Britain's abandoned 'Chernobyl-on-Sea' has been described as an eyesore and is likened to a nuclear fallout zone.
The old gasworks in Hollicombe – located just a stone's throw away from Devon's best beaches – has been left to decay for the past 12 years and is surrounded by ugly hoardings.
The area was once likened to Ukraine's nuclear ghost city which was exposed to radiation after a reactor was destroyed at the nuclear power plant.
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It is now prime for a beachside development, after being cleared and cleaned of toxic chemicals such as arsenic and cyanide in 2015, Devon Live reports.
Planning permission was granted 10 years ago for almost 200 homes to be built on the derelict site.
But the site has not been touched since 2012, despite being one of the key "brownfield" sites for development in Torbay, where the need for land for housing has reached critical levels.
Cllr Steve Darling, leader of Torbay Council, described the state of the hoardings as “terrible” and wrote to site owners Vistry Partnerships – parent company of developers Linden Homes – to urge them to move forward with the development of the site.
He said: “This is a significant arterial route between Torquay and Paignton and residents and visitors alike can only be horrified at the poor state of this boarding. I would reiterate our desire to get them re-painted and smartened up as soon as possible.
“We remain very keen to see the approved development for this site commenced, or if revised, then an acceptable scheme brought forward as soon as possible.”
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The first plans for the site were shown to the public in June 2007, at which point the gasworks itself had been dormant for almost 40 years.
Local residents fought an unsuccessful campaign for the area to be turned into a park and were told they had nothing to fear from the toxic chemicals left behind from the gasworks, which were successfully removed under the giant marquee in 2015.
Since then however, the site has remained empty and no homes have been built, with maps showing a road called Cudd Hill Road running through the site, but the road has never been built.
The Daily Star has approached Vistry Partnerships for comment.
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