In reply to his letter of thanks to Neil Parish, MP, for attending the recent march at Feniton (organised jointly by Fight for Feniton, and the East Devon Alliance), EDA Chair, Ian McKintosh, has today received this e-mail:

Organisers of last weekend’s protest march, ( Fight for Feniton’s Future and East Devon Alliance (EDA)) would like to thank all who attended. Particular thanks go to Neil Parish, MP, and to the press and media who supported the event with prominent coverage, including the Western Morning News.  (More notable examples in recent posts on this  website)

)It’s going to be a busy year for EDA and its Chair, Ian McKintosh, seen here addressing the crowd at the end of  last Saturday’s march.

Thank you to the Express and Echo for  the front cover and double page spread  today, and for these excellent photographs:  http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Picture-special-gallery-weekend-s-big-development/story-20432534-detail/story.html

Councillor Susie Bond has this report:  http://susiebond.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/rev-cates-submission-to-the-super-inquiry-day-6/

A march – organised by local pressure group ‘Fight for Feniton’s Future’ and the East Devon Alliance – will take place in the small village of Feniton, East Devon, at 11.00 on 11 January 2014 to protest against the impact of the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) on the country’s rural villages. Local MP Neil Parish will be present.

Because of the NPPF, with its presumption in favour of development and no upper limit placed on what constitutes reasonable growth for a community, Feniton is currently battling a major planning appeal inquiry against developers’ plans for a further 235 houses in the village, which, together with the 50 houses won at appeal last year, would increase the size of the village by over 40 per cent.

East Devon District Council’s draft Local Plan states that growth of just 5% is right for Feniton. Growth of this level is all the more inappropriate given that the village suffers frequently from flooding  (a £1.6M flood defence programme is due to be implemented in the coming years. Flooding over the new year has been covered by national media), while the new town of Cranbrook (which will host up to 7,500 houses) lies only a few miles away.

Whether or not Feniton, with its narrow country lanes and poor local infrastructure, will be forced to accept this level of unsustainable and explosive growth, will be determined by the Planning Inspectorate following a public inquiry which starts on 7 January 2014. What is clear is that if growth of over 40% is approved for Feniton, then no village across the country can consider itself safe. Hence the slogan adopted by Fight for Feniton’s Future and East Devon Alliance: “When is Enough, Enough?”

A previous march in the village earlier this year attracted hundreds of people and was covered by regional television.

For further information contact:

A meeting at Feniton School was held on the 4th November, jointly hosted by Feniton Parish Council and Fight for Feniton’s Future. The meeting was arranged to discuss the Super Inquiry into three developments that will swamp the village with up to 235 houses. Residents of Feniton packed the school hall: with over 180 people present, it was standing room only!

Parish Council Chair Martyn Smith explained the appeal process to residents, and said that it would be extremely hard to fight such an inquiry without legal representation. Feniton Parish Council (FPC) has applied and been successful in obtaining Rule 6 (6) status. This allows FPC to take an active part in the inquiry, i.e. being able to cross-examine the developers. Many residents were clearly angry about the way in which the village is being targeted, and rallied round and pledged more than £2000 towards the fighting fund for legal fees.

Please see full report from Cllr’s Claire Wright and Susie Bond’s Blogs

Feniton’s plight has attracted the attention of the media. BBC TV’s Inside Out filmed the meeting for a programme to be broadcast very early in the New Year. Earlier that day BBC TV’s Spotlight also visited Feniton to film and interview a number of villagers angry at the threat facing their community.

The Super Inquiry will be held at the Bowling Club in Feniton on January 7th 2014. It is expected to last 2 weeks. Martyn Smith and Fight for Feniton’s Future urge people to attend the Inquiry.

People can download a poster from the FFF website and display in gardens and windows. It would be great to have a display of posters throughout the village for all see. On January 11th 2014 the East Devon Alliance and Fight for Feniton’s Future intend to arrange a march through Feniton so please keep this date free!

2>October

Two outline planning applications for 10 and for 25 houses were supported by Talaton Parish Council despite a majority of residents voting NO to both in the PC’s questionnaire. Complaints have been made to EDDC about procedural problems in the consultation process but they do not intend to investigate. Over 90 objections to the applications have been received by EDDC, indicating success by the residents group in getting the message across, but it seems impossible to get any redress over the actions of the PC or EDDC.

November

Over 130 objections were lodged against a planning application to cover 73 acres of farm land in Whimple with solar panels. The County archaeologist and CPRE added their voices to those objecting and on this occasion District Councillor Martin Gammell also objected. Whimple PC stressed the importance of maintaining the green wedge and stated that four solar farms already either built, under construction or awaiting planning within a five mile radius was quite enough.

Talaton PC is remaining very quiet about the results of the questionnaire which did not go their way. Not a word appeared in the Calendar (parish magazine). Meanwhile, it appears that ‘secret talks’ have been held with another developer for a different site in Talaton, but the PC have not publicised this either so it has been difficult to verify!