GOVERNMENT- appointed inspectors have recommended that a further 600 new houses are built in West Devon over the next 18 years — on top of the 3,800 proposed last year. The borough council must now identify sites for an extra 30 houses every year until 2026. The recommendations have caused concern among councillors who fear the two main towns of Okehampton and Tavistock, which are expected to bear most of the extra homes, will not have the infrastructure to cope or sites available. The recommendations came from a panel of inspectors who examined the draft Regional Spatial Strategy, the framework document for future development in the region. They suggest that further housing needs to be built in the borough to meet local need. For West Devon, the proposals mean a 15% increase in the number of new homes scheduled to be built by 2026 and brings the total per year to 220. The implications of the latest figures will be considered at a series of planning roadshows for the public being held across the borough next month. County and borough councillor for Okehampton Christine Marsh said the town could not take any more development without improvements to the roads. 'Where are these houses all going to go anyway? We may see green fields on the west side of town but that does not automatically mean we can put houses there. We need to think about infrastructure, sewerage and roads.' Cllr Marsh said planners needed to look at accommodating these extra homes throughout the borough, including the outlying villages: 'More homes would help to sustain villages and keep facilities running, like the post offices and shops.' Cllr Edna Hicks shared the concerns: My main worry is the drainage problems that will arise with any more housing, the roads and the school — it will be a nightmare. 'There are already traffic problems in Okehampton and there is a lot more development which has already got planning permission. 'I also worry that Okehampton is being split into two — the east and the west — and the town itself will die.' Cllr Ken Williams said that unfortunately the council was just a pawn of the Government: 'We have problems of local first-time buyers and the homeless, but we are subject to Government dictate and market forces. 'Affordable housing is an add-on, a bonus, if you like, through the section 106 agreement and it seems a little bit topsy-turvy to me.' Planning policy manager Chris Dunford said the inspectors recommended a 20% increase in the number of houses across the South West as a whole. These recommendations will go before the Secretary of State, who will have the final say. The recommendations were based on the rate of households being created and ensuring there was sufficient housing for them, said Mr Dunsford. 'We need to make sure we have the right kind of housing in the right place. These changes do not just affect West Devon but everyone across the country.' He said some additional housing could be built into a development suggested for the west side of Tavistock, linked to the reopening of the railway line to Bere Alston, and the west side of Okehampton where the town council favoured new development to take place. 'We are also checking out whether North Tawton, Hatherleigh and Lifton could accommodate some additional housing and the long-term provision of retailing,' added the planning officer. A housing needs study in 2006 revealed that just over 300 affordable homes each year were needed in West Devon over the next ten years. West Devon Borough Council has been able to deliver somewhere around its target of 35% of affordable homes on new developments at Tiddybrook Meadow, Tavistock (32%) Exeter Road, Okehampton (35%), three sites in Hatherleigh (43% combined) and Pentillie Road, Bere Alston (35%) and hopes to increase that to 40% in the near future. Dates and venues for the roadshows are as follows: North Tawton Town Hall — Saturday February 2 from 9.30am to 1pm. Hatherleigh Market — Tuesday February 5 from 9.30am to noon. Okehampton Charter Hall — Thursday February 7 from 2pm to 8pm. Hatherleigh Community Centre —Saturday February 16 from 9.30am to 1pm. Arundel Arms, Lifton — Thursday February 21 from 2pm to 8pm. Okehampton Customer Services Centre — Saturday February 23 from 9.30am to 1pm. Arundel Arms, Lifton — Wednesday February 27 from 9.30am to noon. North Tawton Town Council offices —Thursday February 28 from 9.30am to noon.