750 homes approved for North Devon village

A care facility and primary school are also in the plans

Torridge District Council is moving forward with plans to build 750 homes, a 50-bed care facility and a primary school in Abbotsham.

The application from Bloor Houses, a Leicestershire-based developer with properties in Exeter, Cullompton and Ivybridge, outlines plans for 750 homes including affordable housing, a 50-bed care facility, a local centre, a primary school, new highway infrastructure, areas of formal open space, green spaces and landscaping, as well as drainage and attenuation infrastructure.

The proposal presented to the planning committee on Thursday [6 October]  had been presented to the committee before, in 2016, where they resolved to approve the plans subject to a section 106 agreement in which the developer makes a contribution to the local community to offset some of the impacts of the scheme.

The application has come back now, after a change in local plans and further negotiations led to an agreement on the legal terms in the last six months.

Forty-five members of the public wrote with objections, with one saying that the area already had a number of developments underway or due to be built, meaning “the roads and infrastructure cannot support another large development.”

The correspondent believed the development could risk lives, with ambulances unable to access the area easily and that, because of the council commitment to mitigate climate change, existing developments needed protecting, rather than new ones built.

Another writer referenced “toxic” levels of car fumes, saying they were “no doubt harmful, especially to children” and the cars the development would bring would make air quality “unbearable”.

They suggested that as original surveys would have taken place before the original submission of the plans, nearly 10 years ago, these should be redone, especially those involving wildlife and their habitats. They claimed that digging has already begun in one field listed in the application, despite it not being approved.

Countering the objections, councillors presented letters of support for the proposal.

The first commented on a “lack of housing and schools in Bideford”, saying that they felt those objecting had done so without considering the consequences of having “lots of school-age children” and no schools for them to attend. They also explained that they felt the addition of 750 homes to the local market would help young people onto the property ladder in the area they have lived in for their whole lives.”

The plans were approved with seven members in favour and one against with no abstentions.