existing space with timber doors, at the swimming pool car park off the Esplanade, were approved by members of East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) Development Management Committee last Tuesday.

An EDDC officer told committee members that the project, and ‘enclosure of a void’, would enhance the appearance of a public space and wouldn’t harm the surrounding conservation area.

The storage space will be used to store boats and equipment.