New town to receive £3m community centre

A community health facility will be built in the new town, Cranbrook

A new town in Devon will receive £3m to create a community space with facilities for families and young people.

Devon County Council's cabinet has agreed to allocate the money from housing developer contributions for the project in Cranbrook, near Exeter.

The new facility will provide health services for young people "who are at risk of poor outcomes" as part of a larger leisure centre scheme that is being worked on.

The council said Cranbrook had a much younger population than other towns in Devon with 30% of residents aged under 15.

The report prepared for Devon County Council's cabinet, which signed off the funding on Wednesday, said it was "essential that county council community space is provided to support children, young people and families to thrive".

It said the community space would "focus on supporting vulnerable children and families" and offer health services to "deliver essential early support to children and young people who are at risk of poor outcomes".

The community space will be part of a new leisure building which will be created by East Devon District Council (EDDC) with more information on this expected later in October.