WEST Devon Borough Council planners have turned down a development of four large homes on charity land in Tavistock which was originally intended for almshouses for the poor and elderly. Following a site meeting at Churchill Road, Whitchurch, the planning committee voted against the officers? recommendation to grant the scheme put forward by the Marshall and Browne Memorial Homes Trust. Committee members refused the proposal on grounds of over-dominance, the detrimental effect on neighbours? amenity and for being out of character with neighbouring development. The land is the last piece of the eleven-acre site donated by local resident John Marshall in memory of his wife 117 years ago. Trustees said the application was necessary to raise investment income to produce funds to maintain its 16 existing almshouse properties and complete another development nearby. Ward member for Tavistock South Ted Sherrell said the committee was to be applauded on its decision: ?This land was purchased and put aside by philanthropic and visionary people for the benefit of the elderly, the vulnerable and those in our community who have not enjoyed the best of fortunes. ?In other words it is there to accommodate social housing, thus the proposal for large, expensive, four bedroomed houses to be built on this precious plot is directly contrary to the purpose for which these benefactors meant it to be used.? The committee was told that moral issues were not material planning concerns and the application could not be turned down on this basis. Cllr Mandy Govier said that in line with local planning policy, this application of two-storey homes for the 0.5 hectare site was severely ?undeveloped? as there should be 12 to 15 dwellings for this brownfield site to keep within the ethos of the ?efficient use of land?. Two previous applications had been granted for that site for up to seven bungalows and a warden property. She questioned whether the proposal was a sympathetic development within the spirit of what the land was intended for. Eight local residents had written to the planning authority opposing the scheme. It was considered the houses would be very intrusive because of the sloping nature of the site, over-dominating existing houses on Marshall Close. Planning officers said the scheme had been amended to address potential problems of overlooking and the flood risk. It was their opinion that the distances between properties, differences in land level and bank and tree screening would ensure against a material loss of privacy. The houses had been redesigned to lower their height, window widths had been reduced and some obscure glazing proposed. In a previous article in the Times the trust claimed it did not have the money to develop the land itself but the income from selling it to a developer would enable the completion of eight almshouses nearby and provide money for ongoing repairs and maintenance of other properties. A large proportion of the site donated by John Marshall was sold for private development in the 1970s and no objections were raised by the charity commission. A new piece of land was purchased by the charity along the now called Marshall Close for new almshouses, and others were modernised.