District Council draft Local Plan >>> Inspector's hearing on housing >>> Wednesday 8th July

Next week, the Inspector will be considering East Devon's local plan:
Futures Forum: District Council draft Local Plan >>> Inspector's hearings start Tuesday 7th July

Mr Thickett will be focussing on housing during the Wednesday session:
Inspector challenges East Devon council with questions over new Local Plan | Exeter Express and Echo
24 June 2015 - Responses to Local Plan consultation sent to Inspector for consideration - East Devon

There is a lot of pressure to build more housing:
Proposal to build 1,000 new homes every year in East Devon | Exeter Express and Echo 

This report is from this week's Express & Echo - in anticipation of the Inspector's hearing:

East Devon to build 17,100 homes in new local plan

By Exeter Express and Echo | Posted: June 30, 2015



Cranbrook building

Comments (1)

Concerns have been raised over East Devon’s draft local plan by members of the public, local councillors and a range of organisations with housing at the top of the list.

The consultation period for East Devon District Council’s (EDDC) Local Plan has now ended with scores of responses to the document which outlines the future development within the region is planned.

Cllr Andrew Moulding, Deputy Leader of EDDC said: “We asked the public to tell us what they thought about the draft Local Plan through the consultation and the hearings, which are to be held shortly. As a result of which the Local Plan Inspector will be able to consider public opinion, views and assessment. Community engagement has an extremely important role to play in the development of the Local Plan. The responses that we have received will all be considered and will be used to help influence the Plan.”

“In light of any other issues that the inspector may identify and changes that have been suggested by respondents, if he recommends any modifications to the Plan, then we will be asking full council to consider those recommendations.”

The leader of the opposition on EDDC Cllr Ben Ingham said the leadership of EDDC are putting all the housing at Cranbrook and the west end of the district. He said the plan takes the pressure off East Devon’s towns and villages but means that the Cranbrook and Clyst Honiton areas would take all the development.

Cllr Ingham said three models were made of the projected growth but the council chose the higher model called Growth Plus option of the most building based on available evidence. He said however the evidence they can deliver the amount of housing is lacking.

He questioned the plan of 17,100 homes to be built saying that the council could be penalised if they got their projection wrong as the plan is based on a growing economy and that another recession could occur in the next 16 years meaning developers would pull out of building new homes.

Cllr Ingham said: “When you do a projection like that it must be sustainable. Those are targets you must achieve. That’s how the planning inspectorate sees it. If the figure is too high you will fail and then the planning inspectorate can say you have failed and it could allow unwanted development in the future to try to catch up with the projected figures.”

It could, said the councillor, also bring the EDDC plan into conflict with local plans of communities who have completed their plans correctly but who could have pressure put on them to amend their plans to allow more development.

EDDC said they received comments from organisations on a range of issues with some on the gypsy site and traveller provision, Cranbrook’s expansion and development in Sidmouth and Sidford.

The district council said that it is anticipated that the inspector will hold oral hearing sessions at Knowle and those people and organisations which previously made oral representations will be invited to speak. Everyone making representations will be contacted and informed of the next stages say the council.

Proposed dates for the hearing sessions at the Knowle in Sidmouth, which will be open to the public, are as follows:

• Tuesday 7 July – Gypsies and Travellers Plan, and allocation sites, including Cranbrook

• Wednesday 8 July – Housing (excluding Cranbrook)

• Thursday 9 July – Reserved day

• Friday 10 July – Community Infrastructure Levy

East Devon to build 17,100 homes in new local plan | Exeter Express and Echo

Another independent Councillor has expressed concern:

Local Plan hearing sessions kick off next week

Posted on June 30, 2015 by susiebond

Anthony Thickett, the Planning Inspector charged with scrutinising EDDC’s Local Plan, re-opens the hearing sessions next week at the Council’s offices at the Knowle in Sidmouth. The programme for the sessions is below and is open to members of the public. There is, however, no right to public speaking:
Tuesday, 7 July: Gypsies and Travellers Plan, and allocation sites, including Cranbrook
Wednesday, 8 July: Housing (excluding Cranbrook)
Thursday, 9 July: Community Infrastructure Levy
Friday, 10 July: Reserve day

The Local Plan has been the subject of an 8-week public consultation exercise and submissions have been sent in by both Gittisham and Feniton Parish Councils.

In total, 145 organisations and individuals submitted comments and these have been forwarded to Mr Thickett for his consideration in advance of the hearing sessions. Every submission is available here:

Examination and hearing sessions and further consultation at April 2015 - Responses to consultation - 16 April to 12 June 2015 - East Devon

The Local Plan currently envisages 950 new homes every year for the next 18 years. This is a very high level of build and doesn’t take account of the likelihood (even certainty) that the country will go into recession at some point in that period, which will mean that the houses just won’t be built. This is exactly the position that was faced by East Devon following the crash of 2008. The easy availability of finance completely dried up, so there were no buyers in the market for new homes, and developers simply stopped building. This resulted in an undersupply of housing which has to be taken up in the first 5 years of the Local Plan.

This simple piece of logic hasn’t prevented the developers submitting extensive papers on the need to build even more houses over the plan period.

Local Plan hearing sessions kick off next week | Susie Bond

There is widespread concern about the pressures for housing in the draft Local Plan:
East Devon demonstration in protest of “the way housing is forced upon us” | Exeter Express and Echo
Futures Forum: CoVoP Day of Action in Sidmouth >>> further reports

There have been concerns from Exeter's MP:
Ben Bradshaw: It’s time to end this planning free for all on the edge of Exeter | Exeter Express and Echo

And there are concerns around particular proposals - including from East Devon's sitting MPs:

AXMINSTER:
Council objects to huge estate - View from Sidmouth

CLYST ST MARY:
Number of new houses in Clyst St Mary set to triple as “greater restraint” afforded to towns across East Devon | Exeter Express and Echo
MP offers support to Clyst St Mary campaign against “unsustainable development” | Exeter Express and Echo

CRANBROOK:
Villagers concerned over 250 homes plan that will connect Rockbeare to Cranbrook | Exeter Express and Echo
Cranbrook moves into the next stage of its developments | Exeter Express and Echo

EXMOUTH:
Exmouth town council against homes development | Exeter Express and Echo
Exmouth developers ‘want to meet local need for new homes’ | Exeter Express and Echo
Less affordable housing at Pankhurst - Property - Exmouth Journal

FENITON:

Nibble, Nibble, Chomp, Chomp | Susie Bond

A letter from Neil Parish MP: Feniton is facing over-development | Exeter Express and Echo

HONITON:
Outcry over new housing development plans - View from Sidmouth
Flood threat to new homes? - View from Sidmouth

OTTERY ST MARY:

Allotment homes approved - View from Sidmouth

UPLYME/LYME REGIS:
Objectors describe housing estate plans as ‘outrageous’ - View from Sidmouth
Outrage over Lyme Regis homes plan (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

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