THE PROPOSED demolition of a historic riverside building to make way for a cycle route has upset residents in Okehampton.

Opponents to the plan for the change of use of land between Mill Road and East Street to a footpath and cycle route by West Devon Borough Council say they are not against the cycle route but object to one of the last remaining parts of Okehampton's industrial heritage being removed.

The building forms part of the old mill site which dates back to the 1700s. The site is privately owned but the borough council has an option to buy it.

In a letter to West Devon's planning department resident Kate Keats said: 'The plans include the demolition of a shed but the shed is a 40 metre long two storey stone built structure of great historic importance to Okehampton.

'There is no good reason to remove this for a cycleway. Instead it should be protected and restored together with as much as possible of the mill complex.'

Ana Pultenay, who is also concerned about the plans, said: 'The buttresses at the side of the building down to the river are a feature in themselves and the combination of granite and water is a recurring theme in the beauty of Okehampton.'

The Okehampton resident, who is also involved in West Devon Environmental Network's Sustainable Communities Project, said the area had potential for being an historic centre of attraction for the town.

'We have lost the weighbridge building to Waitrose, there is no reason why we should lose this building to a cycle route.'

The council is proposing that the Sustrans cycle route in Okehampton goes through land at the Fountain Inn, the council car park, the Mill site and the old Bostock site.

Sidney Thompson of Okehampton OK! said if the complex was made safe the route could go through it.

'These buildings should be used for something useful such as a craft or leisure complex. To knock down something like this for the sake of a cycle route is wrong.'

He is urging people to write into the planning department in the next week so their representations can be heard at a planning meeting on November 2 when the application is discussed.

Chairman of West Devon Borough Council's strategies development committee Cllr Nick Morgan said a survey had been carried out on these buildings and in the architect's opinion this building could not be saved.

'The architect looked at the possibility of preserving all the buildings on that site and there has been movement in this particular one — the fact that it is sited alongside the edge of the riverbank is causing problems,' he said. 'In his opinion this building could not be saved.

'The council wanted to find a route through this area for a footpath and cycle way which is something picked up from the regeneration strategy. People also wanted to see riverside walks developed as much as possible.

'The planning committee will have to consider the reports and decide whether the building should be demolished or not.'