A BROWNFIELD site in Lifton is to be developed for housing, after West Devon planners gave the scheme the thumbs up last week. James Law Construction has applied to build nine houses and two flats on the Old Rice Mill site in Station Road at Lifton. The parish council had objected to the scheme on the grounds there were no further light industrial sites available in the parish. Ward member Cllr Dawn Rogers backed the parish council. She said although the site had not been used for several years, she had seen no evidence that it had been marketed for industrial use. ?It concerns me that Lifton will be left with no available brownfield sites at all,? she said. Cllr Roger Mathew, chairman of the planning committee, said he would ?struggle? to support Cllr Rogers and the parish council?s views. He said: ?It is a brownfield site and we are encouraged to use them for residential purposes. I understand your argument but I am worried you can?t say you have actual evidence of a reasonable prospect of bringing it back into use.? Planning officer Edward Persse said: ?In terms of the allocation, you have one industrial estate in Lifton which is certainly not fully developed. In terms of the local plan we haven?t allocated any further land because during the review, it was felt it wasn?t necessary.? Cllr James McInnes said in view of the fact the site had been empty for some time, using it for residential purposes seemed ?a reasonable option?. The committee was told the proposed development was in keeping with the site and its surroundings ? there was also no significant flood risk from the adjacent Arundell Arms fishing lake. The committee agreed to grant planning consent, subject to conditions including landscaping, details of drainage systems and removal of permitted development rights.
