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120 homes for fields at Dartington

Thursday, 29 April 2021 08:03

By Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter

200 people object

Councillors have backed plans for 120 new homes to be built on the edge of Dartington.

Two fields at Broom Park and Sawmills North are allocated for residential development as part of the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan.

The outlines schemes – put forward by Baker Estates and the Dartington Hall Trust - are for 80 homes at Broom Park and 40 at Sawmills North. They've been approved, despite more than 200 objections.

A planning officers' report, says all statutory consultees and specialist advisers have no objections to the proposals and as such, they recommended approval.  Councillors voted by 10 votes to two in favour of the Sawmills North scheme and by 10 votes to one, with one abstention, for Broom Park.

Cllr Richard Foss said: “We are between a rock and a hard place and I have sympathy with residents but the point is they are in the local plan and we have to get the maximum numbers of houses in the best possible way.”

Cllr Jacqi Hodgson, who represents the Dartington ward, said that the proposals were "unsound"and had called for the developers to come back with a better scheme to ensure minimal harm.

She said: “Once the diggers turn up, there is no going back and if that is for less than what was determined in the joint local plan, then we need to recognise the need for compromise. It should be deferred, if not refused. The community are upset about the developments and the cumulative effect which should be taken into consideration.”

But recommending approval, officers told the committee: “The Joint Local Plan identifies Dartington as a settlement that has an extensive range of services and amenities. It is also well connected to other centres, especially the nearby town of Totnes, which extends the range of facilities that can be accessed within a short distance and these sites form part of the allocation of 911 new homes across the smaller towns and key villages.

“Through the local plan consultation, examination and adoption process, the site has been considered to be appropriate for residential development and has been allocated as such.

Of the 120 homes, 30 per cent would be affordable, while a transport assessment that has been considered by the highways authority concludes that while the proposals will have a modest impact on the existing road network, it is not expected that any of the junctions in Dartington will experience future capacity issues.
 

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