A THIRD of the new homes planned for Tavistock over the next ten years will be built on land at Bishopsmead after approval was granted to Redrow Homes last week. Around 215 homes are earmarked for the site, 75 of which will be affordable ? rented or shared ownership. But the access proposals, which also include redirecting a busy road through the new estate, have been refused because of serious safety concerns. Head of planning Stephen Gill told West Devon Borough Council?s planning committee that the negotiations with Redrow Homes had been exceptionally fruitful with 35% of the site being allocated for social housing, plus contributions towards education, open space, the provision of a cycle route plus £220,000 towards a new bus service. Talks were also continuing regarding a contribution towards community facilities. The seven hectares of grazing land at Bishopsmead is one of three sites designated in the new local plan for development, the others being at The Manor and Callington Road. The applicants have proposed a roundabout off the A386 which would serve the new development and take all the traffic from Anderton Lane, the junction of which with the A386 would be blocked off under the proposal thus preventing two exits onto the main road. Planners have said that the re-alignment of Anderton Lane and the creation of a new access from the A386 should ensure a ?direct and convenient route? for all traffic. But concerns were expressed about the amount of vehicles currently using Anderton Lane and the potential for a ?rat-run? through the new estate and the subsequent impact on the safety of families living there. Whitchurch Road resident Katherine Carrick said she had recently moved to the area and was concerned about the loss of a ?lovely open space? where she saw herons landing on Tiddy Brook, buzzards and bats, egrets, pheasants and owls. ?I can only assume that there is a lot more wildlife and plantlife that will disappear forever if this development goes ahead,? she said. ?The school (Whitchurch) is already at capacity ? is there any provision for more land for the school? ?Other estates have been built in Tavistock with promises of a new school but nothing has happened.? Mr Gill said this area of land had been deemed a suitable site for development since 1995 but it was not pursued in the last local plan because it was not needed. Ten years on the authority was facing a directive from the Government to find more sites and Bishopsmead was designated in the new local plan, for which there had been five rounds of public consultations followed by a public enquiry. He said the developers would sign a legal agreement to make sure the money was spent on a specific school in the area. Cllr Dick Eberlie said a great deal of greenfield sites in Tavistock were shortly to disappear in the local plan ? the council had to find sites to built 600 new homes and this was one of them. ?What we have done is to get the best arrangement of sites and the best opportunities for the residents already here and the new ones coming,? he said. ?The points that have been made regarding the countryside are very valuable and interesting but this land is going under tarmac and that is thanks to the Government.? Cllr Ken Williams said the same thing was happening in Okehampton and ironically all the estates had been named after the creatures that had been lost like badgers, kestrels and foxes.
