Eleven homes approved for North Devon village

But parish councillors say they are too big

Councillors in North Devon have approved 11 homes at Rackenford near Witheridge despite concerns the large properties don’t meet community needs.

Rackenford Parish Council objected to the plans by Point Four Six Developments Ltd, saying the scheme should provide more two and three bed properties.

The plans include a mix of semi-detached and detached three, four and five bed properties aimed at families and mature residents wishing to downsize.

Developers had previously consulted with estate agents who said that Rackenford was popular with 55-to-65-year-olds but there is “currently very little choice with the lack of housing available.”

The council’s housing team didn’t have a housing needs survey for Rackenford  and no current updated evidence about local housing needs, said a report to North Devon Council’s planning committee.

Planning officers concluded that the family housing would help support the undersubscribed village primary school and other local facilities in the future.

But smaller homes were favoured by the parish council and district councillor for the area  Peter Jones (Ind, Witheridge) to create “a sustainable community”.

Developments of 11 houses or more are expected to provide 30 per cent of ‘affordable’ housing, but an independent assessment concluded it isn’t viable in this case, because of market conditions and rising building costs.

The applicants are contributing £59,000 to the village, and council officers, together with local councillors and the parish council, will decide how the money should be spent. It could be used towards providing other housing elsewhere.

The planning committee added a condition to the consent that the height of the hedges be reduced from 1.07 metres to 0.3 metres after concerns about access and visibility.