Emergency East Devon vaccination centre to remain

The temporary building near Greendale will be permanent

An emergency Covid vaccination centre in East Devon will remain in place even though it was only originally granted as a temporary structure.

The large green building at the edge of Greendale Business Park, near Farringdon, courted mixed opinion among East Devon planners, with some concerned that pulling it down could cause unnecessary environmental harm, while others referenced complaints from residents living nearby.

Those in favour of the application also stressed that given the building was already in situ and could perform a vital function in the event of another emergency such as Covid 19, it made sense to retain it.

Planning officers were recommending that the proposal to keep the building there should be refused, largely because it was outside the agreed built-up boundary for the business park meaning it was in land deemed open countryside.

They also contended there was no evidence for its need, or that similar facilities could not be provided elsewhere, as well as the building being “unduly prominent and visually intrusive”.

A spokesperson for Woodbury Parish Council said it supported the application and that it had not received any complaints.

Furthermore, the spokesperson stated that Greendale Business Park was on a bus route, meaning the contention by planning officers that visitors to the site would be “reliant on cars” was not necessarily true.

Paul Cairnes, a planning barrister acting for the applicant, said the planning committee could decide to allow the scheme.

“To imagine a green field site ignores reality that members of this committee witnessed on their site visit, along with the climate change impact if the building is removed, and probably reinstituted in future if needed,” he said.

He added the land was not protected in any way, meaning the location of the building wasn’t controversial in that sense.

“Nobody disputes the NHS needs this facility as part of its surge protection policy,” he said.

“This is a scheme that may ultimately save lives.”

Councillor Ben Ingham (Conservative, Woodbury and Lympstone) said he had been one of the key instigators of the development boundary for Greendale Business Park to prevent it from growing too large.

“So if anyone should take exception to this application, it should be me but I don’t,” he said.

“It is an important contingency for the NHS. Are we going to take a pedantic decision and stick to the planning needs even though they might be outweighed by the needs of our communities.

“I suggest it would be bloody-minded to refuse this application.”

But his fellow ward member, Councillor Geoff Jung (Liberal Democrat) contradicted what the parish council had said.

“I’ve had many complaints, including from neighbours of the building and it can be seen from many locations,” he said.

“I originally explained to residents that this building was built under government emergency powers as a temporary building and should be returned to agricultural land following the demise of Covid requirements.”

He added that the centre had been staffed by volunteers, and so did not provide local employment, and questioned whether it was a good use of public funds to keep it open.

“I would hate to think I was party to this money pit,” he added.

After further debate, the scheme was eventually approved by the council’s planning committee (Wednesday 23 October), helped by the fact the application now specified medical use only. A prior iteration of the scheme that had been refused could have allowed for any type of commercial use.