A plan for three new homes on the outskirts of Denbury has been turned down.
Officers had advised Teignbridge Council’s planning committee to approve the proposal, but they decided it would be of no benefit to the village.
Councillors were considering an application to knock down a holiday chalet used for Airb&b letting at Pumps Acre, just off Greenhill Lane. In its place the applicant wanted to build up to three properties.
A report for the meeting said the application should be agreed, subject to a number of conditions.
But, said Cllr Jackie Hook (Lib Dem, Bushell): “I’m struggling to see the public benefit of this. There is harm caused and, I feel, no public benefit.”
Local objector John Noakes had described it as a ‘speculative’ application. “It breaches planning guidelines,” he said. “It is surplus to requirements and does nothing to meet local need.”
And, he said, the construction process would be a ‘nightmare’ for the village.
Cllr Andrew MacGregor (SD Alliance, Bishopsteignton) said the new homes would involve harming a heritage asset, meaning a wall on the boundary of the site.
And Cllr Hook went on: “I don’t go along with saying that any housing is housing we need.
“Our policies are about achieving development in the right place, and Denbury is not the right place for this.”