Cllr Mike hocking, of Newton abbot, writes: May I congratulate Judy Chard on her letter in the MDA last week. She has hit the nail on the head. if only the planners and councillors of 30 years ago had the hindsight to see that in the beginning of the 21st century people would be crying out for the heritage and unspoilt attractions of ancient market towns such as the way Newton Abbot use to be, they would not have destroyed the heart of the town in the way they did. We do not have hindsight but we do have history and when Asda went against the original and popular plan for a smaller store plus housing we, as councillors and planners, should have held our ground and insisted that the agreed plan went through. The town will get used to it, but it may take a while. As a town councillor, the new Local Development Plan is one of the items we are ask to comment on and put forward comment to Teignbridge. But as an individual and not a town councillor I must highlight the worry I have over the increased risk of flooding of the town centre should the proposed so called Northern option be accepted. I accept the northern plan in principle. But that does not mean we have to sacrifice what we have already to achieve this aim, and to put the town centre in even the slightest increase in risk is not only wrong but also immoral. To help alleviate flooding, works would be needed to be carried out between Newton Road Bridge and the bridge at Teigngrace Road. This would include a 25m floodway and a new wash area come storage at Rackerhayes. Works would have to be done at the expense of the developers and would alleviate 200 homes from risk. My questions are: what happens to the wash area and its protection, when WBB decide to open up the Rackerhayes site, as they will? What will be the knock-on effect of the work between the two bridges, both up stream and, more importantly, down stream? A little foresight and forward planning now will alleviate the need for hindsight tomorrow.
