Rodney Helme, of College Road, Newton Abbot, chairman on behalf of the committee of Wolborough Residents' Association, writes:

What we witnessed during the overview and scrutiny meeting at Teignbridge Council was how local government should work – namely, in the best interest of the whole community. Councillors put aside party differences and the Housing Numbers Review Group produced an intelligent and detailed report about future housing numbers in Teignbridge.

Councillors considered the impact of the current proposal of 12,400 homes over the next 20 years on the people of Teignbridge. They discussed the latest Office of National Statistics population projects. They then coupled this with the needs and wishes of local people, considering issues such as preserving greenfield sites within town limits and maintaining the beautiful scenery of our coast and estuaries.

In sum, this was an evocation to retain the integrity of our natural environment so that those living in and visiting our towns can still witness a rural connection and observe our wildlife, without having to catch a bus or get in a car.

After a lively, thought-provoking and impassioned debate, councillors came down unanimously in favour of reducing the proposed housing requirement for the next 20 years to 10,000 homes, with almost one third of them affordable. This is an increase on the existing build rate and accommodates a reasonable growth projection for the area. This recommendation will now go forward to the Executive Committee.

Let us hope that the Executive recognises the logic of this all-party conclusion and agrees its inclusion in the Core Strategy. That would be a victory for the environment and the people of Teignbridge.THIS AND OTHER LETTERS IN OUR DIGITAL EDITION