Protestors fighting the threat of 143 new homes on two fields on the edge of Tavistock are celebrating the plan being refused by councillors – and now hope another proposal nearby will also be turned down.

West Devon Borough Council planners were lobbied by locals who said the Violet Lane plan was an intrusion into the rural edge of town and did not have good enough roads. The county council objected on traffic access grounds.

Now, locals are hoping a 65-home plan on an adjacent greenfield site, off Green Hill, will also be refused on the same grounds. They and the town council say there are inadequate roads, schools and health services to support more residents, on top of 1,500 new houses already in the pipeline for the whole town.