Controversial housing development deferred

Fremington neighbours furious

Highly controversial plans for 161 homes in Fremington, near Barnstaple, have been deferred following a blockbuster planning meeting, punctuated by impassioned speeches, missed lunches and outbreaks of rapturous applause. And now councillors plan a site visit to better understand the issues. 

In what might be a record attendance in recent times, a dozen public speakers turned up to  North Devon Council’s (NDC) planning committee – meeting at Barnstaple Rugby Club – to criticise the plans. Many were elderly residents from St Andrews Road, which will neighbour the new development if it goes ahead.

The focus of their concerns, apart from the disruption of a major new development next door, are controversial access roads, one of which would be built by demolishing a bungalow at 18 St Andrews Road.

It is proposed that a two metre tall noise barrier will be built to absorb the sound from the extra traffic that would pass by the new access road. Incredulous laughter broke out when a planning officer reported that, with barriers in place, the new road would not result in “unacceptable noise levels” for nearby bungalows.

Residents also have safety concerns about the prospect of 1,000 extra car journeys a day along the cul-de-sac and the access roads. These worries became even more entrenched recently when a car crash brought traffic to a standstill. 

Devon highways officer Paul Young had the thankless task of defending the county council’s support of the new access road. He said the new road, around five and a half meters wide, would be enough for two large vehicles to pass each other and, with a ’T junction’ replacing the existing sharp bend, it could be safer.

He said: “We would consider this – and I know local people won’t agree – to be a low traffic, low-speed environment.” 

The marathon two-and-a-half-hour discussion took councillors by surprise, leaving some to debate whether to take a break from the rest of the day’s schedule in order to have lunch. 

They were left in no doubt about the strength of feeling about the Fremington development. A dozen speakers, a mixture of local residents and councillors,  criticised the plans and received rapturous applause from the audience. 

Reading out a statement of a fellow resident, Patricia Ward, who lives on St Andrews Road, said: “If this development goes ahead it will, without question, have a catastrophic effect for the continued safety, health and wellbeing of the residents within these roads.”

Councillor Helen Walker (Lib Dems, Bickington) said: “I strongly object to this application. I think it is badly thought out. The access is completely inadequate.”

The application is outside the council’s local plan for new development. However, faced with a shortage of a five-year housing land supply, NDC is encouraged to approve housing applications deemed ‘sustainable.’

Cllr Walker rejected this argument applied, saying: “Fremington should not have to take any more houses because of the lack of a five-year housing supply.”

Councillor Frank Biederman (Independent), the ward member for Fremington, described government housing targets as “simply not realistic.”

He continued: “We do not have the infrastructure to support this level of development.”

He praised St Andrews Road for having “the most unbelievable community spirit.”

Later, and in a move contrary to procedure, a member of the public in the gallery let her frustration boil over, shouting out while councillors were engaged in debate. She was warned to quiet down or leave.

The controversial project is proposed by Vistry Homes, a large national developer that is listed on the FTSE-250 stock exchange. 

They''re cross in Fremington (courtesy: Joe Ives)

Dan Yates, a planning agent for Vistry Homes, said the application: “represents a high-quality and well-designed scheme in a highly sustainable location that will deliver much-needed open market and affordable housing.”

He said the developer had “worked closely with both officers and Devon County Council [the highways authority in North Devon] to bring an access that is both suitable and safe.”

Mr Yates said the development would bring benefits to both new and existing residents, including new areas of open green space, a biodiversity net gain and safe cycle access to the Tarka Trail.

Vistry’s plans also include the construction of a new football pitch, although some pepole fear this would create further disruption to the area.

The developer has agreed to make 48 of the 161 properties affordable homes, 75 per cent of which would be social rented. The remainder would be intermediate housing. 

As part of of a section 106 agreement, Vistry Homes agreed to provide £794,000 towards primary and secondary education in the area. A further £75,000 would go towards provision for special educational needs and £40,000 on early years. 

Fremington Medical Practise would receive £93,000 for improvements. Just over £35,000 would go on the Braunton Burrows special area of conservation.

When it finally came to decision time, councillors voted unanimously to defer the application for least two planning cycles.

The break, likely to take several months, was passed in order to allow councillors to carry out a site visit, give developers time to look into alternative access routes and provide officers with a chance to look at the potential implications of the new football pitch.

Proposing the deferment, Councillor Jayne Mackie (Fremington, Independent) said: “I don’t think that we are totally and completely informed about this unless we go and see what the residents are talking about.”

Councillor Frederick ‘Joe’ Tucker (Lib Dems, Marwood) agreed, saying a site visit was “most essential in this case because there are so many unanswered questions.”