PARISH councillors in Exminster have described plans for a new electricity sub station as ‘very large and unsightly’.

Members of the council have sent their ‘strong’ objections to Devon County Council in response to being consulted on the proposals for the station to be sited at Matford.

The substation is needed to increase the electric supply for development to the south west of Exeter which includes part of Teignbridge district.

Current supplies are insufficient for the scale of the South West Exeter project and without a new sub-station, future development would be impacted.

But the parish council says the plans, for the site to the south of the A379 but also includes a section of the A379 leading west up to the Devon Hotel Roundabout, are too big and unsightly.

It says there had been three sites being considered for construction of the station with the parish council, along with 60 per cent of those who responded to a consultation, preferring a site at Marsh Barton.

But the chosen location, which is now the subject of a planning application, is near Matford News, the Devon Hotel and the Cavanna Homes development.

The proposal is for construction of a supply point electricity sub-station, operational electricity plant, access road and surface water drainage outfall.

The application by Devon County Council and the National Grid is required to meet demand for electricity capacity in the area for the future development of South West Exeter.

In February 2019, Devon County Council secured funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund following a successful bid submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government towards a range of requirements for the expansion including a spine road and the electricity sub station.

The station would be located within Teignbridge district and Exeter City Council and form part of the urban extension scheme which would provide 2,500 homes across Exeter, 2,000 in Teignbridge as well as five hectares of employment land.