'New village' plans near Woolacombe rejected

Locals didn't like idea of 105 new homes in National Landscape

Plans for one of the largest housing developments ever submitted for an unallocated site in the North Devon National Landscape (formally known as the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or AONB) has been turned down.

A petition and 225 letters of objection were received by North Devon Council against 105 homes being built in the countryside near Woolacombe.

People said the development would be “far too excessive for the area” and “a blot on the landscape”.

There were also concerns over the pressure on local health services and schools and a lack of jobs in an area where work is often seasonal in the tourism sector.

North Devon National Landscape officers said the homes on seven hectares area of agricultural fields north of Woolacombe Station Road would have the effect of creating a new village with the national landscape and they strongly recommended refusal of the plan put forward by Andrew Pegg.

They said such developments should be located on the edge of villages and this was nearly two miles outside Woolacombe and Mortehoe.

They said that whilst this was not an “iconic” part of the landscape and that it had already been compromised by development, it was still a part of the National Landscape area and Heritage Coast and still had much to contribute to the character of the landscape.

Approval of the application would effectively provide “green light” further large developments in other areas considered unimportant parts of the NL, they said.

Mortehoe Parish Council  also objected, saying there were no amenities in the village and waste water capability was beyond capacity in the summer. The area had major traffic problems for half the year and no pavements, it claimed.

“This level of development in an AONB sets a nasty precedent for future developers,” it said.

Highways officers raised concerns over the lack of footways and cycleways and said it would result in a dangerous increased along the B3343.

North Devon Council’s planning committee heard that there were two community-led housing projects, one in Woolacombe and one in nearby Georgeham, for a total of 39 socially rented homes, which would meet the local needs housing.

Devon Home Choice’s housing register showed 36 households needed affordable housing for rent as of January 2024.

Planning officers had advised the committee to reject the scheme. They said that whilst there were benefits by improving ecology of the current open pasture, it didn’t outweigh the expected harm.

They said that whilst 50 per cent of affordable housing in the scheme was desirable, the housing mix did not meet local needs.

In planning documents, the applicant’s agent LHC Design/Wessex Strategic,  said the houses would sit in generous areas of community open space. It was anticipated that only 60 per cent of the land would be developed, “creating a landscape led scheme that reflects its setting and character.”

They said it was a sensitive extension to the community and would “contribute to the attractiveness of the settlement and support the long-term prosperity of this part of North Devon.”

The planning committee rejected the plans.