NEARLY £40,000 has been spent ‘moth-balling’ the crumbling and defunct Post Office building in Newton Abbot town centre, it has been revealed.

Officers at Teignbridge Council splashed out £100,000 for the eyesore’s lease two years ago and has been coughing up £1,600 a month in business rates ever since.

But the enormous sums of money being forked out on the still-empty site in Market Walk shopping centre have failed to impress some in the town.

Critics have called on the district authority to get the building, which closed more than a decade ago, back into use and stop ‘pouring money down the drain.’.

But council chiefs insisted this week that they ‘remain committed to securing a tenant’ for the building.

Teignbridge snapped up the town centre retail complex for £13m in 2016 and recently spent £2m sprucing it up.

District member Martin Wrigley hit out at the authority this week for forcing ‘hard-pressed’ residents to foot the bill.

But a council spokesman revealed residents weren’t picking up the tab because ‘the cost is offset by income generated from Market Walk shopping centre.’

Cllr Wrigley complained: ‘The problem is that every month the business rates on the empty unit are costing taxpayers nearly £1,600.

‘That is £18,857 a year and the council has had the unit for more than two years now.’

He added: ‘We are calling on the council to urgently review the old Post Office so that we can find a use that complements the shopping centre and existing retailers.

‘It is surprising that the Conservatives who run Teignbridge appear not to be chasing this up and letting the hard-pressed taxpayers pick up the tab once more.’

Teignbridge’s Lib Dem group revealed they’d want to see a retailer move into the abandoned building, but insisted other options should be considered if that fails.

Other ventures could include a food outlet or a ‘pop-up shop’ for entrepreneurs to try out their business idea for a few months to see if there was an appetite.

Leader Gordon Hook thundered: ‘Instead of spending almost £19,000 a year in business rates on an empty property, that money could be better used to either make the old Post Office more attractive to potential customers or help with reduced rent for a period of time.’

Cllr Hook, who has a strong background in retail, added: ‘This is another example where the Conservatives running Teignbridge have taken their eye off the ball.

‘This site has sat empty for two long years, which is a ridiculous waste of good retail space.

‘More imaginative ideas and a more proactive approach are urgently needed.’

The authority spokesman revealed councillors knew business rates would have to be paid on the empty building when they agreed to buy it.

Contractors working on the major revamp of Market Walk had been using the former Post Office site as a compound.

The spokesman said: ‘The building will be re-marketed now the use for contractors is drawing to an end.

‘The site benefits from being in a prime location with a mix of local and national retailers and is near plenty of car parking.’

Businesses interested in snapping up the Post Office building are being encouraged to contact Alder King on 01392 353080.