Tiverton homes appeal won by developers

120 controversial builds approved

A controversial plan for up to 100 homes in Mid Devon on land at a historic house has been approved by a government planning inspector in spite of a wave of opposition.

The proposal for Tidcombe Hall, Tiverton was rejected for a second time by Mid Devon District Council’s planning committee last year, with the plan attracting around 170 letters of objection.

Opponents at the time urged the committee to throw out the proposal because of fears about its impact on the nearby Grand Western Canal, concerns it could increase flood risk, and increased traffic along Tidcombe Lane.

But the firm behind the scheme, Tidcombe Holdings, lodged an appeal in January, saying the council couldn’t meet government planning targets relating to the number of developable sites in the district.

The Planning Inspectorate scrutinised the proposal over a two-week period during this month and last [May], and has now accepted the appeal, meaning outline planning permission is approved.

When the district council refused the proposals, it claimed it could show the required level of housing land supply for the next five years, but the developer suggested it could prove otherwise.

Council leader Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat, Bradninch), criticised a recent government change to housing targets, which he claimed had significantly dented the council’s argument in the appeal.

While Mid Devon is just shy of a five-year housing supply now, the hike in its annual housing target from 346 to 571 substantially changes that.

“This devastating decision is a direct consequence of the recent adjustment to housing targets,” Cllr Taylor said.

“We had a five-year housing land supply and robust local plan policies, but the 65 per cent increase has fundamentally undermined our position.

“This follows a similar decision in Hele, part of the Bradninch ward that I represent, where the Planning Inspectorate approved an application despite acknowledging that both Mid Devon District Council and Bradninch Town Council were well within their rights to refuse planning.”

In his report, Planning inspector Tom Gilbert-Wooldridge said he visited the Tidcombe Hall site and observed the school run for Tidcombe Primary School to ascertain whether additional traffic might impact local residents, as well as views of the site from locations including Knightshayes Court.

On the issue of the housing land supply, Mr Gilbert-Wooldridge said the council had 4.79 years now, but that new rules would mean this would soon drop to just 2.1 years.

He acknowledged the council had an action plan to tackle the shortfall, but that while there was “potential logic in the argument that time should be allowed for these actions to take effect”, given the plan has no specific timeframe, this could not be a reason to block the appeal.

The inspector also claimed the potential impact on the character and appearance of the area would not be overly damaging, adding that he felt the proposed development would only have an “overall neutral effect on the significance of Tidcombe Hall” as a heritage asset.

He said restoration work to Tidcombe Hall represents a “benefit to the hall and the conservation area”.

Mr Gilbert-Wooldridge noted: “Over 1,000 people are waiting on the council’s register for affordable housing and the affordability ratio is above the national average for England and Wales,” he said.

“124 affordable dwellings are needed per year in Mid Devon, but the net delivery has averaged 45 dwellings per year only. Therefore, significant weight can also be afforded to the delivery of affordable housing as part of this development.”

The inspector attached 29 conditions to his approval, including a plan for how trees would be protected.

The approval is for an outline plan, meaning the developer will now need to submit a full application with all details of the scheme and which Mid Devon’s planning committee will get to scrutinise.