Background. The 2013 Tory administration set East Devon an eighteen year target to build a minimum of 950 houses/year (17,100 in total by 2031). This forms the basis of the latest government imposed targets.
Under government rules, EDDC also has to ensure a five year rolling plan to supply these houses. In 2020 Covid, unsurprisingly, resulted in a fall in housing completions and EDDC now has to play catch-up. _ Owl
Will Goddard www.sidmouthherald.co.uk
A new town in East Devon with 8,000 homes is to be built near the Devon County Showground at Westpoint.
East Devon district councillors have decided it is the best place for the settlement, which comes around 12 years after spades went in the ground at Cranbrook, around six miles away.
The new development will be on land between Exeter Airport and Crealy Theme Park, and 2,500 homes are expected to be constructed by 2040.
It is south of the A30 and north of the A3052, roughly west of Farringdon and east of Westpoint.
Councillors had three options, all within a small area at the western part of East Devon, but this location is seen as the most viable.
The chosen option on land to the north of A3052. (Image: East Devon District Council)
Cllr Geoff Jung (Lib Dem, Woodbury and Lympstone) thinks a new town is better than more development in existing communities. He said: “We are required by government to build 910 dwellings a year.
“A self-contained new community would be able to provide all the required facilities and connecting infrastructure in one location at a more acceptable cost, without the need to upgrade our district infrastructure throughout.
“Our already-failing infrastructure could not support our existing communities to grow substantially without the required increased education, health, utilities, sewage infrastructure, plus transport links that would be required spread throughout rural East Devon.
“Two thirds of our district is in protected landscapes. Plus, we have a heavily protected world heritage coastline, numerous floodplains and estuaries, so we have little choice.
“The only way to go is to complete Cranbrook new town and to build another community as well.”
The new town of Cranbrook is located six miles away. (Image: Chris Mills/Still Imaging) (Image: Archant)
But Cllr Jess Bailey (Independent, West Hill and Aylesbeare) said: “This is our open countryside, and our villages, which has evolved over hundreds and thousands of years. And we’re about to radically change it.”
She continued: “We’re being presented with it as being a really positive option because we won’t have to have estates on the outside of our towns, but we’re already getting estates on the outside of our towns.”
Councillors also had concerns about a potential impact on traffic in the Exeter area.
Cllr Kevin Blakey (Independent, Cranbrook) said: “It is going to be a dormitory for the city of Exeter, so transport is going to be a big issue there.
“One of the worries for me is that the only option for transport is the road. There are no railway lines that are near it or can get near it, ever will get near it, unlike Cranbrook.”
Cllr Olly Davey (Green, Exmouth Town) spoke about how although many do not want more houses, some do.
He said: “If you ask people in East Devon if they want to see further development, they’ll say no. Why would they? They’ve got a home. It’s only the people that are desperately still trying to find a home in East Devon who want to see further development.”
Plans for the new town will now be developed further, and another public consultation is planned towards the end of next year.
East Devon Watch 
Councillor Jung writes ‘A self-contained new community would be able to provide all the required facilities and connecting infrastructure in one location at a more acceptable cost, without the need to upgrade our district infrastructure throughout.
“Our already-failing infrastructure could not support our existing communities to grow substantially without the required increased education, health, utilities, sewage infrastructure, plus transport links that would be required spread throughout rural East Devon.’
Exactly the infrastructure @ existing towns and villages is already failing or has failed, as evidenced by the huge number of treatment works lapses, failing school building and falling attendances, closed public toilets – the list goes on and so all this needs improvement / replacement just to keep up with the demand for repair and replacement, changes in legislation and changes in the environment so without development attached to those settlements to provide the necessary funding where will the funding come from and when? Or will they just be left to slowly die and become exactly what a new town will also be – dormitories. There are plenty of examples already if you have my perspective of 35 plus years living in East Devon. We urgently need development around and inside the villages for the long term benefit of everyone living in them now and the future.
EDDC strangled develpment @ the villages with the introduction of built up area boundaries in the mid 1980’s drawn so tightly that there was little or no scope for new build. Net result at the end of the plan period a huge shortage of houses and a massive waiting list which ulimately resulted in their prosed plan being thrown out by the government leading to a free for all for developers @ 8 years ago. Building Cranbrook plugged the gap temporarily and also enabled the allocation and building of a large number of ‘affordable houses’ – something only possible with large schemes – some might deduce that to be a massive distortion of a suppposedly level playing field for developers and landwoners. So by default or design EDDC have left themselves in a hole again – still not sufficient houses and even worse condition / capability existing infrastructure. Hence another new town but this time in an even poorer location with no train station, inadeqaute highway connections, and again close to an airport.
EDDC proposed new Local Plan is sadly lacking in many policies except those relating to the allocation of development sites and even there they have failed as their proposals have already been proven inadequate by recent government allocations. Just compare the policies in the existing adopted plan to those in the new proposed plan and the policy gaps will become obvious. So once again we have a free for all.
There is little protection in the Draft Local plan to protect the Otter river valley.
There is little if any thought to existing infrastructure or planned infrastucture.
There is little if any mention of Primary Health Care provision for these thousands of people who will be moving in.
Rob Jones FRICS
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