NEWTON Abbot wants to stand on its own in the future and it would give Torbay the cold shoulder. Discussing the draft Regional Spatial Strategy proposals for the South West, councillors at Wednesday's town council finance and general purposes committee made it clear they would rather lean towards Exeter than their Torbay neighbours if they had to. The 289-page document produced by the South West Regional Assembly has not included direct consultation with towns and parish councils, though both Devon county and Teignbridge councils have been given the opportunity to respond by next Wednesday. The exclusion of Newton Abbot from the list of Strategically Significant Cities or Towns (SSCTs) was welcomed. A report to the committee from the district council suggested increased levels of new housing provision were unlikely to be matched by new job provision resulting in less self-containment with a risk of undesirable out-commuting to nearby SSCTs of Exeter and Torbay. High levels of development at Newton Abbot could prejudice Torbay's role as a SSCT and its regeneration proposals. The report continued that an undesirable consequence of a development focus on Newton Abbot could be greater concentration of development on greenfield sites on the edge of the town rather than the use of brownfield urban sites within Torbay. Cllr Ken Lewis said the SSCT linked Newton Abbot with Exeter. 'We do not have links with Exeter. We are basically self- containing and we do not want a built-in strong economy based on Exeter. We have to blow Newton Abbot's trumpet, not Exeter's,' he said. Cllr Reg Wills thought that they might well express possible links or affiliation with Exeter, warning that Torbay already had its sights on land in Kingskerswell. 'Exeter is 15 miles away. I do not think the threat comes from there. I think Exeter has got enough on its plate without worrying about what is happening in Newton Abbot,' said Cllr Wills. Agreeing, Cllr Anne Fry said they had to look more over their shoulder towards Torbay than Exeter. 'People travel to Exeter for better paid jobs. We do not have well paid jobs in Newton Abbot. We do not want retail business parks. We want high-class industry, but how we go about getting that I am not sure,' she said. Cllr Fry also appealed to developers to play their part and to work with authorities to provide affordable housing. Cllr Mike Hocking maintained it was problems with infrastructure that was keeping the firms away. 'We had land at Heathfield and what did they do? They put a housing estate next to industry. You cannot put both together,' he added. Referring to attracting quality employment, Cllr Lewis said the bid by the aviation industry at Goodstone, near Ashburton, should be seriously considered. 'They would be highly-paid, quality jobs,' he stated. The town council's comments will be forwarded to the district council for its consultation response.