A CAMPAIGN group against West Devon's Core Strategy has met with the new chief executive of the borough council, Richard Sheard, to put forward their arguments.
Representatives of the Protect the Tavy Valley Group gave their views on the development document, which was recently examined at a public enquiry in Tavistock. The planning inspector is due to give his ruling next March.
Campaigners are concerned that the council's proposals to build 750 houses in one location, off Callington Road in Tavistock, will create an urban extension to the town.
They say that the council's plan is geared towards getting the rail link re-instated but the council claims that providing all the housing in one location reduced infrastructure costs and the site tied in with other aspects of the plan including the extension to the primary school and new hospital.
Group member Ann Keelan said it was a valuable discussion and the group were delighted to meet Mr Sheard.
'We were very lucky to get an hour of his time, considering that the spending cuts and the new Localism Bill were both published the day before. We discussed the likely effects of the Localism Bill on the Core Strategy.'
Member Paul Richardson said: 'The current draft of the bill says that most of the developer contributions must be channelled into the neighbourhoods most affected by new development. The practical result is that the railway plan isn't viable unless they double the number of houses or turn the whole site into an out-of-town retail park.'
Jeremy Davies said one of the minor changes the council had introduced was that the whole housing site had been re-designated as 'mixed use.'
'In the absence of funding for a new hospital, we are more likely to get another big supermarket, and that really will be disastrous for our town centre,' he said.
Residents will still have an opportunity to influence the plan in the next few weeks. The borough council is consulting on minor amendments to the wording of the development plan document following discussion with the planning inspector Paul Crysell during the public hearings.
The consultation started on December 13 and runs until February 3. People can say whether they accept or reject the recommended changes, and why.
Mr Davies added: 'It was a very positive discussion. The new chief executive praised the amount of work that the group has put into arguing the case for an alternative strategy.
Copies of the changes to the strategy can be seen at http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/strategicplanning">www.westdevon.gov.uk/strategicplanning or at the council's offices.