A SHELTERED housing complex in Okehampton has been welcomed by West Devon planners who gave unanimous support to plans by award winning developers McCarthy and Stone this week. Fifty-nine flats and 29 car parking spaces for the over 60s will be created on the site of West Devon Borough Council?s offices and associated land at Oaklands Drive which are going as part of a £3.7-million redevelopment of the authority?s premises. It was made clear to councillors at a meeting in Tavistock on Tuesday the housing proposal would not hamper any plans for a relief road through Oaklands Drive at any point in the future, which is what the town has been calling for to ease road congestion. Ward member Ken Williams said the development looked attractive from the plans and he felt it would really enhance the river which ran next to it. He said: ?This part of the river is where you quite often find dumped shopping trolleys and plastic bags because of the neighbouring supermarkets. ?Okehampton has neglected its rivers in the past and this project could improve this area. I also commend a scheme which supports elderly people.? The Okehampton council offices will be replaced with a one-stop customer service point in St James Street with the Tavistock offices at Kilworthy Park being redesigned and extended, providing bigger meeting rooms and commercial offices to let. The sale of Oaklands and the introduction of commercial property will fund the project. The new Okehampton facility is expected to open early next year. Land for the sheltered housing will incorporate the former council depot, now occupied by a number of small businesses, and land on the opposite side of the road. The development, which will be three-storey with a central two-storey element, raised concerns from Okehampton Town Council about its visual impact and inadequacy of parking facilities. Three letters of objection from members of the public also stated that there was a lack of suitable alternative premises for existing businesses. Planning officers said that while a three-storey the building was uncommon outside the town centre, this site was relatively isolated visually from other buildings and would be partially screen by riverside trees, avoiding any reasonable loss of amenity to other residents. It was considered that Okehampton had a sizeable allocation of employment land which could accommodate the businesses currently using the former depot. Cllr Mandy Govier said more and more elderly people were driving these days and hence 29 parking spaces might not be enough. Planning officer Jane Green said the car parking allocation was based on similar developments throughout the country: ?Whilst the minimum age of occupation is 60, this type of accommodation seems to attract an older age group of occupiers,? she said. It was also felt that the close to town centre location would limit the need for car use. A further application for 47 flats for the elderly has just been submitted by Southern Properties for Rondor and Gunn?s Yard in North Street, Okehampton.
