Planners turn down Brixham 'brownfield' homes

Angry applicant argues over officers' advice

A controversial plan for 28 new homes on the site of seventeenth century farm buildings on the outskirts of Brixham has been rejected by Torbay Council planners.

It took members of the planning committee more than an hour to make up their minds on the proposal from Westcountry Land Enterprises to knock down the industrial buildings off St Mary’s Road.

They heard how desperately Brixham needs the new homes, and were told by applicant Justin Dodge that some information being given to them by planning officers was "disingenuous or deliberately misleading".

But they decided by a majority that the proposed new buildings were not right for the area, which is seen as a ‘gateway’ between the town and countryside beyond.

The developers wanted to build 13 new homes on the northern part of the derelict site and 15 to the south, where a disused dairy stands. Six of the 28 homes would be ‘affordable’.

Some buildings are believed to date to the 1600s when they would have been used for agriculture.

The land is a ‘brownfield’ site, but council officers said the public benefits of building would not outweigh the harm done to the historic character of the area.

Mr Dodge said he did not agree with the officers, whose opinions were, he said, "heavily biased". He said it had taken 18 months to refine the design, but the issue had now "reached an impasse".

“This is a brownfield site selected for residential development, and we are in the middle of a housing crisis,” he said. “The site is in a terrible state. It could not continue in commercial use because the buildings are so dilapidated. Even to the untrained eye they are an eyesore.

“I don’t know what more we can do.”

He said if developers had to work within the existing structures it would not be viable to provide so much affordable housing.

“The buildings are not listed, and their status has been massively overstated,” he said. “This is an eyesore, and a health and safety hazard.”

Cllr Nick Pentney (Lib Dem, Tormohun) said it is significant that none of the people objecting to the scheme was there for the planning committee meeting.

“Is the strength of feeling really so pronounced if we have had no speakers against the application?” he asked.

But Cllr Anna Tolchard (Con, St Peters with St Marys) added: “Affordable housing here would be extraordinarily helpful, but what is in question is whether this development is quite right.

“The right development there is badly needed. It is very disappointing that we are where we are.”

Members voted by a majority to refuse the application.