ANGRY residents in Bere Alston this week slammed a decision which would see more houses being built in the village ? against the recommendation of the planning inspector.
West Devon Borough Council?s future planning and housing committee agreed on Tuesday that a site on Pentillie Road in the village should be included in the new Local Plan ? despite the fact the inspector at the local plan enquiry rejected a proposal for around 30 extra dwellings in Bere Alston.
Village resident Julie Fox said: ?What?s the point of a public enquiry, if at the end of the day, it can all be swept aside and the whole process starts again as if it never happened?
?We seem to have won an individual fight but we are losing the war ? I think they?re determined to build in Bere Alston.?
Mike Benson, a founder member of Bere Alston Action Group which campaigned against additional housing in the village, was horrified at the news.
He said: ?I am shocked that they can completely disregard the inspector?s report.
?The one place in the whole of West Devon which was picked out not to have any development was Bere Alston, and I find it amazing they can turn round and say ?We don?t have to take any notice of this?.
?Bere Alston had the biggest contingent of people attending the Local Plan enquiry, bar none. Traffic safety was a major factor and there was definitely a lot of anti-feeling about extra housing.?
Resident Ken Bellchambers produced a 40-page report examining the issue and spoke against the housing proposals at the Local Plan public enquiry.
He said: ?The bottom line is that it appears to me they are completely ignoring safety on the Denham Bridge Road.
?In the inspector?s report, he felt, as we put forward in our evidence, that the road was already at saturation point.?
Mr Bellchambers said residents were also concerned about the effect extra dwellings would have on general infrastructure in the village, causing additional pressure on the school, health facilities and sewage system.
Mayor of West Devon, Cllr Christine Grills, ward member for Bere Ferrers, backed the residents at the meeting.
She said: ?I feel there are enough spots which are being used for one, two or three houses. I don?t feel a large amount of housing will do anything for Bere Alston, except cause more problems.?
But Cllr Eaon Wager, chairman of Bere Ferrers Parish Council and West Devon ward member, said the parish council was 100% in favour of the proposal and that Pentillie Road was the best site.
?The school needs more children, the doctors need more patients ? we need a small amount of development ? that?s the council?s view,? he said.
Borough Cllr Mandy Govier agreed Pentillie Road was the best site: ?It?s walkable to most parts of the village and it?s on the level.?
Margaret Garton, chairman of the committee, said a third of the new houses would be affordable and there was a need for this type of home in Bere Alston.
Planning officer Jane Green said Bere Alston, as a larger settlement with a range of facilities, was considered ?appropriate? for limited extra housing, and the strategy was supported by Government Office South West.
Stephen Gill, West Devon?s head of planning, said: ?Basically, the inspector?s report is a series of recommendations. It?s not a binding decision like an inspector?s report on a planning appeal.
?The inspector is now no longer involved in the process ? it is the Government Office South West who acts as a kind of watchdog?.
The proposed modifications to the new Local Plan are now subject to a six-week consultation period in which objectors and supporters should make their views known.