Friction over major East Devon development plan

Residents ramp up criticism over where homes should go

Friction between residents and planners erupted as the process over deciding where thousands of homes in a Devon district rumbles on.

Several residents levelled major criticisms against decisionmakers being tasked with finding locations for around 23,000 homes all the way out to 2042.

The issues raised focused on claims that they felt their voices had been ignored by East Devon District Council, that the council was targeting more homes than it really needed, and that Exmouth’s size was wrongly dictating that it should take the large number of homes being proposed.

One resident went so far as to allege maladministration, largely because of his belief that the controversial potential monster 700-homes site in Exmouth – known as Exmo_20 under the official process – had been wrongly selected.

However, in defence against those and the more serious allegations, the strategic planning committee chair, Councillor Todd Olive (Liberal Democrat, Rockbeare & Whimple), called the remarks “wholly inappropriate” and outlined formal processes that residents could pursue in terms of complaints.

Resident Thomas Shillitoe said the strategic planning committee had “wasted the opportunity to address serious shortcomings” in the draft local plan, which he believed made it “unadoptable”.

He claimed the emerging local plan contravened international case law due to its reliance on mitigation strategies, and the committee was “now trying to force through” the plan.

“We called you out on your false claim that Exmo_20 passed HELAA [housing and economic land availability assessment] and rather than revisit the process and decision, you changed the false claim but then retrospectively fabricated new evidence – the site selection methodology – as a cover up instead,” he said.

“This plan is now significantly reliant on a fraudulent evidence document,” he added, then stating he was “formally alleging maladministration”.

He urged the committee not to “turn a blind eye”, and thanked the councillors who appear to have stated they would discuss the site selection process with the government inspector, who will ultimately approve or block the forthcoming local plan.

Mr Shillitoe added that there had been “countless additional Exmo_20 limitations” that had more recently come to light, including the potential for prehistoric archaeology.

Cllr Olive robustly defended the committee and the council, however, noting that grievances could be pursued through formal, established channels if residents wished.

“As to some of the accusations levelled against this authority, if residents feel they have a case for maladministration, there is an established complaints process and they are very welcome to go through it,” he said.

“And myself and my team would be delighted to address matters of fact, not slurs, in the court of public opinion through that process.

“And if there is criminality or corruption, there is always a judicial review if residents feel that is necessary.”

Cllr Olive stated he was “mindful of the Nolan principles” that guide the conduct of elected representatives, adding it was “wholly inappropriate” to accuse [senior planning officer Ed] Freeman of the things being said, and was “out of order”.

That prompted more responses from the public gallery, but Cllr Olive said he wanted to leave the matter and move on.

The process of picking where thousands of homes could go across East Devon for the emerging local plan has been a challenging task, and is not over yet.

The district’s topography means much of its land is considered as a National Landscape, the new name for an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), with other protected designations also found in East Devon.

That means finding potential locations for new homes has been controversial, although Exmo_20 has prompted the fiercest reaction.

Of the 3,200 comments from the 750 respondents in the second public consultation on the emerging local plan, 1,500 related to that one site.

Opponents to Exmo_20 also fear the potential impact on the protected Pebblebed Heaths; while there is a proposed 400-metre buffer zone that homes would not be built in, an access road for the possible development would cut through it.

Furthermore, councils must, when their local plans come to be adopted, be able to show they have a five-year housing supply. East Devon only has around 3.5 years now – albeit that is up from 2.9 years relatively recently – and so is under pressure to approve more applications to bring those numbers up.

The council is projecting its local plan could be adopted in 2027, meaning it doesn’t have much time to hit that target.

The council is keen to secure a more rapid approval for its local plan, because if it does so, it can target a lower number of homes than if it waited longer.