DEVELOPERS working on a huge housing scheme on the outskirts of Newton Abbot have pledged to do what it takes to preserve a ‘priceless’ nature reserve.

Work has restarted at Wolborough after Vistry Homes was ordered to down tools earlier this year amid fears for the nearby Wolborough Fen.

An official Site of Special Scientific Interest, the fen is home to rare plants which cannot be found anywhere else in Devon.

Local campaigners say it is ‘priceless’ and fear the effects of water draining into the fen from higher ground, and Teignbridge Council issued a ‘stop notice’ to halt the work.

But Vistry has now restarted its project in the north-west corner of the huge site, near Ogwell, saying it has the endorsement of Natural England and the local flood authority that it is working outside the catchment area for the fen.

Vistry also says it is anxious to get on with building much-needed homes for local people in Newton Abbot.

‘It’s more than housing,’ said Vistry South West managing director Pete Sadler. ‘It’s about history.’

Outline planning permission has already been granted for 1,200 homes in fields stretching from Ogwell across to Kingskerswell Road, with the fen in the heart of the site.

Mr Sadler said the fen was a high priority for the company, which had spent three years studying how water flows through the site.

He said: ‘Natural England, which is the leading authority for the government, has reviewed all the data we’ve provided and says it is happy for us to proceed.

‘Work is under way again now, and it is being done with the full knowledge of Teignbridge Council. We are working purely on the areas that we’ve got planning permission for.’

Vistry is hoping for a decision from the council this week to discharge two of the planning conditions on the development. It says the report from Natural England means the two conditions on drainage no longer apply.

‘We haven’t started on those areas yet, but the council has all the information to enable it to discharge the conditions, and then we can move forward,’ he said.

‘The housing need within Teignbridge is huge, with about 1,500 families at the moment needing a home. Around 330 of those are designated as high need, and the first couple of phases that we’re going to be building will address some of that housing need.

‘Hopefully this time next year we’ll be welcoming our first families in for their Christmas. The sooner we can get started, the better.’