WEST Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox last Friday attended a crucial planning framework meeting.

Mr Cox met the chief executive and senior members of West Devon Borough Council to discuss the core strategy for the 'Local Development Framework'.

Mr Cox will engage in a series of meetings over the summer that aim to explore the proposals and to discuss them with residents.

He said he acknowledged the pressure the council was under from Central Government targets that required 4,400 houses to be built in West Devon up to 2016, and from Government policies that require most of those to be sited in Tavistock and Okehampton.

In addition, he was told by council officers that there was an established and significant need for housing for local people, regardless of government targets.

Mr Cox said: 'I will soon be visiting some of the suggested sites that could be used for housing developments as part of the core strategy, and I hope this will afford an opportunity for me to see and listen to the views of those who may be affected by the plans.

'I understand that some 26 per cent of housing to be built within the borough under this strategy is indeed spread across rural sites, however, we must examine the viability of development in the towns on the scale that the Government has imposed.

'If something like it goes ahead, it is crucial that the quality of architectural and environmental design is exceptionally good, and that adequate infrastructure is made integral to the plan.'