ATTEMPTS by councillors in Okehampton to prevent homes being built on a small area of green land in the town have failed.

Town councillors have received legal advice that a covenant, which they believed would save the land as an environmental area, was not enforceable.

It marks the end of a long and controversial battle over plans to develop the land at Link Road, near Okehampton Hospital.

A planning application to build nine homes and three flats on the site was rejected by West Devon Borough Council in November 2008, but subsequently won through on appeal.

The loss of the land for housing has upset town mayor David Weekes, who said: 'There is planning for 500 houses in the east side of town — so why lose such a small plot

of land?

'We have been pursuing this for over a year to retain it as a piece of natural land.

'I'm sure the town council would have been more than willing to upkeep it and landscape it and make it look like a nice area, if only given the chance.'

'It's the same old cliché — money is more important than the environment.

'I feel very disappointed and we will be looking at any future area of green land we can to try and save the character of the town.'

Town councillors believed an original covenant said the land must be retained as a landscape area when the site was transferred from the then owner to Devon County Council in 1998.

A town council planning meeting in November was attended by a Devon County solicitor who told members the covenant was not enforceable because the land was in the core strategy and local development plan.

But at that meeting town councillors stressed their concern for the land to be looked at again.

Devon County Cllr John Clatworthy returned to the site last week.

He said later: 'I think, having been there, it's the right location for a small development of houses.

'It will save maintenance of land and there is much need for small accommodation in Okehampton.

'Also, the site was granted planning permission on appeal and that is a big issue — all the objections were made to an independent inspector and he came to the decision it was right to give it permission.'

Stonelodge Developments Ltd from Newton Abbot had applied to build nine houses and three flats on the narrow parcel of land.

Okehampton Devon County Cllr Christine Marsh said: 'Unfortunately it's a chain of events that was set and it's just gone out of control.

'Everybody was happy with it, there were trees growing on it, but now everybody is suffering.

'There's nothing we can do now, this has been going on for ages.

'It's just disappointing that this has led us to where we are today and there are always two sides to a story.

'It's so disappointing that things are where they are and at the end of the day innocent people have to bear the consequences of other people's actions.'

Cllr Marsh said it left little choice for the land to be saved.

'Not only would Devon County Council have to fight the legality of the covenant, but they would have to go against the planning inspector who has already said yes — because it's on a piece of land recognised for development.'