Andrew Goodridge, of Stockton Hill, Dawlish, writes:

Cllr Christophers is entitled to his outspoken views (May 23) regarding Plan Teignbridge but is he not aware of the developments that have gone ahead in Dawlish over the last ten years while he and others have been differing?

A great number of sites have been developed before the plan being confirmed with few affordable homes. (Nowhere near a target figure of 25 per cent but as low as ten per ent)

Thre is little or no provision for the services that will be needed with the result that areas such as the Barton Surgery's basement have been turned into consulting rooms with no additional staff to cope with the extra demand.

As regards education no space on the new developments has been left for the expansion of the primary schools or the anticipated increase in numbers at the community college. I understand there are no plans to increase the capacity of the sewerage works and no allowance has been made for the increased run off which has already been responsible for flooding in Secmaton Lane despite the recent work. This oversight will result in more pollution on our beaches and a reduction in our tourism business.

He served on a planning committee that allowed two cottages, that had been rebuilt with a Teignbridge grant, to be demolished, robbing two young couples of their homes, and passed plans for building in a wood where over 5,000 trees had been replanted to replace those lost in the storms of the late eighties (some by the pupils of Gatehouse Primary School) to allow luxury houses to be built.

This was a wood abundant in wildlife that will shortly be covered in concrete, resulting in an environmental disaster and loss of habit for all its previous occupants such as birds, bats and badgers, to say nothing of the bluebells and orchids.

Plan Teignbridge has come too late as the damage has already been done for as well as the lack of services not one road has been improved resulting in total gridlock on the A379.

a reluctance by firms to relocate to Dawlish means any jobs as a result of the building will only be temporary for as long as the building works take.

Cllr Christophers states Plan Teignbridge will revitalise the area. He  has rubbished those of us who have criticised Plan Teignbridge  and I hope he proves me wrong but if he looks at the adverts put out by the developers he will see house prices beyond any local youngsters' wildest dreams.

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