Disused Totnes Dairy Crest plant sold for £1

A community referendum on what should happen to the land will be held next autumn

Part of a former milk processing plant has been sold to a community organisation for £1.

The Dairy Crest processing site next to the railway station in Totnes, Devon has been empty since it closed in 2007.

Atmos Totnes, with the support of its patron, broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, wants to turn the site into residential and business accommodation.

Dairy Crest said it was impressed with the group's passion and wanted to help it.

Rob Hopkins of Atmos thanked the community of "this remarkable town" for supporting the scheme.

'Hard work' starts

"What unfolds on this site will be correspondingly remarkable," he said.

Another part of the site has been sold to developers for retirement homes while a third parcel of land could also be sold to Atmos once a master plan for the site has been agreed.

A community referendum on what should happen to the land will be held next autumn.

Dairy Crest accepted payment for the site in the local currency, the Totnes Pound - worth the same as £1 sterling - which was created to boost the local economy.

Olivia Secombe of Dairy Crest said: "I've been hugely impressed by the passion and hard work put into this project.

"We are all really pleased with where we have come out today and the hard work begins now."