Cllr Ken tuckett, of Woodlands, Kingsteignton, for KREAG, writes:

Chudleigh Town Council is concerned that the 2,000 housing urban extension of Kingsteignton will push Chudleigh children out of Teign School which it claims is already at bursting point (MDA last week).

This is a bit of an 'own goal' because Chudleigh Town Council was one of the eight town and parish councils which, with DCC and TDC, after two years of discussions with WBB/Sibelco, Clifford Estates and others, in January 2001 – yes 2001 – committed Kingsteignton to that development as part of the Bovey Basin Strategy.

Inadequate provision of education facilities was one of the prime reasons the development was rejected at two public inquiries and by the last government's secretary of state.

Chudleigh Town Council would have done better to have expressed its concerns on June 21 this year when Teignbridge Council finally capitulated to its 2001 commitment and overturned those decisions.

Teign School and the two Kingsteignton primary schools all operate at full capacity but Sibelco and Devon County Council both claim they cannot fund the education facilities the last government secretary of state declared were required if the development were to proceed. We should all be concerned at TDC's approval decision without the provision of those education facilities.

The decision threatens excessive class sizes and overcrowding which will endanger the first class educational standards currently achieved by the dedicated staff of Teign School and the Rydon and St Michael's primary schools.

Inadequate provision for education was one of the grounds on which Kingsteignton Residents Environmental Awareness Group (KREAG) always opposed the development.

Residents of Kingsteignton have the opportunity to show and express their concerns at KREAG's annual meeting and public meeting at 7.30pm on Thursday, November 18, at St Michael's Church Hall, Chudleigh Road.MORE LETTERS ONLINE