A COMMUNITY'S fight to gain affordable housing so it can keep young people in a village where house prices are soaring took a giant step forward last week when West Devon planners unanimously approved a development scheme against council policy.

Members of West Devon's planning committee supported the application by West Devon Homes for four affordable homes on land at Part Coffins Farm, Spreyton, despite being recommended for refusal by officers because the site is outside the development boundary and objections from the County Highways Authority.

The lack of affordable housing and desperate need for young families to keep the school and other community facilities viable was felt by members to outweigh the reasons for refusal.

The meeting heard how development sites in the village, which has a population of around 350 residents, were usually 'very small and very valuable' and a total of 42 young people had been forced to leave to find affordable accommodation in the last 10-15 years.

A strong case for the application was made by Spreyton Parish Council chairman John Filor who said the scheme for Part Coffins Farm was the only opportunity Spreyton was going to get for social housing.

With the smallest cottage costing around £90,000 and properties rising to £250,000-plus he said young couples could not afford accommodation in the village, which was becoming inhabited in the main by retired people.

He said: 'Spreyton has a school, shop, pub and a wonderful village hall which is being built at this moment with lottery funds.

'It has a lot to offer but not enough people to offer it to and if we want to keep these things going we have got to have a younger generation. They have all fled the village now we have got to get them back.'

The planning meeting was told by the council's housing services officer Marion Playle that there were only five social housing units in Spreyton at the moment and there were 92 households on the housing register for homes in Spreyton. Both the developer and the borough council had committed £86,000 towards this new scheme.

'It is always really difficult to find land for affordable housing and here we have an offer on the table from a developer who wants to put something back into the community, which is rare,' she said.

Cllr Roger Mathew said he rarely voted against planning officers' recommendations, but he was in this case because there was a clear social need for affordable housing throughout the borough and principally in this area.

He said: 'This is a very finely balanced case and I would not like to think of this as setting a precedent for future applications.

'The case is helped by the fact that land on the opposite side of the road is likely to be earmarked for development in the new local plan.'

Cllr Christine Grills said four houses may not seem a lot but they were very significant in a small community.

Planning officers said the proposed site was beyond the village boundary by approximately 25-30 metres and therefore contrary to the current local plan policy. The County Highways Authority objected to the scheme because it was outside the 30mph speed restriction zone, there were no direct footways and the site had poor visibility to the south.

The meeting was told that highway realignment and traffic calming measures would be put in place and there was a possibility the speed limit could be extended.

The head of Spreyton Primary School Cynthia Higbee said an injection of young families was definitely needed to keep the school going.

She said: 'Fortunately, at the moment half the 29 pupils we have at the school come from outside the village, otherwise it would almost certainly have to close.

'It is not just the school which keeps the village thriving but all the other facilities which need the younger generation to support them.'