Over 350 objections lodged against Ottery housing development plans

Plans for up to 63 new homes in Ottery St Mary have received more than 350 objections.

Outline planning permission is being sought for a residential development on greenfield land east of Sidmouth Road in the town. Similar applications for the site were refused in September last year and also in 2016.

At the time of writing, 367 objections have been made and there are two comments in support.

What does the application want permission to do?

The application seeks outline permission to build up to 63 homes on around 2.6 hectares of undeveloped land off Sidmouth Road to the south of Ottery St Mary.

The site is currently being used for farming and is roughly half a mile from the centre of town.

The proposed dwellings would be two storeys tall and would also be "consistent in terms of mass and style with the recently permitted development to the west."

The application also includes provision for 31 of the 63 houses to be affordable housing.

Access to the development would be from the Sidmouth Road on the western boundary "designed in accordance with relevant standards and traffic speeds."

What are people's concerns?

Concerns of objectors include the development's effect on the appearance of the area, increased pressure on local schools and NHS services, and a lack of footpaths to the town.

Kenneth Taylor, objecting, said: "Ottery St Mary has already grown by over 25 per cent as a consequence of recent developments, resulting in the local schools, infrastructure and facilities such as the doctors' surgery being already at or beyond full capacity. The proposed development will only put yet more pressure on those existing facilities and services.

"The proposed development fails to provide suitable footpaths for pedestrian traffic particularly for pedestrian journeys between the town centre and the proposed development."

Jenny Tompsett, objecting, said: "The stretch of road on Sidmouth Hill is just too narrow to accommodate this proposed development and will make it increasingly unsafe for pedestrians and motorists."

Rosemary Washington, objecting, said: "Why are the council even considering this development which is outside the boundary of the built up area contained in the East Devon Local Plan 2013-2031. We have already exceeded the number of houses by over 200."

Chris Vincent, objecting, said: "The removal of green fields and hedgerows to be replaced by bricks and mortar can only be harmful and will have a negative overall impact on the local area."

The application is currently awaiting a decision from the district council.

Click here to view the application.