Newton Abbot ‘new town’ plans back on the agenda

The next phase of a controversial Devon ‘new town’ project will be considered by planners next week

The proposals for Wolborough on the outskirts of Newton Abbot were pulled from a Teignbridge Council meeting at the last minute in August.
Now they are on the agenda again for the planning committee meeting next Monday.
They form the latest part of a project for more than 1,200 new homes on fields to the south of the town in a development known as NA3.
Planners had been due to decide on the route of a road through the site last month, but the brakes were slammed on at the eleventh hour after the council received documents from opponents of the scheme raising questions about its legality.
Committee chairman Colin Parker (Lib Dem, Buckland and Milber) said councillors, officers and developers could not examine the new information at such short notice.
The oppoents claimed the development would cause harm to the ‘fragile ecosystem’ of Wolborough Fen, a site of special scientific interest.
However, officers say stringent conditions attached to the building of the road would protect the area.
The Wolborough Barton scheme – approved by a planning inspector in 2021 -will see 1,210 new homes built on hilly countryside between Decoy and Ogwell. Developers say it will address the need for homes in the area, while objectors say it is over-development that will destroy open countryside.
In addition to the houses, the scheme promises a new primary school, employment land and community facilities including a day nursery and a health centre. There will be a local shopping centre, play area, allotments and a multi-use games area, as well as a link road connecting the A380 and the A381.
Full planning permission has already been given to convert the Wolborough Barton farmhouse into a boutique hotel, restaurant and bar.
The application to be considered next week is for just under half a mile of road through the centre of the site.