Futures Forum: The Greater Exeter Strategic Plan and 57,000 new houses
This will impact on plans for Cranbrook:
Futures Forum: Thousands of new housing at Cranbrook - and still the District Council says "it is a it is a difficult and uncertain time to be planning a new town centre"
The District Council met up to consider all of this:
Futures Forum: District Council to consider government's latest forecast for minimum number of new homes to be built in East Devon > "A second Cranbrook new town or more new villages"
As reported by Devon Live:
Alarm bells ringing over new town and villages planned on Devon green land
Questions were raised about whether quadrant earmarked for development included 'the dark side' of East Devon
Daniel Clark Local Democracy Reporter
10 SEP 2018
Large swathes of green land between Exmouth and Cranbrook could be concreted over to build new housing, it is feared.
Government calculations mean a minimum of 844 new homes need to be built in East Devon each year. But because a large part of the district is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) it cannot be redeveloped leaving what councillors called an 'arbitrary' and 'vague' north-west quadrant for all of the new builds.
Many existing villages fear over-development turning them into dead dormitory towns for urban workers.
And one councillor called the area north of Cowick in Exeter the ‘dark side’.
Ideas so far include: a SECOND Cranbrook new town, a number of new villages, or expanding existing villages were among the ideas suggested to ensure enough new homes in East Devon are being built.
East Devon District Council’s Strategic Planning Committee, by seven votes to four, with two abstentions, voted to endorse these principles for growth detailed in the report as a basis for future discussion, debate and consultation. But serious concerns were raised about where new housing could be built, the amount of extra traffic it would add to the roads, and how viable and deliverable any new housing schemes were.
A report to the meeting said there was only limited space for any additional development as two-thirds of East Devon is included in the AONB of the Pebblebed Heaths or the Blackdown Hills, and existing towns can only accommodate minimal growth.
The north-west quadrant of the district, between the north of Exmouth and west of Ottery St Mary, was the least constrained part of the district for accommodating growth and would be the ‘logical’ location for any growth to take place.
But Cllr Roger Giles said the ‘arbitrary drawn quadrant’ was causing alarm, while Cllr Geoff Jung said that the description of the north-west quadrant was ‘a bit vague’.
READ MORE
A SECOND Cranbrook new town or more new villages could be built in East Devon
He said: “We don’t really know where that covers. Does it include the ‘dark side’ (the area north of Cowick in Exeter) and does it include areas north of Ottery? It doesn’t seem there are many options, but the people in the villages in that area at the moment are very concerned.”
Cllr Jill Elson added: “We may end up with a conurbation from Exmouth to Cranbrook, and then only a small gap between Exeter and Topsham and Exeter and Cranbrook. The public are already up in arms about this and I cannot see the residents accepting this.”
Cllr Mike Howe said that many of the rural villages in East Devon are struggling to stay alive and they want some small scale development, but this doesn’t do a thing to help them and is the most frustrating thing.
A SECOND Cranbrook new town or more new villages could be built in East Devon
He said: “We don’t really know where that covers. Does it include the ‘dark side’ (the area north of Cowick in Exeter) and does it include areas north of Ottery? It doesn’t seem there are many options, but the people in the villages in that area at the moment are very concerned.”
Cllr Jill Elson added: “We may end up with a conurbation from Exmouth to Cranbrook, and then only a small gap between Exeter and Topsham and Exeter and Cranbrook. The public are already up in arms about this and I cannot see the residents accepting this.”
Cllr Mike Howe said that many of the rural villages in East Devon are struggling to stay alive and they want some small scale development, but this doesn’t do a thing to help them and is the most frustrating thing.
READ MORE
There could be 57,000 new homes in the Exeter area by 2040
He added: “The document says the north-west quadrant is well served by main roads with good vehicle access via the M5, A30, A3052 and A376, but commuters sit on those roads for hours each day already, so putting more traffic onto those roads is not acceptable.
“It says we should focus development around main transport corridors where possible, but the only transport corridor that should be mentioned is around trains or trams as we cannot put more transport around junction 30 of the M5 as it is unsustainable.
