Dawlish Discussion

So! Huh! This Hensford Park development thingy was supposed to be something that might happen in the future. A theoretical possibility! Funny then that a planning request for a scoping opinion has now been submitted!  

(and yes I know that there is another thread that I started previously about this project but I've started this one so that the very important info that a planning request has now been submitted doesn't get lost!)   

So......when we were being told that this was just a, ahem, a future concept at the public exhibition held just a few weeks back, this planning application had already been submitted! (12th October).

Lots of objections already lodged (click where it says documents (in blue) above to see all the objections). Fancy flinging in your threepenny worth 'n all? Then just cllick on Comments (above where it says Documents) and follow the instructions.   

This link will take you to the earlier thread on this website concerning Hensford Park https://dawlish.com/thread/details/48210  

Click on this link and scroll down to the Alice Bird "Dawlish Residents Against Further Development" thread 

https://www.facebook.com/107778222580678/posts/d41d8cd9/8538388209519595/

I've had this sent to me:

"The Hensford Park development for 1200 houses ( approximately 3000 more residents) is proposed and presented on behalf of Farm Developments Ltd, which has a board comprised of key members of the family running Cofton Country Holidays. This proposal is OVER AND ABOVE the government set targets for new homes for the period up until 2040.

The proposed site is on prime agricultural land which is a habitat for wildlife, with its ancient hedgerows and its prehistoric and Romano-British settlements (ref: Historic Environment Team, DCC). The UK is not self-sufficient in food production; it imports 48% of the total food consumed and the proportion is rising, it would be better for prime agricultural land to be kept for food production and housing sited on brownfield sites. There is one mention of allotments but no clear indication of their whereabouts on the plan.

There are plans for a primary school, however Dawlish College currently has a waiting list for year 7 and there is no 6th form college in Dawlish

There is only one doctor’s surgery in Dawlish and since the local Minor Injuries Unit at Dawlish Community Hospital was closed the nearest facility is at Newton Abbot

The local infrastructure (roads, water, public transport, sewerage) is already running at capacity. The A379 is  frequently congested particularly during the summer months, there is a limited bus service, and the site is a long way from the railway stations at Dawlish Warren and Dawlish.

Please consider lodging an objection

https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/planning/forms/planning-comments/

22/01975/SO

Objections need to be in before 1ST DECEMBER 2022. It can take some time from posting your objection to it appearing on the planning application comments."

See below for my thoughts:

About two thirds of the land shown as being part of the Hensford Park proposal was put forward by its present land owner for consideration by TDC as development sites in the emerging Local Plan (2020 – 2040).

The two pieces of land put forward were:

1. Land at Langdon Farm
2. Land off Langdon Road

The third piece of land, the upper part of the Hensford Park site, which is located close to Millcroft Farm, was not submitted. Thus, as planning regs concerning the making of Local Plans stand at the moment (planning regs can always be changed by central government!) this land will not, and cannot, be considered for development in the emerging Local Plan (2020-2040).

Which brings us to:   the Land at Langdon Farm and the Land off Langdon Road.  Both pieces of land were featured in the summer 2021 public consultation exercise concerning possible sites to be identified for future development. 

What land has, and what land has not, made it through to the draft Local Plan (2020-2040) will be made public within a matter of weeks. This draft Local Plan will then again go out for public consultation.

As I write this, we the public, have no idea what land has been selected for future development in the emerging Local Plan and what land has not.

So why put forward a development proposal with all the time and money that such a thing incurs when whether or not the land in question has been selected for development is not known? Not known by us, the general public, that is.

Do the landowners and design team know something that the rest of us do not?

The Land at Langdon Farm and the Land off Langdon Road can be found by clicking on this link, scroll down and look at No 2 Langdon Hospital. Look to the bottom left hand of the page. There are two areas of land marked in red. The lower one is the one known as Land off Langdon Road the one above and adjacent to it is the one known as Land at Langdon Farm..

 https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/dbca7d53b2d947caac7e84a5b7e3ee9f

With regard to the land known as Land off Langdon Road:  a good lower two thirds of it has already been identified for development and is in the present Local Plan (2014-2033). It is part of the Gatehouse Farm housing development. The Gatehouse Farm development when fully built out will have 409 homes, which also includes open space, employment space, community buildings, a shop, a cafe, and an extra care facility.

In addition to the Gatehouse Farm development, the adjacent Secmaton Farm will also be developed. This week planning consent was granted for the building of 201 dwellings on the site.

And then adjacent to Secmaton Farm, on the other side, is the Persimmon development which is presently in the process of being built. I believe there will be 200 homes on that site when it is completed (190 Persimmon, 10 self build).

There is also, another much smaller piece of land adjacent to Secmaton Lane which has also been identified for housing.

And last but not least there is the 71 bed care home presently being constructed adjacent to the Persimmon development and alongside the A379 by Sainsbury's roundabout.

The total number of dwellings  to be built on Gatehouse Farm, Secmaton Farm, the Persimmon site, the smaller site, and the care home = approx 900.

The proposed Hensford Park site would more or less sit above, and adjacent to, the Gatehouse Farm development

The Hensford Park proposal is for up to another 1,200 homes to be delivered up to 2040 and beyond.   

When the possible sites for future development were out for public consultation in the summer of 2021 Dawlish Town Council submitted its comments. Below is part of their submission. I have highlighted in blue the bits referring to Land at Langdon Farm and Land off Langdon Road. We await to see how much notice TDC planners have taken of our town council's comments.

 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)."  

Note that it is proposed that Hensford Park's completion would be within the timeline of the emerging Local Plan (2020-2040). 

The blurb in the document produced by the design team talks of completion by 2037/2038.  (see the 'Project Timeline' page)  https://www.hensfordpark.co.uk/

In the EIA Scoping Request dated 12th October 2022 it is assumed that the year of completion will be 2035.

See 4.9 page 15

Either way we ain't looking at completion after 2040 which is what seems to have been implied elsewhere. 

https://www.middevonadvertiser.co.uk/news/hensford-green-village-under-fire-581231

If anyone is interested in the outcome of the scoping request re this proposed speculative development it has recently been put online. 

To access it, go to my first post on this thread. Click on documents (44). Then click on Decision Notice 13.7.23