Peter Conboy, of Deer Park Avenue, Teignmouth, writes:When planning permission was granted for the Lovell Estate it was granted on the basis that two basic criteria were fulfilled: first that there could be no future expansion of the estate or any further developments of significance in the Coombe Valley and second that a link road should be built connecting the northern end of the estate to the B3192 thus reducing traffic flows affecting roads on the western side of Teignmouth. To this date the former has been fulfilled, the latter never was on the grounds of cost, an easy excuse once the estate was completed. Because of this omission there was an immediate adverse impact on local traffic, which has steadily mounted over the intervening years partly due to the rapidly increasing number of private car ownership. Fourth Avenue and Coombe Vale Road to name but two have been greatly affected but none more so than Deer Park Avenue, it being the obvious and shortest route connecting the Lovell Estate and surrounding roads to the B3192 to Exeter and beyond. The result of this has been that at certain times of day, on certain days of the week traffic levels on Deer Park Avenue are intolerable, bordering on dangerous. Now we have a developer wanting to build 200-plus houses next to the Lovell Estate with only a sketchy idea to widen Mill Lane and a proposal to donate a 'third' of the cost to a link road at some time in the future. Bearing all this in mind it is unbelievable but true that in the scoping process guidelines drawn up by Teignbridge Council Planning Department for Waddeton Park to explore, the section regarding management of traffic created by this development failed to mention Deer Park Avenue There is a myth supported by developers of the need for 'affordable homes', a term hijacked by successive governments and developers alike and now used as a key phrase to sway planning committees. All homes are affordable – it simply depends on the price as to who is able to afford them so 'mixed development' of low cost to higher cost housing would be a far more appropriate term. Waddeton Park and their development manager, Tim Baker, are no exception to using this jargon when he talks of providing 'many badly needed' affordable homes. It goes without saying that all developers are in the business of making money, so Mr Baker's suggestion that Waddeton Park are putting forward a plan out of some form of social largesse is laughable, as is his lamentable offer of 12 acres for an ecological park. Their proposed development site already is one.It's also significant that Waddeton Park are prepared to blight an outstanding area of countryside within the town boundary rather than exploring more challenging but infinitely less destructive brownfield sites. I'm sure that I am not alone in believing that both local councils and successive governments should be ashamed of themselves for not forcing developers to use such sites until the supply of them is exhausted.The impact of this proposed development on the local fauna and flora has been well documented by, amongst others, the RSPB and the Council for the protection of Rural England – both of whom are against this project, and predict a pretty devastating effect to certain rare plants and animals, none less than the cirl bunting. The cirl bunting is only found in the UK on a strip of coastal land stretching from Plymouth to Exeter. Interestingly this bird's main source of food during the breeding season is the residue of spring-sown crops. It's probably just coincidence that the farmer farming these fields changed from spring to winter sowing several years ago just after another failed planning application on the same site. One of the reasons for its rejection was the presence of cirl buntings.Finally, we have the recent worrying national news of planning officers being involved with developers in offering advice for a fee, as to the best way to ensure that an application will be accepted, even to the extent of forming planning committees that will be biased towards a particular developer rather than local residents. These might be isolated incidents but knowing this would not fill a possible objector to a particular development with any confidence of being successful.Maybe all controversial planning applications, such as this one, should be suspended nationwide until the extent of this is sorted out.One last question to Teignbridge Council. Why is your Local Plan to meet government housing requirements not in place? It's just not good enough.
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