A PLANNING application to change the use of land on the outskirts of Newton Abbot to allow industrial use has been refused by the council.

25/00642/NPA sought prior approval for a change of use of agricultural building on land off Long Lane, near Haccombe, to a flexible B2/B8 use, which includes industrial and storage uses.

But Teignbridge District Council (TDC) refused the request, saying the proposal is likely to result in an ‘adverse impact upon highway safety’.

‘The proposed use of the site for a flexible B2/B8 is likely to result in a significant increase in vehicle movements to and from the site and Long Lane, by reason of its narrow width to the east of Milber Trading Estate, is considered to be unsuitable to accommodate the additional traffic likely to be generated from the proposal’, the decision notice reads.

‘Furthermore, due to the likely intensification of traffic from the proposed uses, there is likely to be a conflict with vehicles entering and exiting the site, and users of the nearby public right of way footpath and public bridleway’, the notice adds.

According to the planning statement for 25/00642/NPA, the proposed site was for ‘storage and maintenance of construction plant and materials’.

Had the application been approved, the applicant had intended to submit a subsequent application to ‘replace the existing shed with a new building’.

At the time, Haccombe-with-Combe Parish Council lodged an objection to the application, giving several reasons for doing so.

The council said access to the site is ‘wholly unsuitable’, saying that, beyond Miller Trading Estate, the road narrows ‘considerably’ and is, therefore, ‘inappropriate for HGVs and articulated lorries’.

Validated on April 29, TDC issued its decision on June 23.

To read the decision report in full, visit TDC’s planning portal and enter ‘25/00642/NPA’ into the search-box.