Community hub plan thrown out

Local plan for Bratton Fleming allocates site for new housing development

A community hub proposal for Bratton Fleming which would include a shop and pub has been thrown out after planners heard its location is the only land for new housing in the village.

Local businessman Philip Milton wanted to replace the temporary village shop at Millennium Green car park with a permanent, much larger facility with a post office and four residential dwellings above.

But the parish council and 27 local residents objected, while North Devon Council’s environmental health officer was concerned about noise and smells  affecting neighbours.

The car park is currently used by parents at school drop off and pick up times and to access the children’s play area, Millennium Green woods and the village hall.

Opponents say the location was considered several years ago for a community facility by the Bratton Fleming Community Benefit Society (BFCBS) but, after a thorough assessment, it concluded that it wasn’t a suitable for the needs of the village.

Local people favour refurbishing the pub, The White Hart, as a community hub for which planning permission was granted last year.

North Devon Council’s independent member for Bratton Fleming Cllr Malcolm Prowse said: “The overwhelming desire of community reflects the joint initiative of the parish council and BFCBS to provide an affordable and deliverable hub which can only be at the White Hart.”

Mr Milton bought the pub after it closed in 2012 and has failed on several occasions to get planning consent for housing on the site, either through conversion or newly built homes.

The loss of a community facility was the main reason for refusal by planning officers and inspectors at subsequent appeals.

Officers said councillors should reject Mr Milton’s latest application because the site would form the access to the new homes, including much-needed affordable homes. The applicants also hadn’t provided details on the impact from traffic or an assessment of potential noise and nuisance given the close proximity of residents.

They said they had been informed that owners of the land, the Millennium Green Trust, would not agree to the development partly because of old restrictions which wouldn’t be removed, making the proposal unlikely to be deliverable.

Mr Milton, who is a financial advisor, said the necessary modernisation needed to make the redundant White Hart fit for multi-purpose community use was “not justifiable”.

He said a brand new purpose built 1,050 sq metre community hub on one level, with a car park, was far more economically viable and in a safer location away from the main road.