HOMES could be built in place of a Victorian-era former Teignmouth nursing home under new plans.

Submitted by PDM Architecture, the application - reference 25/00957/FUL - is seeking permission from Teignbridge District Council for four dwellings at Trinity Lodge off Buckeridge Road.

The scheme proposes two detached dwellings and two semi-detached houses at the site, a former nursery set to be demolished under existing planning consent.

Upside down living is chosen and this offers the best sea views on three of the four houses, the design and access statement for 25/00957/FUL says.

The three dwellings on the higher end of the site will offer ‘fantastic sea views from the upper stories’, with the earth sheltered house, built into the hillside, ‘hunkers down’ into the landscape.

The decision to demolish the site came after converting the existing site was ruled out on the grounds that Trinity House required so much demolition that total demolition was seen as the only viable option.

A scheme for ten dwellings was submitted in September 2017, before being redesigned into a six house scheme; it was rejected in December of the same year.

Trinity Lodge, Buckridge Road, Teignmouth
How the proposed scheme could look (pdm architecture / Teignbridge District Council )
Trinity Lodge, Buckridge Road, Teignmouth
How the proposed scheme could look (pdm architecture / Teignbridge District Council )

The design and access statement for 25/00957/FUL goes on to say: ‘This site offers some challenges and opportunities, and we feel we have overcome these challenges and risen to the opportunities of living on a hillside.

‘We are exploiting the sea views, a must for this location and we can offer great amenity space by not overdeveloping the site.

‘A study of the houses in the area demonstrates large, detached houses with a good ‘house to garden’ ratios.

‘This site is in a transitional zone where smaller areas of amenity space proliferate.

‘We feel this transition is important in creating comfortable and viable housing.

‘The street scene is altered but not drastically, the earth sheltered house has a close relationship with Buckridge Road, the others are set back, and this will help keep the soft edge along the boundary with Buckridge Road’.

Teignbridge District Council are due to make a decision by January 29, 2026 at the latest.

For more information, and to view the documents in detail, visit the council’s planning portal and enter ‘25/00957/FUL’ in the search-box.