AN application deadline to create homes on the site of a disused nursing home in Yelverton has been extended.

A planning application to provide 11 homes at Devonia House Nursing Home at Leg O’Mutton Corner, which closed down in 2016, was submitted to Dartmoor National Park Authority in January by agent Maze Planning Solutions on behalf of the building’s owners Horizon Capital Management Limited.

The application includes the demolition of the nursing home. But since it was submitted a local family has claimed that Devonia House has a ‘twin’ in New Jersey with Devonia being created as an ‘exact replica’ of the USA property.

The application was open for consultation until March 9 but this was extended to March 27 last week as the application had been incorrectly categorised as minor instead of major. The new period relates to the proposal being a major application.

Yelverton resident Paula Hunter, whose ancestors built Devonia House, said: ‘We feel the current application is misleading as the entire building site is referred to under the title of “Devonia House” but the plans for any conversion to a current building apply only to the original stables and carriage-storage building on the perimeter of the site.

‘Devonia House was built by our 2x great grandfather, Henry Barons, between 1879 and 1883, as an exact replica of the house they had lived in in New Jersey. Our great grandfather, Jimmy Barons, was born in the NJ house and they returned to Yelverton when he was seven as his mother, Mary Ann (pictured), was so homesick.’

Paula added: ‘I have been advised by a local architect that as they are twin homes Devonia should be awarded heritage status. We are not saying they [the applicants] can’t make the best of the site but it would be an awful shame to knock the house down.’

The application 0018/20 is available to view on DNPA’s website.

A Maze spokesperson said: ‘A professionally prepared heritage statement is one of the documents submitted to the National Park Authority. The heritage statement has considered all of the relevant information in reaching a conclusion about the absence of heritage value.’