A landowner is using its drawn-out application to build 40 homes and a doctors’ surgery in Newton Poppleford as a case study to lobby for changes to planning rules.
Clinton Devon Estates (CDE) was awarded outline permission to develop a field south of King Alfred Way in 2012, but its detailed, reserved-matters, plans have failed to win over decision-makers.
It initially expected that construction would have finished by the end of February 2017, but now it is unlikely before 2019.
CDE is appealing the refusal – but is also calling for it to be made easier to develop in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), harsher sanctions for ‘poor’ decisions, and for the potential for legal challenges to be reduced.
East Devon District Council (EDDC) has told CDE that the 16 ‘affordable’ houses should be ‘pepper-potted’ throughout the King Alfred Way development, as this is a policy in its Local Plan.
The landowner, now in a joint venture with developers Cavanna Homes and Pencleave 2, has also faced opposition from residents, who voiced fears about flooding and that the doctors’ surgery would not be delivered.
A CDE spokesperson said the report is an early draft of a case study that was submitted in its final form to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in May. It was also copied – for information only – to EDDC and a Cabinet Office representative.
The spokesperson said: “It is interesting to note that since the paper was submitted to RICS six months ago, the planning application is no closer to determination. A series of legal arguments and appeals have stalled the progress and a hearing date has still not been set for the latest appeal.
“It is disappointing that, five years after a housing needs survey in Newton Poppleford identified the pressing need for 18 affordable new homes in the community, that they are no closer to being delivered.
“Even if the appeal is heard early in 2017 and the development is given the go-ahead, it is unlikely that the first homes and the surgery will be available before 2019.”
http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/devon_landowner_lobbies_for_planning_rule_changes_1_4770875
East Devon Watch 
Of course, Clinton Devon Estates would say that it was the Council being difficult rather than its own unwillingness to fall in line with the Local Plan.
But equally clearly, if CDE had delivered plans which conformed to the Local Plan (which is supposed to be an expression of the views of local residents and of housing needs) in the first place, then they wold not have become mired in the appeals process and these houses would have already been built.
Oh, and CDE should consider themselves lucky to have been granted Planning Permission in an AONB anyway. When we consider that a very similar application elsewhere in Newton Poppleford was refused as recommended by planning officers on the basis of being in the AONB, we have to wonder just what it was that made those same planning officers recommend approval (and if memory serves me, almost insist on it regardless that they are only unelected functionaries rather than councillors) for CDE’s very similar King Alfred Way development?
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Unwilling to meet requirements of the democratic Local Plan, Lord Clinton instead appeals to government to change the rules in his favour.
From the New Dictionary of East Devon Acronyms?
BBC – Big Bully Clinton?
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Couldn’t have put it better, Paul. Most, if not all, people will find some policies in the Local Plan not to their liking, but the majority of us jut have to get on with it, without having ‘the ear’ of the authorities. CDE was very fortunate in getting outline permission for KAW while EDDC had neither a Local Plan nor a 5 year land supply in place (very much making hay while the sun shone for developers). They have gone to EDDC with two separate applications for reserved matters, and on both occasions been turned down on the basis of lack of pepperpotting of affordable housing, as per EDDC’s now-adopted plan. Importantly, an appeal against the first decision was refused, with lack of pepperpotting upheld.
It should be noted that all CDE (and partners) has to do is make sure that the affordable housing is appropriately distributed throughout the site, as per the policy. Should be no big deal. Given that the developer insists that the development is tenure-blind (affordable housing cannot be distinguished from open-market housing), this should be a simple case of reallocating some open-market houses to be affordable. It is curious that they would rather spend money – oh, and time, of course – going to appeal, rather than simply making a quick and easy modification to the plans. It’s more than a bit rich to complain about delays that are of their own making. Could it be that they actually intend to make the affordable housing vastly inferior to the open-market, i.e. not tenure blind at all? See their development at Budleigh for an example of this.
Most laughable of all is CDE’s claim on their website to be custodians of the countryside. One might think that it would therefore be in their interests to cherish and conserve designations such as AONB. Instead they want to make it easier to build on AONB? Sadly, these actions merely indicate that their priorities lie elsewhere these days, under the current stewardship. Shame on them.
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