Visitor centre set to reopen after sale

A visitor centre has been sold at auction for almost a quarter of a million pounds.

Gordon and Lindsey England bought the Grade II listed building in Cockington, near Torquay, which was one of the assets of the collapsed Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust.

It was set at a guide price of £120,000 and reached £241,000 before the hammer came down for a third time.

Friends of Cockington Country Park objected to the sale, saying it should be safeguarded as a "community asset", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A crowdfunding campaign with Patrick the Pony as its figurehead was set up to buy the centre. However, the campaign fell short of its £80,000 target.

Now the Englands intend to reopen the building as a visitor centre as well as using it to extend their own successful Weavers Cottage Tea Garden next door.

"We are absolutely delighted that we have managed to get it," said Mr England. "I hope it's a popular move, and I hope the community supports us.

"As people who make a living from visitors to Cockington, whether local, national or international, we know how important a visitor centre is.

"One of our main reasons for buying it was to keep it as such, although we will expand our business into it as well."

All being well, he said, the building will be open as a visitor centre by the middle of April.

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