SIXTEEN new ‘affordable’ homes proposed for the outskirts of Ashburton would help meet the town’s urgent need for new homes.

Members of the Dartmoor National Park Authority’s planning committee are being recommended to give the plan the go-ahead when they meet next week (Sept 4).

The homes off Roborough Lane would be built on behalf of LiveWest, the south-west’s largest housing association and social landlord, which has already provided a similar development nearby in Rew Road.

They would go to applicants with strong local connections.

The committee is being recommended by the authority’s planning officers to give the go-ahead for the scheme, which would feature a mix of one, two and three-bedroom homes.

Twelve of the new homes in the green field on the north-eastern edge of the town will be for social rent, intended for people on low incomes, with the remaining four to be for shared ownership or social rent.

Ashburton Town council says it will support the application. The site is part of a larger area already earmarked for 40 homes.

LiveWest says there is a high need for low-cost home ownership options in Ashburton for households that do not qualify for rented affordable homes yet cannot afford high private rents.

Officers say the plan provides social and economic benefits through the construction phase and in meeting a need for local affordable housing.

They are recommending it for approval subject to a number of conditions.