It's been described by one local resident as 'the saddest building in Dawlish'.

The Old Vicarage is a derelict, partly roofless semi-ruin, surrounded by equally ugly metal fencing, in the otherwise neat residential street, Weech Road.

The building hasn't been lived in since the 1980s; local residents feel that it's a blight on their neighbourhood, and are desperate to see it restored and redeveloped.

Yet this eyesore was once a fine house set in beautiful grounds, as befitted the home of one of Dawlish's most important and respected residents.

It is a Grade Two listed building, and ironically, it is this heritage listing that has caused several planning applications by its owner to be turned down, because they would involve demolishing parts of the protected building.

The latest application is still in the hands of Teignbridge District Council and could be decided, on strict policy grounds, by a planning officer, with no debate by councillors.

But Dawlish Town Council have asked for it to be put before the planning committee, opening the door for a sensible discussion on how to bring the building back into use.

The Old Vicarage's history

The description of The Old Vicarage as Dawlish's 'saddest building' came from David Force, who has written about its history in his book, Dawlish Through the Ages – The Story of a Seaside Town. Here's an excerpt giving an insight into the former vicarage's early days, and its gradual decline.

"There is no definite evidence as to when the Old Vicarage in Weech Road was built, but it almost certainly dates back to the 16th or early 17th century. It may well have been built on the site of an even earlier building.

"It was built of cob and stone with a thatched roof. A major limestone wing was added in 1846, no doubt to reflect the important status of the Vicar in the rapidly expanding town. Ancient window catches betray the great age of the building and led to it becoming a listed building.

"As a point of interest, you can still see the outline of the Vicar's footpath crossing the Newhay from the Brook to the lych gate, even though it hasn't been used since the 1930s. It is slightly raised up from the grass around it and runs in a straight line from one side to the other.

"There must have been a flight of steps leading down to the Brook and a small footbridge. One can almost imagine the Victorian vicar, his cassock billowing in the wind, running across the Newhay in all weathers to delight his flock with a powerful sermon of fire and brimstone!

"In the 1930s, the church authorities decided that the Vicarage had become too big for modern tastes. It was probably damp, draughty and expensive to maintain as well. A new vicarage was built in Westcliff Road.

"The Old Vicarage was bought in the second half of the 1930s by The Great Western Railway and used as offices during the preparation of plans for the Dawlish avoiding line, an ambitious plan to move the railway line away from the coast. Dawlish folk know only too well the problems associated with storms, flooding and the seawall.

"The outbreak of the Second World War put an end to the project and the money was never again found to resurrect the idea.

"After the Second World War, the Old Vicarage became a private house once more. Most of the garden was sold off in the 1970s to create the houses in Vicarage Gardens, while the house and remaining garden was sold for development in the early 1990s.

"Although planning permission was granted to demolish the house and redevelop the site in 1973, English Heritage stepped in to save it, as the core of the building was deemed to be of significant historic importance.

"It has been derelict since then, with the cob walls crumbling and the once exquisite gardens overgrown, as successive owners have tried to find a viable way to develop the site. Despite being listed, it now seems beyond repair, a home only to pigeons and rats, its roof stripped to deter squatters and the cob walls collapsing one after the other as the wind and weather took its toll."

What's happening now?

Back to the present day, and the current planning application requests permission to repair the associated coach house known as the Gig House, remove the cob storey and roof of a section of the main vicarage building, demolish the extension on the north elevation and restore the Victorian wing.

It would be turned into a single dwelling house with a walled garden, with the walls formed from the stone footings of the older cob section. Dawlish Town Council and the Weech Road residents support this application.

In a statement, Teignbridge District Council said: "Obviously we are really keen to find a resolution to this as we understand the impact it's having on local residents and the local community, but we have to do this within the constraint of our statutory duties and the policy framework."