DESPITE concerns of a flood risk by the Environment Agency, West Devon Borough Council has granted the go-ahead for an extension at an Okehampton kite factory because of additional employment opportunities it would create.
The company had applied for a single-storey extension for their factory at Brightley Mill, which was a former corn mill converted in 1979 for light industrial use.
The proposed building, which would have stone-finished walls and a natural slate roof to match the existing one, would be used for storage purposes and create two extra jobs, planners were told.
An objection was lodged by the Environment Agency on the grounds that the site was located within the flood plain of the River Okement and was a high-risk flood area.
But planning officers recommended the application for approval because of the benefit to the local economy, the small-scale of the extension in relation to the main building and the fact that it was to be used for storage purposes in connection with the existing enterprise.
They felt that levels of risk were not as great as if residential use was proposed.