Torridge District Council secures planning permission for new Operational Services Centre in Bideford

Torridge District Council announced today that it has been granted planning permission to build a new Operational Services facility at Cleave Wood, East-the-Water, Bideford - opposite Alverdiscott Industrial Estate.

The new site will act as the main hub for the council's Operational Services teams. The centre will provide office space for employees working in waste and recycling and street cleansing.  The site will also include vehicle workshops and parking for the council's vehicle fleet.  This will not be a Waste Transfer Station as there will be no black bag domestic waste or processing of recycled domestic material on site.

The new location will enable the council to improve operational efficiencies in the collection of household material and create capacity for the future growth of the district. Fifty percent of the waste, recycling and green waste collections for the whole of the Torridge district are within a 10 miles radius of the site and its proximity to the Instow Junction of the A39, offers good connectivity and direct access to the material processing facilities in Brynsworthy, Barnstaple and Deepmoor, Great Torrington.  

In addition, the new operational services centre will bring the following community benefits:

• An educational resource centre, which will be available to local school children.

• An attenuation pond open to the local primary school for pond dipping.

• The Drovers trail, enhanced with edible hedgerows, will be retained to the east, connecting it to Manteo Way.

• Improved cycle links - connecting routes between Manteo Way and Alverdiscott Road.

Work is expected to start on-site before the end of 2024 and will take around one year to complete.

Councillor Ken James, Leader of Torridge District Council and Councillor Chris Leather, Lead Member for Operational Services, Torridge District Council, said:

"We are delighted that planning permission has been secured for the new operational services centre - it is very much needed.  The team is currently operating across four dated and poorly serviced sites that pre-date our responsibility to collect recycled material.  We have been actively seeking to acquire a site to consolidate the Operational Services facility since 2015 - so we are pleased that we can finally begin to move forward to provide a new purpose-built site.  This will not only help us to improve operational efficiency and create a safer, more modern working environment for our employees, but ensure that that service provision will be improved for the district for many years to come."