Alphington Homes decision deferred

Councillors want answers on increased traffic

Outline plans to develop the former Aldens Farm site were recommended for approval by Exeter City Council planners, with the plans set to see 234 new homes built at between Chudleigh Road and Dawlish Road and a further 116 homes built between Shillingford Road and Chudleigh Road.

But councillors unanimously agreed that they could not possibly make a decision on the plans until an up-to-date report on the impact of the increasing amount of traffic in the area was provided as the assessment dated back to 2014.

And they called for there to be more joined-up thinking between Exeter City Council, Devon County Council as the highways authority and landowners, and Teignbridge District Council, who have already approved a scheme for 1,500 homes, a small GP surgery, a community hub, and land earmarked for a through school for primary and secondary pupils on land near the Devon Hotel, spanning 90 hectares of land between Alphington Village and Exminster.

Eventually 2,500 new homes will be built in South West Exeter, but councillors were unhappy that the schemes were being looked at in isolation, with no reference to the 1,500 homes being built in Teignbridge mentioned at all in the transport assessment of the Aldens Farm plans.

Cllr Steve Warwick, who lives in Shillingford Road, said that Alphington is a semi-rural suburb on the edge of Exeter and the residents see it as a village.

He added: “There is a real concern that the proposed development will destroy much of that village culture and it is important to the residents that if fine agricultural land is to be built on, the priority should be local housing need and not the profit of developers.”

Cllr Warwick said that huge amounts of traffic is generated through Alphington at all times of the day and it can sometimes take well over an hour to get to the centre of Exeter.

He added: “We are talking about 2,500 houses being built in the area and this buts up against the larger development in Teignbridge, but the report is written in isolation and doesn’t mention it at all. Alphington is a gateway into the city of Exeter and it is one of the busiest highways and often becomes gridlocked. Twice today there was nose-to-tale traffic from roundabout on the a30 to Alphington.

“We need to refer the transport strategy back as I don’t believe it is fit for purpose.”

Cllr Bob Foale added that councillors needed further information on the impact on air quality, school provision, traffic generation, and community infrastructure and open spaces before they could even think about giving it planning permission, while Cllr David Harvey said: “A highways assessment that is out of date is worse than useless. We need to know what is happening before building another 2,000 homes at Alphington with no facilities.”

Cllr Pete Edwards, leader of Exeter City Council, said that a deferment was a sensible suggestion.

He added: “Development has to be sustainable and we cannot say it is sustainable without an up to date transport plan. We should send a message that we won’t consider this until we have a park-and-ride site for Alphington and a much better transport plan for the area, as I don’t believe a lot of what is in the traffic plan.”

The Alphington Village Forum had raised serious concerns that the scheme will mean air quality in the area is worse, no community facilities are provided, there is no green infrastructure framework with the proposal, and that cycle and walking routes are inadequate. Chairman Juliet Meadowcroft added that the plans do not take into account any traffic generated by the Teignbridge development.

Speaking after the meeting, she added: “We are extremely happy and relieved as had this been approved, the developer could have done almost anything on the site. It was sent back to them with very specific conditions that they need to address.

“The transport and traffic issues were the biggest issues, but the plans had been sitting there for three and a half years since they were first submitted and they hadn’t taken any notice of anything we’ve had to say about them since. They even ignored the Alphington Development Brief for the site, so we are relieved that they have deferred the decision.”

Devon County Council’s highway officers had not objected to the proposals, but they had said that the junction of the A379 and Chudleigh Road must be improved with the road to be realigned and a new signal-controlled junction to be built if they could support the scheme.

Contributions to the improvements to the Chudleigh Road/A379 junction and a pedestrian/cycle footbridge would also be provided by the development, as would funding to upgrade and extend the bus service to the area, while 30 per cent of the homes will be affordable.

Councillors unanimously voted to defer the application until further information about the impact of the proposed development was provided.

The land is owned by Devon County Council but is surplus to their requirements following the closure of the farm.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “This 25-acre (former farms estate) site is surplus to DCCs requirements. We are seeking outline planning consent before advertising it on the open market.”