SIBELCO has renewed its bid to build hundreds of homes at Newcross in Kingsteignton.

The outline application for 586 homes asks for means of access only to be determined at this stage. If approved, details of layout, scale, landscaping and appearance would be decided later.

This new application is almost identical to that turned down two years ago and subsequently lost at appeal.

The main difference is the number of affordable homes offered. Two years ago Sibelco offered 176 or 30 per cent. This was deemed too low by Teignbridge Council and was one of the reasons it was refused.

Their view was upheld at appeal. The secretary of state agreed that the number of affordable homes was inadequate and did not reflect local needs.

Since then, the housing market has gone into deep recession and now Sibelco is only offering 60 affordable homes – ten per cent. One of the reasons Teignbridge

was unprepared to accept the 30 per cent offered before was because they said Sibelco had not provided a proper viability assessment.

This latest application comes armed with an independent viability assessment which argues that any increase on ten per cent would make the scheme unviable.

They justify this by pointing to the 'extraordinary' costs of developing the land. They also contrast Teignbridge's aspirations to provide up to 50 per cent affordable homes, with the number actually delivered over the past three years – just 9.8 per cent.

The other area of difference is the amount Sibelco is prepared to offer for education. The 2007 application was criticised for not properly providing for primary age children. The secretary of state said it was likely that a new school would be needed.

Now Sibelco has upped the offer from £1,500 per dwelling to £2,853, plus a sum for land for a new school, making a total of £1.85m.

The application includes an updated package of highway improvements, off-site highway works, cycling and public transport measures agreed in principle.

Building would be in two phases. The first 200 houses would match road improvements to Old Exeter Road and neighbouring junctions. The rest would follow, with a new road linking Broadway Road and Greenhill Way with a cycle route, bus lane and junction improvements.

A Teignbridge Council spokesman confirmed that they had received the application.

'It will work through all of our standard planning procedures.  This includes consultation with key parties and the public. 

'A decision on the application will be made by a meeting of the council's democratically elected Development Control Committee with a target date of August 28.'