A car park in Axminster has been closed today to allow for archaeological investigations to be carried out, as part of plans to develop the area with a new convenience store and apartments.

The South Street short stay car park has been closed today (Monday) for archaeological excavation for a period of between seven and 14 days, the length of closure will depending on whether anything is found.

East Devon District Council said: "We apologise for any inconvenience that this closure may cause, and we will reopen the car park for public use as soon as we are able to."

The excavations have been requested as part of the planning process for an application to develop the South Street and Lyme Street car parks, and the former Lawsons Hardware Store building, now occupied as a gym, in between.

The new development would see the existing building demolished and a new convenience store built, providing 20 full time jobs, and a mixture of two-and three-bedroom apartments with private balconies, built over four floors on the site of the existing building and South Street car park.

A private parking area for the shop would be accessed from Lyme Street and there would be a 36-bay public car park behind this. A separate small parking area for the nine new homes would be accessible from South Street. 

You can view the full plans at https://planning.eastdevon.gov.uk/ by searching application number 22/2322/OUT