AN Okehampton town councillor is calling on a developer to build a long-promised link road before starting work on 220 houses east of town.

Cllr Tony Leech, also mayor of West Devon Borough, said the road to be built by Barratt Homes as part of a housing development in the pipeline was badly needed ‘to ease the traffic for all of us’.

‘This road should go in first,’ he said. ‘It should go in with the rest of the infrastructure before any more houses are built. Those poor people in Limehayes Road and Barton Road have had to suffer while the other housing is being built nearer the town. The traffic has been absolutely horrendous and it is time that road was put in to ease the traffic for all of us.’

He was speaking at Okehampton Town Council’s development management and licensing committee meeting on Monday night (July 6), commenting on Barratt Homes’ application for ‘reserved matters’ — the design in detail — for 220 houses east of Crediton Road and north of Kellands Lane.

The plan includes a road linking Exeter Road to Crediton Road, where a new roundabout will also be built as part of the scheme, which already has outline planning permission from West Devon Borough Council.

Cllr Leech said: ‘The route has been moved and it is now a slightly serpentine route that goes through the Barratts development. I understand why they want to do it that way. It is so that there is equal amounts of housing on each side of the road.

‘What concerns me, though, is that this road should have been in before the housing, to allow traffic from Crediton Road to go along there, instead of having to go into the town centre and onto Exeter Road.’

He said this was a particular issue while other housing was still being built further along the Crediton Road over the coming months.

‘Because this road isn’t in place, all that construction traffic has to go back to the town or through the country lanes. I think the road should go in first.’

Barratt Homes already has outline planning permission for 400 homes on two parcels of land east of Okehampton and is currently applying for the first parcel of 220.

The plans show that 51 houses will be affordable — with eight one-bed dwellings, 25 two beds, 14 three beds and five four-bed houses. The public can comment on the plans by July 30 on West Devon Borough Council’s website.

The 400 homes being built by Barratt are among 770 houses Okehampton is being asked to accommodate up to 2034, as set out in the Joint Local Plan.

David Matthews, land director at Barratt David Wilson Homes, said: ‘We know how important the link road is to Okehampton and if successful, our proposals will finally see it delivered.

On granting the outline planning permission, the council established through the Section 106 that the road needs to be built prior to the 100th occupation. We will of course ensure this is achieved and hope to see the link road opened as early as is possible and safe.’