Bob McMahon, of Newton Road, Bishopsteignton, writes:

I am writing on behalf of villagers in Bishopsteignton living around the site for a proposed village museum.

We are shocked by the scale and content of plans submitted by trustees for planning permission. Plans are significantly different from anything that was expected and include proposals for a GP surgery, a large museum building and two houses. There has been no consultation with local residents and subsequent requests to the trustees have been rejected and ignored. We are left with little choice but to oppose the plan altogether.

We have serious concerns over road safety, access and parking. The scale and design of the buildings is not in keeping with the locality and constitutes over-development. The site is accessed by a single car width carriageway with passing places near the proposed buildings. The provision of 12 parking spaces seems wholly inadequate to meet the needs of the museum and busy village surgery.

As a consequence we fear congestion, parking in passing place bays and an addition to the parking problems on the lower part of Cockhaven Road which is particularly busy at school times.

At its planning meeting on Monday, August 18, these objections and others particular to adjoining properties were swept aside by the parish council ostensibly because the village 'must have a surgery'.

Local residents are not unsympathetic to that need but feel these plans are inappropriate and will not serve the village community well, while blighting the lives of people living in the vicinity. There are other potential sites for a surgery but it seems that the primary attraction of this site is that the charity's funds could be used to finance the building, and to lease the property to the GP practice. It appears that the trust does not have sufficient funds to build the surgery and museum and will be seeking substantial additional funding to fulfil the bequest that formed the charity.

These problems are part of the continuing saga implementing the will of Molly Coombe, who died in 2007. Molly lived in the village all her life and left a large part of her estate to provide a new museum and amenity area for the village.

We do not believe these plans are in line with her wishes.

MORE LETTERS IN OUR DIGITAL EDITION