A NEWTON Abbot site that has been derelict for decades has been partially cleared to make way for a development of close to 40 apartments.

The land, which is located adjacent to Highweek Way, has been bought by Dutch company, Ciconia Group, who have secured planning permission for a 38 residential unit development at the town centre site.

The development will also include space for a commercial unit(s) on the ground floor.

Initially dubbed ‘Orange Court’, the name of ‘William of Orange Court’ has been chosen for the building - a fitting homage to the Dutch-born, 17th century monarch who declared his intention to become King of England from just a stones throw away at St Leonards clock tower back in 1688.

Ciconia Group’s Job Gutteling said: ‘I am really proud to be doing this project.

‘When I saw the site for the first time, I thought that this is an amazing location.

‘And, of course, William of Orange gave his declaration just over there!’

An initial clearance of the site was taken place, with groundworks beginning before the end of the year; a timeline of 18 months, give or take, has been given for the length of the project, with an estimated completion date of the first quarter of 2026.

An artist's impression of how 'Orange Court' could look
An artist's impression of how 'Orange Court' could look (Ciconia Group)

The site was once the home of Volvo dealership Seymour Horwell, but since moving to premises in Kingsteignton the site has been left derelict.

It was derelict 16 years ago, back when Sally Henley began as Newton Abbot’s town development manager.

Sally, who will be retiring at the end of the month, had always been keen to see something done with the site.

‘I met with Job and his team on zoom over the past few months and I had everything crossed that we would finally see a building on the former Seymour Horwell site’ Sally said.

‘It is both a joy and a huge relief that the site sold last week and to see the commitment to the site demonstrated so quickly by the tidy up of the vegetation and the installation of secure fencing.

‘I have received more complaints about this area than anything else over the last 16 years and Job is conscious of this too.

‘I love his passion and enthusiasm both for our town and for this project and I know that the building will provide a huge boost for the town and in particular for the other traders in Wolborough Street.

‘I am so thrilled that I will be going into retirement knowing that the project, which has been at the top of my priority list since I took on the role of town development manager 16 years ago, is about to commence and is in such good hands.’