Plans for 150 new homes in Tavistock

Proposals for greenfield site

There are fears that gridlock in Tavistock could hit new levels should up to 150 more homes on Callington Road be approved.

Barrett David Wilson South West has unveiled its plans to build on a site opposite the Tors development in a leaflet to local residents.

Around 630 new homes are already in the process of being built or have planning permission on Callington Road.

The area being earmarked by Barrett David Wilson is currently green fields and outside the local plan boundary for development, but West Devon Borough Council, as the local planning authority, is under pressure to find more housing sites to meet new government targets.

The housebuilder says by consulting with the community it is providing “an opportunity to shape our proposals at an early stage in the process,” before it submits a planning application.

But local residents are gearing up to launch a campaign against the scheme which they say would result in more traffic on Callington Road, increased gridlock through the town at peak times and put huge demand on health services and schools.

Michelle Davis, who lives next to the site, said she wasn’t against homes for local people but questioned whether they would be affordable and said this was the wrong site at the gateway to West Devon.

“The fields are full of wildlife and by developing here it’s getting closer and closer to the Tamar Valley, which is a national landscape,” she said.

Margaret Kent said residents in that area had already had to put up with dust and dirt from the building site at The Tors for five years and there were still more than 300 homes to be constructed there.

She and others felt the roads could not cope with more traffic, which was frequently queued up along Callington Road, Plymouth Road and at mini roundabouts through the town.

The residents have the backing of Torridge and Tavistock Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Cox who met them at the proposed development site on Thursday.

He said if borough councillors ignored the local plan, which was developed in consultation with local people, and let builders do what they wanted, it raised a very important point about the purpose of democracy.

But he also said that it was not right for the government to double the target on housebuilding in West Devon when a large portion of it couldn’t be built on anyway as it was in Dartmoor National Park or Tamar Valley National Landscape.

Retired planning consultant Graham Parker, who is also a Tavistock town councillor, said the reality was Tavistock was going to get  1,000 new homes over the next decade and would need to find somewhere to put them.

Leader of West Devon Borough Council Mandy Ewings (Ind, Tavistock South West) said the authority was due to start working on a new local plan soon which would take the designated landscapes and new targets into account.

A spokesperson for Barrett David Wilson South West said: “The consultation is for an outline planning application for between 130 and 150 new homes on the western edge of Tavistock. The proposals include a mix of housing types, including much-needed affordable homes, in a sustainable and well-connected location.

“While the plans are still at an early stage, the development could deliver a range of community benefits. These include a new children’s play area, publicly accessible green space, new tree and hedgerow planting, and improved footpath links.

 “A planning application is expected to be submitted to West Devon Borough Council in the coming months. In the meantime, all feedback received through the consultation will be carefully reviewed and used to help shape the final proposals.

“A full summary of responses will be included in the Statement of Community Involvement submitted alongside the application.

 “We encourage anyone with an interest in the proposals to visit the consultation website at https://tavistock-gladman.hub.arcgis.com/.”