Plans for new Tiverton homes a step closer

The next stage of the scheme has been agreed

Plans for a development of up to 122 homes in Tiverton is a step closer.

Known as Blundells Grange, it is part of a broader scheme for 700 homes, employment land, care home and primary school, which was given outline planning permission in 2017.

This agrees the broad details of a scheme, but then requires more detailed plans for it to progress.

The 122-home site’s ‘reserved matters’ application has now been approved by Mid Devon District Council’s planning committee.

The scheme sits across two parcels of land, south of Blundells Road and north of West Manley Lane. One of these will be accessed from a previously approved housing scheme.

The new application considers details such as accessibility to and within the site, the appearance of the buildings and landscaping, including the planting or preservation of trees and hedgerows.

Some objections had been received about the small amount of visitor parking proposed, one three-storey apartment building, and concerns about whether infrastructure to support the new homes would be delivered in a timely manner.

Officers said that the scheme complied with policies, noting that visitor parking had now been removed from a spine road into the development – in response to concerns about this – and had been peppered throughout the development.

Some councillors were worried that a lack of visitor parking could mean drivers parking on the streets, which could impact buses, but officers said that Devon County Council, the highways authority, had not raised any concerns.

Resident Paul Elstone queried why a three-storey block had been included, while Cllr Lance Kennedy (Liberal Democrat, Tiverton Cranmore) feared the building might be visible from the Grand Western Canal.

But officers said that three-storey properties were “not uncommon” along Blundells Road, and are present at Deep Way, Popham Close and at Blundells School.

Planners also said Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon County Council and Natural England had expressed concerns about water run-off, but that the application had been updated to include rain gardens, which should help water flow into the sewage system.

There had also been concerns that the spine road into the development could lack character, and officers said attempts to make it look like a desirable street rather than just a “vehicular corridor” had been successful.

Redrow’s Paul Williams, the applicant, said there had been a “great deal of scrutiny and improvement” since the plans were submitted two years ago.

“We have worked closely with officers and believe this is a proposal of high quality and sensitive design, and that it will be an asset to the town,” he said.

In terms of sustainability, Mr Williams said Redrow “goes beyond minimum required standards” in terms of emissions reductions and other measures, noting all the homes would have air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging.

He added that there was also now an orchard in the proposals, which would help appease concerns about the impact on wildlife, and that bird and bat boxes were integrated into buildings, to a design approved by the RSPB.

Mr Williams said he hoped to be able to build on the success of a previously approved development that also forms part of the wider 700-strong homes scheme; that 164-home scheme is “one of the best-selling sites in the region”, he said.

The  planning committee voted in favour of the officers’ recommendation to approve the reserved matters scheme.