Massive South Devon housing plan stalled

8 hour meeting raises concerns

Plans for the biggest housing development in South Devon since the creation of the new Sherford town are still unresolved.

A marathon eight-hour session of South Hams Council’s planning committee ended in stalemate as councillors raised questions over access to the site at Woolwell on the outskirts of Plymouth.

They also criticised the amount of affordable housing on offer.

It has taken more than five years for the proposals to reach the planning committee stage already.

Developers Rockspring Barwood Plymouth wanted the green light for 2,000 homes on land off Pick Pie Drive which has already been earmarked for housing in the local plan.

Their plans also include community areas, shops, a new primary school, open space and park.

But the committee voted unanimously to delay making a decision on the project until they have more information on the sticking points.

Nearly 1,700 objections were received when the plans were advertised, with around 20 letters in support.

Members heard that only one in eight of the homes would be ‘affordable’, and an independent assessment had already raised questions over whether even that proportion would be viable for the developers to provide.

Cllr Chris Oram (Lib Dem, Bickleigh and Cornwood) said: “There is a housing crisis in the South Hams. More people than ever before have given up on their dream of owning their first home.

“We have to rise to meet this challenge.”

He said the commercial viability of the site was not the local community’s problem.

“If we are not building houses for people who desperately need affordable housing, who are we building them for?” he asked. “I can see the advantage of this development for new residents coming into the area, but I see no advantage for current residents in Roborough, Bickleigh or Woolwell, just years of inconvenience and misery.

“The 1,700 objections should not be ignored.”

And, he said, the proposed number of affordable homes on parts of the site was ‘offensive’. 

Cllr Nicky Hopwood (Con, Woolwell) went on: “South Hams has affordable homes as one of its top priorities, and yet when a developer comes forward crying poverty, it’s OK not to adhere to one of our most important housing policies?

“Shame on us as a local council for accepting this. The developers are in this for the money, but I’m in this for my ward residents.”

Cllr Jacqi Hodgson (Green, Dartington and Staverton) said the affordable homes provision was ‘not good enough’ for the South Hams and suggested refusing the application, but Cllr Guy Pannell (Lib Dem, South Brent) warned that even if South Hams said no, a government planning inspector was likely to say yes at an appeal.

Cllr Hopwood also raised the issue of construction traffic getting to the site via the congested Pick Pie Drive and a road which passes the nearby primary school. She said 225 construction vehicles a day would have to get to and from the site.

“I implore members to apply common sense,” she said, and urged developers to prioritise creating an access road from the north of the site, avoiding the congested road and the school to the south.

“The access through Woolwell just cannot be allowed to happen,” she said.