Public split on future development of East Devon

Residents across East Devon are split over future development of the region and the number and location of new homes to be built.

East Devon District Council went out to consultation on its draft Local Plan Issues and Options report, giving residents the chance to comment on how the district should be developed in the future.

A report to next Tuesday's Strategic Planning Committee outlines the responses from the consultation, with officers then set to bring a more detailed feedback report to a meeting in May.

The report reveals a divide among those who took part in the consultation. Thirty per cent indicated that less than the required 928 new houses a year should be built, but the same number backed the options for up to 1,200 homes a year or building considerably more than the government target.

And in terms of where strategic development should be located, about a third of respondents felt that there should be more of a focus in the west end of the district, around Cranbrook and the edge of Exeter.

But a similar percentage wanted less of a focus in the west end, with about one third wanting the existing housing strategy to be continued.

The responses revealed that 43 per cent said new development should be focused where large-scale development would support the delivery of new services and clusters of growth in locations within easy walking and cycling distance of existing services and facilities, although 30 per cent had no preference.

Views were also sought on possible end dates, with questions asking whether the council should plan for an end date that was well after 2040 and whether or not a new town or a 'second Cranbrook' should be proposed.

Thirty per cent said yes the council should plan for a date further into the future, just under 20 per cent saying that this was undesirable, and about 15 per cent saying it should only be done if a new town was being planned.

On the question of the importance of facilities to people in their community, access to full fibre broadband, paths for walking and cycling, open spaces, healthcare facilities and a convenience store/post office were among the most important, with a place of worship, a train station and a supermarket bottom of the list.

On future use of town centres, the strongest support was for community uses, followed by mixed commercial use and then leisure use, with dominance of retail and change of use to housing having the most opposition.

On preference for locations for future job provision, more home working had the greatest support from those who responded, with the most opposition to a focus on the west end and in villages and the countryside.

The option for more job provision in towns, or close to Exeter, had neither opposition nor support from the respondents.

The consultation revealed that there was a divide between those who wished to see all the issues addressed in a single local plan covering all policy matters (45 per cent) and those who wished for a strategic plan to come first and then subsequent plans to follow with the detail (41 per cent). The other 14 per cent expressed no preference.

On Tuesday the Strategic Planning Committee are expected to note the initial feedback received in the consultation, and a more details report will then be presented at the May meeting, including commentary on matters raised in free text boxes of the questionnaire and in other correspondence.

Councillors will also be asked to consider the proposed options for engaging with developers and site promoters on production of the Local Plan.

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