Planners back homes near Newton Abbot

Campaigners protested against the controversial decision

Controversial plans for 450 homes to be built on the edge of Newton Abbot have been given the go-ahead.

Despite campaigners protesting outside Forde House ahead of the meeting, Teignbridge District Council’s planning committee on Tuesday morning backed the outline scheme for land at Langford Bridge Farm.

The schemes surrounds Homes Heath, Buckland Athletic’s ground, and is identified in Teignbridge’s Local Plan as somewhere that new homes, employment space and infrastructure can be delivered.

Outline planning permission for a residential led mixed use development comprising up to 450 homes on the western side of Kingskerswell Road, as well as a local centre of shops and offices, and 22,000sq metres of employment uses on land to the east of Kingskerswell Road, was granted by planners in line with the officer recommendation to approve the CEG scheme on land on by the Rew family.

Calling for the scheme to be approved, Peter Stacey, planning consultant, said the scheme is fully compliant with the policies, aims and objectives of the Local Plan. He added: “This will deliver much needed housing and 20 per cent will be affordable, and will deliver employment land. The principle of the development is not an issue and there are no outstanding issues at all.

“This can be delivered as a functional standalone neighbourhood and there are no sustainable reasons for refusal.”

Planning officers had recommended the scheme be approved, but Newton Abbot town council, as well as Abbotskerswell Parish Council (APC) and the Wolborough Residents’ Association (WRA), together representing over 1800 residents, had objected.

Paul Evemy, from the WRA, told the committee that the claims there would be no loss of biodiversity relies on unrealistic expectations and the reality is there will be a 30 per cent net biodiversity loss on the site, while Chris Wattts, from the WRA, added it was premature to determine the scheme.

Cllr Mary Colclough, who had called the scheme to go before planners, said it was premature for the application to be discussed prior to the completion of the Wolborough DPD and the result of an appeal on the Wolborough site.

Cllr Janet Bradford said that in this day and age, we should be thinking about air pollution, bidoversity and climate change. She said: “There could be another 800 cars driving up and down these roads and it is unthinkable, and it will be mayhem. The mitigation for the bats is feeble and insubstantial, the proposal as it stands will have a net negative impact on biodiversity, and there is nothing that will benefit the climate emergency that has been declared.

“The people of Abbotskerswell’s quality of life will be hit and they know it, and they do not want this passed. Granting permission would be unlawful and open to legal challenge.”

Cllr Liam Mullone added: “There can be no doubt that this proposal will have a detrimental effect on the biodiversity. To proceed would be to break the law. The people don’t want to bring a legal case against the council but if force them, they will, especially if you give them suggest a good case as you have today. This needs to be refused.”

Cllr Richard Daws added: “This plan is not consistent with the APC neighbourhood plan and this drives a railroad through the plan to develop NA3 holistically. It would be reckless if the committee granted permission as it stands.”

But Rosalyn Eastman : Business Manager Strategic Place, said the Wolborough DPD is at a very early stage of preparation, has not been published for public consultation, and therefore has no weight in planning terms.

Planning solicitor Nick Hill added that the council were confident that there was no legal reason why the application cannot be approved.

Cllr Martin Wrigley proposed that the plan be refused on the grounds that there was insufficient work done to mitigate the impact on drainage, air quality, biodiversity, and protected species of bats. He said: “There are several things that concern me, and the mitigation isn’t good enough. It has to improve and enhance the area, and I don’t think this is ready, so I proposed refusal.”

He was seconded by Cllr Adrian Patch, who added: “If this application were approved, the unspoken addendum would be that this council rips up and revokes it declaration of a climate and ecological emergency.”

But Ms Eastman said that the council had no expert evidence available as part of the advice that would lead to sustaining any of the reasons for refusal.

Committee chairman Cllr Mike Haines added: “I feel the reasons for refusal are weak and would be subject to costs at an appeal. It is an outline application on land in the Local Plan. We have to face the decision on the policy in place and I can see no reason to refuse this.”

Cllr Patch had requested that a recorded vote take place, but failed to find enough support within the room.

The move to refuse the application was lost 11 votes to six, and then councillors voted by 11 voted to four, with two abstentions, to approve the outline scheme.

Cllr Patch asked for his vote against the application to be recorded, while Cllr Haines and Cllr Phil Bullivant were happy for their votes in favour of the scheme to be recorded.

A separate reserved matters application, covering matters of appearance, landscaping, design, layout and scale, will be need to be submitted and approved by the committee before work can begin, but full planning permission for the section of the proposed link road that would eventually connect the A380 and the A381 has now been granted

The application is separate to a scheme for 1,210 homes submitted by PCL Planning on behalf of the Rew family, on which an appeal over the non-determination of is awaiting a result.

Documents with the report say that planning permission is not being sought for a primary school, but a parcel of land will be safeguarded within a S106 legal agreement for development of a primary school, if it is required, while if the land proposed for employment use is found not to be viable, the use will cascade down to education.

The proposal also includes provision of green infrastructure, including public open space, natural space, play space, and including biodiversity and landscape corridors, and officers are recommending it be approved.