Factory faces demolition after years of decay

The site produced electrical instruments and fibre-optic tech in the 1980s

A once-thriving factory which helped power a town's engineering legacy is set to be torn down.

The Elektron building on Woodland Trading Estate, formerly home to Sifam, was a major employer in Torquay, producing electrical instruments and fibre-optic tech in the 1980s.

It shut in 2007 after Sifam was bought by Elektron Instruments and the building became a magnet for vandalism and anti-social behaviour, with smashed windows boarded up and the site falling into disrepair.

Now, drinks wholesaler Tolchards, which bought the site last year, wants it gone and a demolition application for the three-storey concrete building has been submitted to Torbay Council.

Local firm Gilpin said the job could take 28 weeks and, if approved, demolition could start next month, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.