FRUSTRATED Northlew residents say they are considering asking the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate West Devon Borough Council?s handling of a controversial planning application in the village. The planning and licencing committee last Tuesday agreed to make a site visit today (Thursday) to the green field land north of Kimberlands, where Sunnybanks Homes want to build 25 new dwellings. Residents say they are concerned about the way the borough has dealt with the application and that if it is approved, they will contact the Local Government Ombudsman. Kimberlands resident David Pressley said: ?I am concerned at the cavalier tone of the opinions given in favour of granting. ?The objections raised by the residents have been ill-considered in this process and the guidelines on inadequate access, brownfield site development, design, density, open space, traffic movement and community integration appear to have been conveniently adapted or brushed aside. ?The question of priority housing for Northlew being discounted because of sustainability is quite frankly nonsense.? ?What is the possible motivation behind such an assessment? Do the council want a Tesco Extra and Wacky Warehouse Beefeater Pub in Northlew? Maybe a McDonald?s? ?To use this justification to increase the village ? not parish ? housing stock by 25 per cent and the population headcount by even more in one move runs counter to all guidelines and experience of community well-being and integration,? he said. At last week?s planning meeting, ward member Cllr James McInnes pushed for the committee to make a site visit. ?I have to say I am in favour of this application, but I would prefer to see 15 homes rather than 25, as it will have a major upheaval in the actual social life of the village,? he said. Cllr McInnes said he also shared residents? concerns about the narrowness of the access road to the site. Graham Clark, planning director for Sunnybanks Homes, said the site had been allocated for residential development through the 1997 Local Plan and the Local Plan Review. He told councillors he did not believe there was a need for a site visit. ?If a long-standing allocated site such as this can?t be brought forward, what site can?? he asked. Mr Clark said his firm had increased the proportion of affordable homes from a previous application from six to seven, and relocated a proposed associated play area. He said the development would represent an investment of more than £750,000 and would give ?young people an opportunity to buy affordable homes in Northlew?. The application was deferred after councillors voted in favour of the site visit.