“If anything is done for a new village or town then it has to be served by off-road routes, like trains or trams, as it cannot be done on the highway.”
In blue, where development could go
Cllr Geoff Pook said that rather than establish a new villages, development should take place in the existing villages as if they aren’t made more sustainable then they will die. He said: “People want to see vibrant villages and not dormitories.”
Cllr Philip Skinner backed his comments, but said he was getting a feeling of déjà vu about this. He said: “We start by talking about getting a few more homes to stimulate growth in the villages but as we get closer to anything happening, they don’t want any development, so we end up having to build a new town, which is what happened last time and I can see that happening again.”
He proposed accepting the recommendation, and Cllr Mike Allen backed seconded him, but said at a later stage we need to be as clear as possible as to what we want.
Cllr Allen said: “We are at the first stage and trying to sort out the principles. We do not want the green wedge between Exeter and Cranbrook to disappear, or indeed any green wedges that we have established, but the bigger problem that we have if the government wants us to deliver the homes, then they have to give us the infrastructure or it won’t be physically possible to do it.
“We want villages to be sustainable, but for a sustainable shop, then it needs access to around 2,000 people or else it won’t be viable.”
The principles in the report are proposed as a baseline position to inform strategy development and to start the debate on an appropriate response to where housing could go.
Once constraints of the AONB, the coastline, and towns were significant development is already taking place, the north-west quadrant of the district, between the north of Exmouth and west of Ottery St Mary, would be the least constrained part of the district for accommodating growth.
No decision as to whether a new town, a series of new villages, or expanding existing villages would be the preferred option for development has yet been taken.
The villages of Poltimore, Huxham, Clyst St Mary, Clyst St George, Ebford, West Hill, Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton, Exton and Farringdon would be most likely to be included as ones that could be expanded further, based on them being in the quadrant and close to existing infrastructure.
Future discussion, debate and consultation both through the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan, for which a vision document that was due to go to consultation was rejected by the committee later in the meeting, and a review of the East Devon Local Plan will follow.
Alarm bells ringing over new town and villages planned on Devon green land - Devon Live
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Cllr Geoff Pook said that rather than establish a new villages, development should take place in the existing villages as if they aren’t made more sustainable then they will die. He said: “People want to see vibrant villages and not dormitories.”
Cllr Philip Skinner backed his comments, but said he was getting a feeling of déjà vu about this. He said: “We start by talking about getting a few more homes to stimulate growth in the villages but as we get closer to anything happening, they don’t want any development, so we end up having to build a new town, which is what happened last time and I can see that happening again.”
He proposed accepting the recommendation, and Cllr Mike Allen backed seconded him, but said at a later stage we need to be as clear as possible as to what we want.
Cllr Allen said: “We are at the first stage and trying to sort out the principles. We do not want the green wedge between Exeter and Cranbrook to disappear, or indeed any green wedges that we have established, but the bigger problem that we have if the government wants us to deliver the homes, then they have to give us the infrastructure or it won’t be physically possible to do it.
“We want villages to be sustainable, but for a sustainable shop, then it needs access to around 2,000 people or else it won’t be viable.”
The principles in the report are proposed as a baseline position to inform strategy development and to start the debate on an appropriate response to where housing could go.
Once constraints of the AONB, the coastline, and towns were significant development is already taking place, the north-west quadrant of the district, between the north of Exmouth and west of Ottery St Mary, would be the least constrained part of the district for accommodating growth.
No decision as to whether a new town, a series of new villages, or expanding existing villages would be the preferred option for development has yet been taken.
The villages of Poltimore, Huxham, Clyst St Mary, Clyst St George, Ebford, West Hill, Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton, Exton and Farringdon would be most likely to be included as ones that could be expanded further, based on them being in the quadrant and close to existing infrastructure.
Future discussion, debate and consultation both through the Greater Exeter Strategic Plan, for which a vision document that was due to go to consultation was rejected by the committee later in the meeting, and a review of the East Devon Local Plan will follow.
Alarm bells ringing over new town and villages planned on Devon green land - Devon Live
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