General Discussion
A DAWLISH councillor is continuing her appeal to save Teignbridge farmland from potential housing development.
For clarity. Whilst Manor farm at Holcombe was indeed put forward by Devon County Council for consideration for future housing development it was dismissed as unsuitable by those making the preliminary decisions at TDC.
So.......Manor Farm, Holcombe, is not presently in the running for being built on.
(I've been trying to find out why it was dismissed but the link seems to have disappeared from TDC's website. Anyway, whatever the reason(s) the submission did not get very far in the selection process).
In addition - it seems to me from looking at TDC's policies map that it may fall within an Undeveloped coast area. The government is very keen not to have such areas developed and have produced national planning policies to that effect. So another reason for it not to be developed.
Okay, so........although Manor Farm at Holcombe was dismissed as a site in the part 2 consultation held last summer having checked again it seems that it has indeed re-emerged (or two separate bits of it) as being potential sites for smaller housing developments.
BUT - amongst other reasons put forward by the housing land assessment panel as to why these two plots of land should not be developed, (even though they are up for consideration for being so!) is the acknowledgement that they lay within an area designated as Undeveloped coast. See my posting above dated 17th Jan. Last para.
Dawlish Town Council planning committee members noted that:
In respect of land to the East and West of Holcombe, Members noted that:
· The sites were accessed along a narrow land and therefore access issues would cause difficulties;
· The site was on a prominent ridge;
· There were highways concerns exiting onto Teignmouth Road with an increase in traffic volume being dangerous particularly when attempting to turn right to Teignmouth;
· Holcombe Resident’s Association had submitted objections to the inclusion fo the site;
· A natural separation between Teignmouth Road and Holcombe should be retained so that a natural break between the settlements is maintained;
· The land was Grade I agricultural; and
· An increase in development may affect the cliffs above the railway line in terms of drainage and water runoff, resulting in further destabilisation;
BBC Spotlight featured this issue yesterday (Sunday 13th) on their early evening news.
Starts about 1 min 25 seconds into the broadcast. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006pfr1/episodes/player
Nice to Cllr Wrigley there again, I wonder if he has a scarf in any other colour......................
(or tie now I think of it, never seen anything other than yellow, it's like he wants to associate with a political party! 
)
Well, as he's a Lib Dem and that's their colour I'm not surprised he wears the colour of his party. I've seen plenty of Tories wearing blue when they're out and about on political business.
And yes, I guess he would be there given that he is Dawlish's County Councillor and Manor Farm, owned by the County Council, is in the parish of Dawlish.
Lib Dems need to decide if they are yellow or orange or maybe mustard. If they are yellow they have the same colours as SNP. Very confusing.
As to the campaining for Manor Farm the same councillors campaigned against the country park being built on farmland at Warren Farm, now these same councillors are supporting houses being built on Warren Farm in the Local Plan. Does that make any sense.
If it were true then I agree that it wouldn't make any sense. But as it isn't true it is you who isn't making any sense.
Let's get some facts straight shall we?
Yes, the land at Warren Farm was put forward as a potential housing site. It was put forward by its owner. The panel looking at all the land that was put forward for potential housing decided to include it in the Part 2 of the Local Plan consultation as a possible site. This panel was made up of various people representing different aspects of the house building industry. I have details of who they were. I will look it up and post on here. Not all the land put forward in part 2 will make it to the draft version of the Local Plan due to go out for public consultation this summer.
Personally I will be gob smacked if the land at Warren Farm makes it through to that final phase. If anyone wants to know why let me know and I will post my reasons on here.
I will also post again on here the submission made by Dawlish Town Council concerning the land put forward for consideration in last summer's part 2 consultation. Note what is says about Warren Farm.
Extract from Dawlish Town Council's submision to TDC re land put forward for potential housing development;
Comments on Specific sites:
- It is our opinion that we discount those areas that are not rated as yellow through the HELAA process. This would discount most, or all, of the following sites for housing development:
- Land West of Teignmouth Road. Flagged Amber in HELAA. Undeveloped Coast. Remote from local services.
- Land at Warren Farm. Flagged Amber in HELAA. Sits alongside area of Undeveloped Coast. (Previously considered for a SANGS Coastal Park - perhaps could be considered for further SANGS, community facilities, or other green infrastructure should other sites in same ownership be taken forward?).
- Land at Langdon Farm. Flagged Amber in HELAA process. County Wildlife Site with mitigation area for Cirl Bunting pairs displaced from DA2 over western fields. Remote from local services (although less so at north-eastern fringe of site adjacent to Land at Langdon Hospital, below)
Other Flagged Yellow sites are only deliverable in part (HELAA text in quotes):
- Land at Amity Farm (1 of 2, ref 5h15yx9). “Submitted for consideration for tourism purposes”. Northern part disregarded (“access…landscape…remote”).
- Land at Langdon Hospital. “Approximately 500m west of Shutterton Bridge and adjacent to allocated development, to the northwest of the hospital, becoming almost 1.5km distant from Shutterton Bridge. In considering this site for development, only the two fields that are located to the south of the hospital, closest to the allocated development are considered to have potential”.
- Land off Langdon Road. Much of site is already identified either for housing at DA2 or for Green Infrastructure at DA6. Of the remainder, “North facing slopes and higher elevations which comprise the bulk of the land parcel would be conspicuous from the wider landscape” (as would any access route).
Extract of email received from TDC planning in Summer of 2021. (Panel = HELAA)
"There was a total of fifteen members on the panel. They were invited to participate by the Spatial Planning Team on the basis of knowledge and expertise in the local residential development sector or technical fields related to it. Composition of the panel was from the following organisations: AK Architects, Baker Estates, Cavanna Homes, Maze Commercial Property Agency, MV Associates, Place Land, AR Land & Planning, Taylor Wimpey and Teign Housing, plus specialist officers from Devon County Council and Teignbridge DC. Four panel meetings took place between January and March."