Plans for a major expansion of Brixham’s fishing port have taken another step forward with a formal planning application being lodged.

The £20million project is the ‘fish’ part of the government funding package dubbed ‘fish and chips’, with the ‘chips’ element also moving forward.

But the Brixham plans have already attracted criticism from a resident whose home neighbours the site.

The objector says the development would turn the waterside area at Oxen Cove into an ‘industrial estate’ and create traffic and parking problems.

Concerns have also been raised over increased noise and smells from fish processing, congestion on the narrow access road, the loss of public parking and the impact on the local yacht club, which would lose its boat storage area.

The application, submitted by Torbay Council and development partner Willmott Dixon, proposes demolishing existing buildings, removing the public car park and constructing two fish and shellfish processing buildings.

The council says the redevelopment will support the expansion of the existing fish market and associated businesses, which it says has helped make Brixham the highest-value fishing port in England and Wales.

It says the new buildings will create employment and income opportunities, provide space for existing marine businesses and attract new companies.

The site was reclaimed for development in the 1990s.

The project is expected to create 40 jobs, with construction potentially starting in January and the first businesses moving in by early 2028. Six local companies have already expressed interest in the new units.

Earlier this year, the council’s cabinet approved the project’s timescales and budgets after being told the value of catches landed at Brixham had more than doubled since 2020.

The scheme is being funded with £9.8million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund and £4.2million borrowed from the Public Works Loan Board.

The wider ‘fish and chips’ package also includes the council spending around £6.5million to buy a micro-electronics unit at Westfield Business Park in Paignton.

Cllr Darren Cowell (Ind, Shiphay) said investment in the fishing and high-tech sectors was “absolutely essential”.